La Calabria attraverso la lente della cultura materiale: fasi e facies del Primo Ferro, dall’Alto Ionio allo Stretto di Messina

Abstract

The paper analyses the variations in Calabria’s Early Iron Age material culture, as reflected in the funerary record of
the region. The analysis highlights a distinction between the north and south of the region: in the south, relations with
the Tyrrhenian world of Etruria, Lazio and Campania prevail; to the north, on the other end, the communities are more
oriented towards the Vallo di Diano, Basilicata, and the Adriatic side of the peninsula. This subdivision seems to be
deeply rooted in Bronze Age traditions, but it also reflects the historical processes taking place in the Early Iron Age: for
Southern Calabria, the desire to participate in the networks revolving around the Messina Strait and the Lower Tyrrhenian
seems to prevail, triggered by the flourishing economies of the Tyrrhenian proto-urban centres.