The aim of this book is to present an in-depth analysis of the socio-economic dynamics that took place from the Bronze Age until the middle of the eighth century BC, in the Latium Vetus (Italy). To understand the archaeological record, knowledge of the transformations through time of the various landscape units is necessary. Such knowledge was obtained by studying historical, geological and pedological maps, and by using air photography, pollen diagrams and soil augering as well as observations in the field. The presentation of the evidences takes the form of a catalogue that lists 232 sites: settlements, tombs (both isolated and necropoleis), hoards and ritual loci. This is the first time that all available archaeological evidence of the study area is catalogued in a single format. Furthermore, a number of locational variables for each site were analysed, using GIS techniques and statistical analysis, in order to identify certain tendencies in the location of settlements. A functional analysis of the catalogued sites was also conducted considering the potential natural harbours along the coast and evaluating the agricultural potential of the sites' territories. In the concluding chapter an up-to-date explanation of the emergence of social inequality and the warrior elite is proposed as well as a global (proto)history of the subsistence economy and settlement patterns in the Bronze Age and Iron Age. In addition, a new and simple method is suggested for reconstructing the territories of the ancient protohistoric polities.

This work helps provide a better understanding, in particular for the coastal part of central south Lazio, Italy, of the development of new socio-economic forms. Rooted in the ancient Bronze Age, these would, in the relatively short period of protohistory, lead from a society functioning on an essentially kinship basis to one dominated by true hegemonic aristocracies. The study area includes the Tiber Delta, the co-called Latial Volcano, and the Pontine Plain. Italian text.