Sicilian Grave Goods as Evidence for Cultural Change, Interaction and Identity, ca. 1200–550 BC

Cemeteries are a primary source of evidence for the late prehistoric and early historical periods in Sicily. An abundance of tomb goods is available for study from modern republications of ‘legacy data’, especially for the southeast of the island, which was a focal point of Greek colonization in the central Mediterranean. This area also contains an unusual concentration of Final Bronze and Iron Age sites, which permits an extended view of indigenous cultural development over six centuries or more. Adopting an empirical approach, the article compares dress items, tools, weapons and pottery from four key sites—Pantalica, Cassibile, Monte Finocchito and Monte Casasia—which were major centres of indigenous population at various times between ca. 1200 and ca. 550 BC. Several trends and patterns are identified that enhance our understanding of continuity and change, interaction and ritual practices in relation to cultural identity over a period that also encompassed Greek and Phoenician colonization. Comparisons between burials at Finocchito, Syracuse and mainland Greece from the eighth and seventh centuries BC highlight bilateral and asymmetrical aspects of cultural interaction between indigenous people and Greek settlers in Sicily.