Pottery, Practices and Boundaries in Early Bronze Age Sicily (ca 2300-1500 BC)

This thesis is a detailed study of painted and unpainted pottery in Castelluccio ceramic assemblages in Early Bronze Age Sicily (2300-1500 BC). The aim is not to perpetuate current definitions of static, culture-bearing regional grouping. Instead, the aim of my work is to explore morphometric variability as a representation of social boundaries and practices. The main purpose of such a work is to link material culture with society. So far, this task has remained a neglected topic in Sicilian EBA specialist studies, while current models of socio-cultural transformations rely on external sources as main drivers for local developments. My work will open up alternative understanding of local developments emphasising the centrality and embeddedness of material culture in mechanisms of socio-cultural reproduction as needed, initiating a broader re-assessement of Castelluccio cultural groupings and social organisation.