Early copper metallurgy in Central Italy: Issues of production and social consumption

The Later Neolithic (c. 4500 to 3600 BC) and the Copper Age (c. 3600 to 2200 BC) in centrai Italy witness the first introduction and diffusion of copper-based artefacts. Metal finds are very limited during thc Neolithic, though their number increases remarkably in the Copper Age, up to almost 400 items. Interestingly, it is observed that the scarce Neolithic metal artefacts are evenly distributed within settlement and burial sites, whcreas the vast majority of the Copper Age finds are located in funerary contexts, It appears that metallurgy played a marginal role within the Neolithic communities, and it progressively became an important element within prehistoric society during the 4th and the 3rd millennia BC. There is also little doubt that burial played a key role as a social arena for metal to bc fully incorporated into prehistoric society. However, it is not yct clear how far metal objects wcrc used in the Copper Age bcfore being deposited in graves, and whether some artcfacts were used at all. Prior to entering the grave copper axes, daggers and awls may have been used within different sphcres of action and for different purposes. In order to understand how a major technological innovation such as metallurgy was integratcd into Copper Age society, metal objects need to be investigated to assess their potential both as tools and as symbols. The Copper Age in Centrai Italy, being coincident with the first massive diffusion of copper-based metallurgy in the arca, seems to be an appropriate example to investigate in detail the parallcl devclopmcnt of metallurgieal techniques and their impact on society. Reprcsentative copper objects from funerary sitcs havc been carefully selected on thc basis of context, chronology, typology, and geographical distribution. The objects are being investigated by a range of analytical techniques (X-ray fluorescence, optical metallography, mass spectrometry, scanning clectron microscopy, X-ray diffraction) in order to assess: (I) their physico-chcmical properties and how far they could have bccn used as practical tools; (2) thc provenance and diffusion of thc metal; (3) thc rclationship bctwcen chemical composition, manufacturing process, and typology. The functionality of thesc objccts, based on experimental paramctcrs, allows a better understanding of their practical and symbolic role within prehistoric society in Central Italy.