You can tell a lot about a civilization by how they bury their dead, and University of Cincinnati researchers recently examined the bereavement practices of pre-Roman peoples living in the Central Apulian region of Italy and learned much about their culture.
In her investigations, Bice Peruzzi, a doctoral student in the university’s Department of Classics, looked at the burial logistics, the treatment of deceased bodies, and the contents of graves dating between 525 to 200 BC. She found evidence that a strong social hierarchy existed at the time.
In addition, as she recently reported at the 2016 Archaeological Institute of America/Society for Classical Studies Annual Meeting in California, she found metal weapons lying near the remains of buried men—indicating that military service was routine amongst males of the civilization.
“After going through volumes of collected material, I realized that there was so much more that could be said about what was happening in the development of this particular culture. In spite of having no written history, I was able to distinguish three different periods and then connect them to the larger Mediterranean history to see how their society changed,” said Peruzzi.
Tracking the changes in burial customs from 525 to 200 BC
She also found that the number of tombs increased exponentially over a period of 50 years in the mid- to late-4th century, indicating that new social groups had started to adopt ceremonial burials complete with a brief ceremony that featured dancing and a banquet to honor the dead.
Greek vases and artifacts were discovered among the contents of Apulian tombs dating from 525 to 350 BC, some of which depicted women courting, participating in wine offerings, or being part of a procession. Wine cups, feasting sets, and weapons were among the other finds, with all of the items purposefully selected to represent the deceased’s role in the community, she noted.
Tombs dating from 350 to 300 BC showed a continued emphasis on battle, banquets, and women, but the increased number of tombs indicates that additional social groups had started to adopt the banquet-style funeral by this time. However, she also found evidence that the upper classes started to change their burial practices to distinguish themselves from the commoners.
Finally, in those dating from 300 BC to 200 BC, Peruzzi observed a marked shift away from the use of individual tombs to larger, more elaborate burial chambers that often housed the bodies of entire families. Graves from this era also showed a change to less ornate vase designs, as well as the replacement of weapons as grave ornaments with other, smaller personal artifacts.
“By looking at artifacts in their archaeological and social context, I was able to illustrate changes never before recognized,” Peruzzi said. “From the emergence of new social groups at the end of the 6th century BC to the gradual urbanization and separation of ‘ethnic’ groups during the 3rd century BC, the evolution of funerary practices can be successfully used to highlight major transformations in the social organization of Central Apulia communities.”
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Feature Image: Sena Chiesa and Arslan 2004
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