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This study presents the results of new research into Etruscan technology for earthen architecture as well as ceramic production in the upper Tiber Valley in central Italy, using as a case study the Etruscan settlement of Col di Marzo (Perugia). It determines the compositional differences of the raw material employed as building material and for ceramic production by X‐ray powder diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis and differential thermal analysis (TG‐DTG), Fourier‐transform infrared analysis (FTIR) and geotechnical analyses. The research also advances the knowledge of ceramic manufacturing technology, with a focus on impasto production, at Col di Marzo between the fifth and mid‐third centuries bce and the surrounding territory on the left bank of the River Tiber. The compositional analysis of building material compared with the ceramics provides answers to questions related to their sourcing and deepens the understanding of the exploitation of natural resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Etruria contained one of the great early urban civilisations in the Italian peninsula during the first millennium BC, much studied from a cultural, humanities-based, perspective, but relatively little with scientific data, and rarely in combination. We have addressed the unusual location of twenty inhumations found in the sacred heart of the Etruscan city of Tarquinia, focusing on six of these as illustrative, contrasting with the typical contemporary cremations found in cemeteries on the edge of the city. The cultural evidence suggests that the six skeletons were also distinctive in their ritualization and memorialisation. Focusing on the six, as a representative sample, the scientific evidence of osteoarchaeology, isotopic compositions, and ancient DNA has established that these appear to show mobility, diversity and violence through an integrated bioarchaeological approach. The combination of multiple lines of evidence makes major strides towards a deeper understanding of the role of these extraordinary individuals in the life of the early city of Etruria., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The Early Iron Age in Italy (end of the tenth to the eighth century BCE) was characterized by profound changes which influenced the subsequent political and cultural scenario in the peninsula. At the end of this period people from the eastern Mediterranean (e.g. Phoenicians and Greek people) settled along the Italian, Sardinian and Sicilian coasts. Among local populations, the so-called Villanovan culture group-mainly located on the Tyrrhenian side of central Italy and in the southern Po plain-stood out since the beginning for the extent of their geographical expansion across the peninsula and their leading position in the interaction with diverse groups. The community of Fermo (ninth-fifth century BCE), related to the Villanovan groups but located in the Picene area (Marche), is a model example of these population dynamics. This study integrates archaeological, osteological, carbon (δ 13 C), nitrogen (δ 15 N) (n = 25 human) and strontium ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) isotope data (n = 54 human, n = 11 baseline samples) to explore human mobility through Fermo funerary contexts. The combination of these different sources enabled us to confirm the presence of non-local individuals and gain insight into community connectivity dynamics in Early Iron Age Italian frontier sites. This research contributes to one of the leading historical questions of Italian development in the first millennium BCE., (© 2023. The Author(s).)