Nuovi orizzonti per nuove comunità. Qualche riflessione sui processi di definizione delle società arcaiche della Puglia meridionale

The phenomena of new settlements characterized the territories of Southern Italy from the 8th c. B.C. This article focuses on theoretical approaches to the study of indigenous societies with particular reference to the contribution of cognitive archaeology. Starting with the necessity of studying the forms of organization of the villages and moving through the application of interpretative models still little exploited, it discusses the relationship between the way of living and the process of defining identity in local communities between the 8th and 6th c. B.C. Aspects related to the ceremonial sphere play an important role, identifiable by the particular incidence of decorated pottery. A number of observations are made about the production and the consumption of alcoholic beverages in the Iapygian culture including archeometric analysis on organic compounds (appendix 2).