ABSTRACT
The dynamism of ancient nonurban regions such as Samnium in central Italy has been increasingly acknowledged in scholarship. Greek and Roman sources describe the ancient inhabitants of Samnium as living scattered in farmsteads and villages that were organized into large territorial units. Such descriptions seem to agree with the results of modern archaeological research, which suggest an overall picture of limited urbanization until the creation of Roman municipal centers in the first century BCE. By examining a sample of systematically excavated and potentially nucleated settlements, I discuss how this evidence may support more complex models of collective socio-political organization in the region between c. 300 and 100 BCE, especially as regards the micro level.
