ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses geographical variability in burial customs in Peucetia (central Apulia, Italy) between the end of the sixth and middle of the fourth century BCE in order to investigate which aspects could be considered expressions of local identities and which should be attributed to patterns of trade and connectivity. The best evidence for the existence of sub-regional zones comes from the study of the distribution of specific classes of ceramics; for example, there is very little overlap in the circulation of the two distinct decorative styles of Peucetian sub-geometric pottery, monochromatic and polychrome. Similarly, while Attic black and red figure vases were most popular in the coastal area, other types of decorated finewares (e.g., overpainted) were attested at sites inland considerably earlier than everywhere else in the region. It has been suggested in scholarship that the interior of Peucetia was part of a separate cultural entity – the ‘Bradano District’ – which extended to central Basilicata. Yet the general composition of the grave assemblages found at inland Peucetian sites, such as Gravina and Monte Sannace, appears consistent with those of the rest of Peucetia. Thus, these communities must have performed the same funerary rituals as their contemporaries on the Adriatic coast, although they might have looked elsewhere to acquire their pottery. By looking at how and where the communities in the internal part of Peucetia obtained the vessels for their graves, we will not just gain a better understanding of local trade but also shed light on the relationship between the consumption of material culture and the construction of cultural identity.
