L’Emilia tra antica e recente età del Bronzo

This paper presents an updated synthesis of the extensive research carried out about the Emilia region between the beginning of the Early Bronze Age (EBA) and the end of the Recent Bronze Age (RBA). The changes made to the landscape of the plain as a result of the intense anthropic impact are described, within the palaeoclimatic framework of moderate but significant fluctuations. This in fact led to the formation of a severely deforested cereal-growing steppe, in which water resource management was of fundamental importance. Knowledge about the Early Bronze Age has greatly increased over recent years, appearing to indicate an unstable and loosely-knit political context before the stabilisation represented by the establishment of the Terramare. The formation of the first settlements that can be defined as Terramare, namely provided with an earthwork and moat, occurred in the course of the Middle Bronze Age (MBA1). The diversified cultural connotation of the Terramare indicates the progressive penetration into the Emilian plain of groups originating from different areas. The overview of the development of the Terramare is updated for each of the different phases of the MBA and the RBA, clarifying in greater detail what is already known along general lines, in both chronological terms and apropos the structuring of the sites and their organisation within the territory. The progressive demographic and economic growth, also confirmed by the dimensions of production and caexchange, led to the apogee of the Terramare culture at the beginning of the RBA. This was followed in RBA2 by the dramatic crisis that struck the economic system of the Terramare mainly on the plain and, more generally, brought about a profound change in Italian protohistory, ushering in a new historic cycle. As regards the funerary aspect, a synthetic overview is provided of the forms of ritual that can be derived primarily from the publication of the necropolis of Casinalbo. Finally, various ritual aspects of the world of the Terramare are mentioned, with one of the most significant pieces of evidence being the large wooden pool of Noceto, interpreted as an artificial basin filled with water and destined to votive offerings.