L’età del Bronzo media e recente nell’Italia nordoccidentale: cronologia, aspetti culturali e sociali, contatti con l’Italia e l’area transalpina

This research addresses the chronological and cultural definition of the Middle and Recent Bronze Age in northwestern Italy, through a systematic investigation of 279 archaeological contexts, selected via critical review of the available literature and direct analysis of materials in 18 cases. The study area includes Liguria, Piedmont, the Aosta Valley, western Lombardy, the Apennine sectors of Emilia, and part of southern Switzerland. A core aspect of the research is the construction of a typological classification of ceramic and metal artefacts, which forms the basis for the elaboration of chrono-typological seriation tables. This methodology was applied to both settlement and funerary contexts, allowing for the identification of coherent groups and the definition of a structured relative sequence that spans the entire Middle and Recent Bronze Age, cross-validated through available radiocarbon datings. Despite the fragmented and heterogeneous nature of the documentation, the proposed chronological framework has proven robust and consistent, enabling a significant expansion of the range of datable types. Numerous previously unpublished or only partially published contexts are also presented and integrated into this study. The combined analysis of typological data and their distribution has made it possible to identify both regional specificities and shared traits at a broader macro-regional scale.