Indigenous Sicilian Responses to External Influences in the First Millennium B.C
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University of Wisconsin Milwaukee UWM Digital Commons Theses and Dissertations December 2012 Material Expressions of Social Change: Indigenous Sicilian Responses to External Influences in the First Millennium B.C. William Balco University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.uwm.edu/etd Part of the Archaeological Anthropology Commons, and the Classics Commons Recommended Citation Balco, William, "Material Expressions of Social Change: Indigenous Sicilian Responses to External Influences in the First Millennium B.C." (2012). Theses and Dissertations. 194. https://dc.uwm.edu/etd/194 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by UWM Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UWM Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. MATERIAL EXPRESSIONS OF SOCIAL CHANGE: INDIGENOUS SICILIAN RESPONSES TO EXTERNAL INFLUENCES IN THE FIRST MILLENNIUM B.C. by William M. Balco Jr. A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology at The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee December 2012 ABSTRACT MATERIAL EXPRESSIONS OF SOCIAL CHANGE: INDIGENOUS SICILIAN RESPONSES TO EXTERNAL INFLUENCES IN THE FIRST MILLENNIUM B.C. by William M. Balco Jr. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2012 Under the Supervision of Professor Bettina Arnold Following the arrival of Greek colonists and Phoenician traders in the seventh century BC, indigenous Iron Age Sicilian populations underwent an intensive process of social transformation. As a result, many new behaviors, including those associated with Greek- style feasting and commensality, were introduced to indigenous Sicilians, together with the associated material culture. This study explores Iron Age indigenous Sicilian social responses to these interactions, focusing on the feast as a conduit of change and the concomitant transformation of feasting accoutrements. Vessel form, manufacturing technique, and surface treatment impact the emblemic ceramic styles used to communicate ethnic affiliations in the various social middle grounds that developed to mitigate cultural differences. These morphologic variables are compared in order to identify mixed-style vessels resulting from social entanglement. Social as well as economic interpretations of the development of mixed-style pottery are posited. Compositional X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and ceramic petrography of a sub-sample of pottery vessels from seven sites across the island are used to model and map the production and manufacture of mixed-style feasting vessels. The ii results of this study suggest that economic as well as social forces led to the development of mixed-style vessels manufactured at multiple population centers in response to interactions with foreign colonists and merchants. iii SOMMARIO ITALIANO MATERIAL EXPRESSIONS OF SOCIAL CHANGE: INDIGENOUS SICILIAN RESPONSES TO EXTERNAL INFLUENCES IN THE FIRST MILLENNIUM B.C. by William M. Balco Jr. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2012 Under the Supervision of Professor Bettina Arnold Dopo l’arrivo di coloni Greci e Fenicio-Punica commercianti nel VII secolo a.C., le popolazioni indigene dell’Étà del Ferro Siciliane ha subito un intenso processo di trasformazione sociale. Come risultato, molti nuovi comportamenti, compresi quelli connessi con stile Greco feste e commensalità, sono state introdotte per i Siciliani indigeni, insieme con la cultura materiale associato. Questo studio esplora indigeni Siciliani dell’Étà del Ferro risposte a queste interazioni sociali, con particolare attenzione per la festa come un condotto di cambiamento e la trasformazione concomitante di equipaggiamento festa. Forma del serbatoio, technica di produzione, trattamento e impatto sul manto gli stili emblemic ceramici utilizzati per comunicare affiliazioni etniche nei vari motivi sociali medie che si sono sviluppate per mitigare le differenze culturali. Queste variabili morfologiche vengono confrontati per identificare misto stile navi derivanti da groviglio sociale. Interpretazioni sociale oltre che economico che rappresentano lo sviluppo di stile misto della ceramica sono poste. Compositiva fluorescenza a raggi X (XRF), diffrazione di raggi X (XRD), e petrografia ceramica di un sotto-campione fabbricazione di vasi in stile misto festa. I risultati di questo studio iv suggeriscono una spiegazione conti economici per lo sviluppo di stile misto navi prodotte presso i centri di popolazione più in risposta alla interazione sociale con i coloni stranieri e mercanti. v © Copyright by William M. Balco Jr. All Rights Reserved vi For My Parents, Bill and Linda vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Sommario Italiano .............................................................................................................. iv Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. viii List of Figures .................................................................................................................. xiii List of Tables ................................................................................................................... xix Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... xxii Riconoscimenti .............................................................................................................. xxiv Chapter I: Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1 Research Questions ........................................................................................................... 11 Research Significance ....................................................................................................... 19 Chapter II: Physical, Historical, and Social Settings ........................................................ 20 Geology of Sicily .............................................................................................................. 23 Soils in Sicily .................................................................................................................... 24 Perceptions of Past Perceptions: A Cultural History of Iron Age Western Sicily ............ 30 Etic Interpretations of Indigenes ....................................................................................... 32 The Greek Colonies .......................................................................................................... 44 The Phoenician Emporia ................................................................................................... 48 Sicily’s Archaeological Past ............................................................................................. 51 The Shadows of Past Populations ..................................................................................... 53 viii Site Histories of Key Sites in Western Sicily ................................................................... 66 Greek Colonies in Western Sicily ..................................................................................... 72 Site Histories of Key Western Sicilian Greek Colonies ................................................... 74 Phoenician Sites in Western Sicily ................................................................................... 76 Site Histories of Key Phoenician Emporia in Western Sicily .......................................... 77 Foreigners in a Distant Past .............................................................................................. 80 Iron Age Sicilian Pottery Production ................................................................................ 81 Indigenous Elymian Pottery Production ........................................................................... 81 Colonial Greek Pottery Production ................................................................................... 83 Phoenician Pottery Production .......................................................................................... 83 Defining Indigenous Sicilians ........................................................................................... 84 Chapter III: Theoretical Models........................................................................................ 86 Culture Contact and Interaction ........................................................................................ 86 Previous Social Transformation Theories ......................................................................... 90 Acculturation..................................................................................................................... 91 Assimilation ...................................................................................................................... 93 Culture-Specific Theories of Change................................................................................ 96 The Postcolonial Critique ................................................................................................. 99 The Theory of Cultural Hybridity ................................................................................... 104 Materiality ......................................................................................................................