Inter-cultural communications and iconography in the Western Mediterranean during the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age

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The symbolic images from the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age (c. 1300-525 B.C.) in the central and western Mediterranean provide insights into inter-cultural communications and the spread of ideas across the region. This book presents the first comprehensive comparative analysis of iconographical records from Sardinia, Southwest Iberia, Corsica, and Sicily, set against the backdrop of intense Mediterranean contacts during the Bronze Age. It examines settlement archaeology, monument building, funeral rites, religious rituals, and local economic practices in these interconnected regions. The study also explores community organization and power allocation within prehistoric societies using alternative theoretical frameworks, including heterarchy and complex anarchic structures. It addresses the socio-political changes of the Early Iron Age, linking them to manipulative strategies, intensified communications, or dissociation. The volume includes detailed, fully illustrated data on 245 Sardinian anthropomorphic bronze figurines, 216 zoomorphic bronzetti, and 146 boat models, along with an analysis of 118 western Iberian stelae and their contrasting Early Iron Age motifs. Additionally, it covers the statue-menhirs of Corsica and the figurative art of Sicily, providing chronological data, iconographical and archaeological analyses, and distribution maps, establishing a valuable database for Mediterranean archaeology.