Dependency and Social Inequality in Pre-Roman Italy

In the past, most studies on pre-Roman societies in Italy (1st millennium BCE) focused on the elites, their representation and cultural contacts. Recently, however, research on dependent and marginalized social groups has considerably increased. The aim of this conference is to look at these less visible social groups, which are often even difficult to define (slaves, servants, freedmen, peasants, women, children etc.). The methodological challenges connected to the study of such heterogeneous and scattered sources will be addressed. Is the evidence representative enough for defining different forms of dependencies? Can we rely on written and pictorial sources or do they only reflect Greek and Roman views and iconographic conventions? Which social groups can’t be traced in the literary and archaeological record? For the discussion of this topic, we will focus on the following sections: historical and epigraphical studies, material culture studies, anthropology and bioarchaeology.