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| Geographical range | Europe |
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| Period | Bronze Age |
| Dates | c. 1200–901 BC |
| Preceded by | Urnfield culture,Terramare culture,Apennine culture |
| Followed by | Villanovan culture,Latial culture,Este culture |
TheProto-Villanovan culture was a lateBronze Age culture that appeared inItaly in the first half of the 12th century BC and lasted up until the 10th century BC, part of the central EuropeanUrnfield culture system (1300–750 BCE).
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The proto-Villanovan culture was part of the central EuropeanUrnfield culture system. The similarity, in particular, has been noted with the regional groups ofBavaria-Upper Austria[1] and of themiddle-Danube.[1][2] Furthermore, the Proto-Villanovan culture shows affinities with both theLusatian andCanegrate cultures.[3] Another hypothesis, however, is that it was a derivation from the previousTerramare culture of thePo Valley.[4][3] The burial characteristics relate the Proto-Villanovan culture to the Central European Urnfield culture and CelticHallstatt culture that succeeded it. It is not possible to tell these apart in their earlier stages.[5] Various authors, such asMarija Gimbutas, associated this culture with the arrival, or the spread, of the proto-Italics into theItalian peninsula.[1]
Proto-Villanovan sites are present all over the Italian peninsula, mostly in the northern-central part but also, to a lesser degree, inSouthern Italy andeastern Sicily. Among the most important of these sites are:Frattesina (Veneto),Bismantova andRipa Calbana (Emilia-Romagna),Cetona andSaturnia (Tuscany),Monti della Tolfa (Lazio),Pianello di Genga andAncona (Marche),Ortucchio (Abruzzo),Timmari (Basilicata),Canosa (Apulia),Tropea (Calabria), andMilazzo (Sicily).
Settlements, usually of small dimensions, were generally built on hills and circumscribed with fortifications. The economy was mostly based on agro-pastoral activities,metallurgy, and trades.
The proto-Villanovans practicedcremation. The ashes were placed in Urnfield-style double-cone shaped funerary urns, often decorated with geometric designs, and then buried in the ground. Elite graves containing jewelry, bronze armor, and horse harness fittings were separated from ordinary graves, showing for the first time the development of a highly hierarchical society, so characteristic ofIndo-European cultures.[6]
After a period of considerable uniformity from north to south, the Proto-Villanovan culture shows a process ofregionalization. Starting fromc. 950 BC, new regional cultures such as theVillanovan culture,Este culture, andLatial culture appeared. Although these new cultures shared many similarities with the preceding Proto-Villanovan culture, especially funerary customs, they also exhibited their own innovations.
A genetic study published inScience in November 2019 examined the remains of a female from the Proto-Villanovan culture buried inMartinsicuro, Italy, between ca. 930 BC and 839 BC, in the territory of thePicentes. She carried the maternal haplogroupU5a2b.[7]
