The beginning of the Neolithic era in Central Italy

This paper presents the general profile of the first farming communities of Central Italy in the Early Neolithic Era. Data shows the spread of early Neolithic cultures in the Italian peninsula at the beginning of the VI millennium B.C. The first Neolithic groups appeared in the southern regions of the peninsula and moved northwards following two trajectories along the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic coasts. The process of Neolithisation was initiated by peoples who probably came from different areas and traditions creating, over time, two distinct areas within the Italian peninsula, each with its own specific cultural features. Finally the article looks at how intensive exchanges both of complex knowledge and raw materials occurred between these two distinct cultural worlds. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.