«Antenati bambini». Visibilità e invisibilità dell'infanzia nei sepolcreti dell'Italia tirrenica dalla prima età del Ferro all'Orientalizzante: dalla discriminazione funeraria alla costruzione dell'identità

The part of community affected more than others by a selective process that changes its
representativity, is the one composed of subjects deceased before having reached puberty, especially children younger than 3-4 years. The analysis of the funerary treatment of this large part of society (which could reach up to 50% of the population) can offer clues for the interpretation of the evolution of social systems and, at the same time, ritual beliefs connected with these delicate phases of life preceding the introduction of the individual in society. Towards the end of the Early Iron Age, the representativity of infants starts to increase: some individuals present attributes of a type and rang that would qualify them as adults, to the point that the burial and the entire funerary ceremony seem to constitute a ritual intended to grant to the deceased the “signs” of a social condition that death has prevented them to reach. This new perspective forms part of a broader framework of cultural and economic changes that collide with the indigenous communities from the middle of the eighth century BC on, and which are amply testified by the funerary evidence, of which some examples of Osteria dell’Osa, Veio, Pontecagnano and Pithekoussai are presented here.