The statue-stelae of Early Iron Age Daunia (north Apulia, Italy), a group of stone slabs, are each incised to represent the garb and accoutrements of a person. They detail the clothing and adornment worn by men and women in full regalia, plus, through additional figurative images drawn on the robes, show ritual practices, everyday activities, and scenes of local legend. As such, they offer an unparalleled window into the lives of a proto-historic people, providing a rich source of self-representation for what is otherwise a fairly poorly understood society. Grounded in the scholarship of post-colonial and gender archaeology, this book pays full respect to the agency of indigenous communities and the important role of women. It considers the stelae not through a Hellenic lens, but in the Italo-Adriatic context to which they belong. This is the first time an in-depth, holistic study of the Daunian stelae has been undertaken, and the first presentation of the material in English.



by Camilla Norman



Chapter 1. Voicing the Daunian Stelae Chapter 2. Iron Age Daunia: A Social and Archaeological Context Chapter 3. History of Scholarship Chapter 4. Precursors and Parallels: Origins, Function, and Meaning Chapter 5. Connecting with Disembodied Heads Chapter 6. Anthropomorphic Imagery: Corporeal Gender Coding in Ancient Daunia Chapter 7. Anthropomorphic Imagery: The Robes Chapter 8. Anthropomorphic Imagery: Female Paraphernalia Chapter 9. Anthropomorphic Imagery: Male Paraphernalia Chapter 10. Figurative Imagery: A Vision of Daunian Practices and Stories Chapter 11. People of Ancient Daunia Appendix 1: Daunian Stelae with Published Findspots Appendix 2: Additional Daunian Stelae Appendix 3: Concordance