Elites, kinship, and community in archaic central Italy

Abstract

This paper reconsiders the notion of “società gentilizia”, brilliantly studied by Bartoloni, and offers some considerations on the role of the elite in urbanization, with special reference to Lazio. We shall argue that the more nuanced versions of aristocratic structures which have been developed recently offer opportunities for sophisticated models of the emergence of urban forms and within that the development of cultic and sacrificial behaviour. This is most evident at large sites like Rome or Veii, but we will consider how we can best develop this model for smaller sites, and integrate it within Ampolo’s notion of the open society operating in the seventh and sixth centuries BCE.