EARLIEST MATERIAL EVIDENCE FOR RELIGIOUS CULTS
Worship in prehistoric Italy involved natural features such as caves and bodies of water (Edlund 1987; Whitehouse 1992; Riva & Stoddart 1996); this practice continued through the Roman period.
Deposits of valuable decorative or miniature objects may represent prehistoric votive practices, as do burials of Protovillanovan (ca. 1200-1000 BCE) and Villanovan (1000-700 BCE) metal hoards at the boundaries of settlements. Generalizing the theories of de Polignac for early Greek sanctuaries, some Etruscan hoards may have marked community boundaries (Bietti Sestieri et al. 1989-90; Damgard Andersen 1993; Maggiani 1997; Bartoloni 2002: 32-7). Some funerary vessels may incorporate religious iconography in the form of a sun-boat or -cart (as in northern Europe), composite creatures, bird-spirits or pairs of anthropomorphic gods.Villanovan funerary cult betrays formalized doctrines and patterns for ritual, in the uniformity of burial rites, the restricted number and character of offerings, and the production of specially designed or decorated objects for funeral deposition. The biconical urn was dressed in the clothing of the deceased and one of the two handles was broken off. Hut-shaped urns and miniature models of vessels, weapons and tools show the creation of symbolic objects for funerary and votive cult. In the late Villanovan necropolis at Busone (Castellina in Chianti), burnt animal sacrifices and vases on a platform of slabs attest to an early monumentalization of the funerary cult (Camporeale 2000: 133).
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