Landscapes of the prehistoric Veneto, Italy : a plurality of local identities reflected in cult and landscape perception

This paper explores issues concerning local identity, landscape awareness and social space within the Veneto region in northeast Italy in late prehistory (c. 8th century BC to Romanisation in the 2nd century BC). The theory underpinning this paper and the author’s research owes much to human geography, in endeavouring to ‘rediscover’ a ‘sense of place’ in landscape archaeology, drawing upon data from votive deposits, cemeteries and settlements in the Veneto region. In the search for place-specific significance, this paper will bring to the fore the nonuniform development and local variations in the material culture of the ‘Veneti’, traditionally identified as a single homogeneous ethnic and social unit, and suggest ways to avoid risky generalisations.