The Tribal Tattooing of Daunian Women

Bibliographic Data

ID7202435
AuthorsCamilla Norman (The University of Sydney, corresponding author)
Year2011
Volume14
Issue1-2
Pages133-157
Publication date2011-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEuropean Journal of Archaeology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1461-9571 • E-ISSN: 1741-2722
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1179/eja.2011.14.1-2.133
OpenAlexW4252119642
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited14

Using cross-cultural ethnographic and archaeological analogy, this paper offers a new interpretation for a specific societal attribute represented on the Iron Age stelae of Daunia, arguing that the designs on the forearms of the female stelae do not represent gloves but are instead tattoos. By questioning a single, long-held, belief about the stelae, it is hoped to highlight a very important principle of method: the need to identify and investigate the socio-cultural context of an image or artefact. For too long the Daunian stelae have been looked at through Hellenized eyes. Unlike other Italic societies of this period, the Daunians appear to have remained reasonably unaffected by Greek and wider Mediterranean influence, suggesting the Iron Age inhabitants of the region retained a strong ethnic identity. With limited evidence of their social and religious life deriving from other sources, any hope of understanding these people properly relies on a correct reading of their stelae, which can only be achieved by firmly placing these monuments within an Adriatic milieu

Aesthetics · Analogy · Archaeology · Art · Context (archaeology · Ethnic group · Ethnography · Identity (music · Interpretation (philosophy · Linguistics · Reading (process · Sociology · Ancient and Medieval Archaeology Studies · Anthropology · Classical Antiquity Studies · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · History · Philosophy · Tattoo and Body Piercing Complications

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