The Etruscan civilization was rich in local and interregional trade. Its exchange networks were vital in establishing relationships with other societies, importing exotic materials and goods, as well as disseminating and assimilating information. However, there is little understanding of the participation of smaller inland settlements in the act of exchange. This research answers questions pertaining to the purpose of trade within these self-sustaining communities, the reliability of identifying geographic locations of the clay used in ancient ceramics through the use of non-destructive X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry without sampling current regional clay sources, and the materiality of the ceramics being exchanged in order to establish major forms of production for each settlement. The analyses of trace elements contained within the ceramic materials previously excavated from two remote Etruscan sites (La Piana and Cetamura) can provide a greater understanding of both the trade practices of the Etruscan culture and the reliability of the sourcing methods. Over 100 ceramics ranging from storage containers, bricks and roofing tiles, amphorae, loom weights, and tableware (including red and black gloss) from Cetamura and La Piana were selected to represent a sample base for local and non-local crafted ceramics. The artifacts were analyzed non-destructively using a Bruker Tracer III-SD portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (pXRF), which has been shown to be highly successful in other archaeological studies. Six trace elements (rubidium, strontium, yttrium, zirconium, niobium and thorium) of each artifact were recorded and analyzed using principal component analysis to create a comparable data set. The results confirm that while these Etruscan settlements were self-sustaining, they were still participating in long-distance exchanges.

The Corsican Bronze Age is characterized by the erection of massive stone towers, the torre, and of stone enclosures, the casteddi. While the role of these structures is still debated, they have generally been interpreted as the sign of a hierarchical society, pervaded by martial values and fragmented into competing antagonistic groups. After several centuries of stability, a sharp demographic decline occurred at the end of the Middle Bronze Age. ca. 1350 and 1200 BC. In contrast, the Final Bronze Age, between 1200 and 950 BC, is a period of continuous expansion, characterized by the appearance of new forms of cultural expression, which included the erection of armed menhirs, the development of open villages, and the manufacture of a new type of ceramic production, manifestly inspired by foreign models. The aim of this work is to improve our understanding of the social dynamics at work during the Final Bronze Age through the study of the mobility of the ceramics within a systemic theoretical framework. Another goal is to further our understanding of the function of the fine ware during this period. A portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (pXRF) was used on 321 ceramic artifacts from six different sites to assess the extent of the exchanges taking place between six sites, located both on the inner plateaus and the coastal plains. Ceramics made from non-local clay material are present at five out of six sites, which shows that economic exchanges regularly took place between different communities. Except for one site, there is no association between a specific clay material and a type of ware. These results suggest that Final Bronze Age Corsican society should be considered as largely open to external influences.

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