3200-1000 BC Copper and Bronze Ages

During this period people began to use copper and then bronze to make tools and weapons which had previously been made mainly from stone and wood. At first families lived together in small scattered settlements, but improved farming techniques and the production of more food led to population growth which in turn led to bigger and more numerous settlements.

By 3000 BC there were a variety of different cultures across Italy. In the north the Polada people lived in villages which were often beside lakes or bogs and built on stilts. The settlements of the Gaudo people of Campania are not well-known, but evidence for their burial practices comes from rock-cut tombs. In Sardinia the Nuraghic culture with its huge stone buildings and distinctive products flourished.

Goods found in burials include high quality metal weapons and jewellery, and Beaker-ware pottery which was widespread throughout western Europe. Towards the end of the Bronze Age the rapid spread of the Urnfield culture south and west from central Europe brought with it the new practice of cremation burials. Iron technology was introduced by colonisers from the Greek world who settled in southern Italy in the 8th century BC.