The prehistory of Italy began in the Paleolithic period, when species of Homo inhabited the Italian territory for the first time, and ended in the Iron Age, when the first written records appeared in Italy.
Venere di Chiozza, Upper Paleolithic
Serra d'Alto culture ceramic vessel, late 5th millennium BC
Gaudo culture pottery
Anthropomorphic stele from Lunigiana
Cardium pottery or Cardial ware is a Neolithic decorative style that gets its name from the imprinting of the clay with the heart-shaped shell of the Corculum cardissa, a member of the cockle family Cardiidae. These forms of pottery are in turn used to define the Neolithic culture which produced and spread them, commonly called the "Cardial culture".
Image: Vaso geminado con decoración impresa cardial
Image: Fragmento de cerámica impresa de pinta. Cova de l´Or
Image: Cerámica cardial. Museo Arqueológico Municipal de Alcoy 03
Image: Gran vaso con decoración impresa cardial