Daunian society is not well understood (chapter 2). The Daunians came late to literacy and did not typically depict figures upon their pottery or in wall paintings; they produced only a minimal number of figurines and even fewer architectural sculptures. The stelae provide the vast majority of Daunian self-representation we have of this period; it is of paramount importance that in the first instance they be considered in close reference to one another rather than in reference to evidence, iconographic or material, from any other region or culture. They must first be viewed through a Daunian lens, however cloudy that may be, before allowing data from other societies to aid in interpretation.
To facilitate analyses, a typology has been constructed for each individual aspect of the stelae (fabric design, hem construction, fibula type, scene type, and so on) and logged into a purpose-built database. The database has been designed not as a catalogue per se, but as a tool to capture and break down each stele into a set of standardized, regulated parts so that overall trends and discrepancies can be detected in a systematic and scientific fashion by way of targeted searches. This allows for the objective identification and exploration of patterns and associations. Each attribute/motif can be looked at in relation to other examples in its class, or in relation to different attributes/motifs, and each stele and stele fragment in relation to the entire corpus (chapters 5–10).
Once significant patterns (and anomalies) are identified, parallels in the material record are sought, from both Daunia and her neighbors, to help fix the stelae in time and place, to track cultural interactions, and to explicate meaning. Particular attention is paid to contemporary societies that the Daunians were in contact with: the “Illyrian” tribes of the Balkans, the Etruscans, the Picenians, Messapians, and Peucetians, the Lucanians and the Samnites, as well as the Greek migrants of Magna Grecia. Actual physical counterparts to the objects are investigated (often sourced from burial assemblages) and also any relevant iconographic representations, including later images of indigeni on South Italian vase painting, for which it can be argued there was a reasonable degree of direct continuity regarding certain elements of dress and custom. At times it is possible to draw on ancient literary sources, but as the Daunians themselves were preliterate and no contemporary texts deal directly with them, this is carried out with necessary caution. Lastly, anthropological analogy is on occasion utilized, often in the face of an absence of comparative archaeological data. This is delicate methodological territory. However, if applied with respect to cross-cultural norms and a demonstrable “direct historical” link between the archaeological and ethnographic records, the results can be of genuine worth (Hodder 1982:11–27). The approach has yielded valuable results, especially when dealing with depictions of biologically perishable materials.
This particular course of action assumes that the motifs on the stelae reflect the contemporary material culture in a relatively literal way and that there existed at the time a Mediterranean-wide koiné that is comparable enough that associations can be drawn between different types and traditions of representation and material output. Furthermore, the study is underpinned by a tacit belief that there exist certain universals of human behavior that can manifest themselves in similar ways across a range of cultures.
Following this methodology, which is primarily internal and seeks external clarification only after patterns have been observed, an accurate overall understanding of the stelae can be built up. Their morphology, development, and distribution can be better comprehended, and their sociocultural significance properly ascertained. Viewed alongside the rest of the extant Daunian material culture, the stelae truly are remarkable. They should not, however, for lack of contexts and more fulsome information on the Iron Age Daunians, be massaged to fit into what we know of other Archaic Italian societies. For the mute stones to speak and give a proper voice to their makers, they must be allowed to form their own context and to argue their own case.