The original inhabitants of Sicily are three defined groups of the ancient peoples of Italy, the most prominent and by far the earliest of which are the Sicani, who according to Thucydides arrived from the Iberian Peninsula (perhaps Catalonia).

Important historical evidence has been discovered in the form of cave drawings by the Sicani, dated from the end of the Pleistocene epoch, around 8000 BCE.

The arrival of the first humans is correlated with extinction of dwarf hippos and dwarf elephants.

In ancient literature, the Sicani are distinguished from the later Elymi of western Sicily and the Siculi of eastern Sicily.

The small communities of hunters in Italy and Sicily have by 5000 BCE been replaced by agricultural settlements, with some stock breeding and widespread use of stone implements and pottery.

A new wave of immigration to Malta from Sicily beginning in about 4100 BCE is the foundation of the Zebbug and Mgarr phases, and eventually the Ggantija phase, of Maltese temple builders.

Complex urban settlements become increasingly evident in Sicily from around 1300 BCE.

Mediterranean Southwest Europe (1197–1054 BCE):

Cultural Diversification, Urbanization, and Iron Age Transitions

Between 1197 and 1054 BCE, Mediterranean Southwest Europe—including Andorra, Italy, the Western Mediterranean Islands (except Corsica), and southwestern Spain—experiences notable diversification and profound cultural shifts as regional variations intensify and new peoples introduce significant technological and social innovations.

Villanovan Culture: Dawn of the Iron Age

The introduction of iron around 1100 BCE by the Villanovan culture, the earliest Iron Age society in central and northern Italy, marks a pivotal transition from the Bronze Age Terramare culture. Originating possibly from the Eastern Alps, the Villanovans demonstrate strong cultural links to the contemporaneous Hallstatt culture. Known for their distinct double-cone-shaped pottery urns, the Villanovans practice cremation, signaling a significant shift in burial customs.

Villanovan settlements notably center in the Po River valley and Etruria, especially around the future Etruscan heartland near Bologna, with additional presence in Emilia Romagna, Tuscany, and Lazio.

The Etruscan Question: Origins and Identity

Debates over the origins of the Etruscan civilization highlight two main hypotheses: local development from the Villanovan culture and external colonization from Anatolia. Genetic studies link modern Tuscans with Anatolian populations, suggesting possible migrations or extensive trade connections. Etruscan linguistic ties to Rhaetic and Lemnian further illustrate complex intercultural exchanges during this period.

Legendary Foundations: Aeneas and Alba Longa

Mythologically, this era sees the purported founding of Alba Longa around 1152 BCE by Ascanius, son of the Trojan hero Aeneas, as recounted by Virgil's Aeneid. Although legendary, archaeological evidence from the Alban Hillsregion indicates settlements consolidating into more organized communities by this time, reflecting broader social developments in central Italy.

Phoenician Expansion: Establishment of Gadir

Phoenician traders significantly impact Iberia by establishing Gadir (modern-day Cádiz), traditionally founded in 1104 BCE. Initially serving as a seasonal trading post, Gadir soon becomes an essential hub for commerce, connecting the western Mediterranean with Tartessos, an influential, albeit elusive, city-state.

Migration and Settlement in Southern Italy and Sicily

Around the eleventh century BCE, the arrival of the Oenotrians from Greece initiates important migratory movements. Their settlement in southern Italy is contemporaneous with the displacement of the indigenous Elymians, who migrate to western Sicily. The Elymians, possibly linked to Anatolian or Sea Peoples migrations, intermix with the native Sicanians, leading to distinct cultural amalgamations.

Sicily: Arrival of the Sicels

The Sicels (Siculi), Italic peoples originally from central Italy, arrive in Sicily by the twelfth century BCE, pushing the Sicanians westward and reshaping the island’s demographic landscape. Introducing iron-working techniques and domesticated horses, the Sicels significantly influence local economic and cultural practices, leaving archaeological evidence such as the extensive necropolis at Pantalica near Syracuse.

Legacy of the Age

The period from 1197 to 1054 BCE establishes crucial precedents for later historical developments, marked by complex cultural interactions, technological advancements, and significant demographic shifts. This dynamic era sets the stage for Mediterranean Southwest Europe's subsequent historical trajectory into increasingly sophisticated urban civilizations.

The Oenotrians arrive in southern Italy at the beginning of the Iron Age (eleventh century BCE) from Greece through the Strait of Otranto together with other people of the same ethnic group.

According to Antoninus Liberalis, their arrival triggered the migration of the Elymians to Sicily.

The Elymians are the next tribe to migrate to join the Sicanians on Sicily.

Although there is no evidence of any wars between the tribes, when the Elymians settle in the northwest corner of the island, the Sicanians move across eastwards.

The precise origins of the Elymians are unknown, though it has been suggested (based on recent archaeological finds) that they may have been migrants from Anatolia to Sicily.

They are not necessarily bearers of an Anatolian language, since the west of Anatolia at this time is inhabited by non-Indo-European tribes, but rather may belong to Peoples of the Sea.

The Greeks identified them as descendants of the Trojans; Thucydides claimed that their ancestors had been refugees from Troy.

When the Achaeans destroyed the city at the end of the Trojan War, a group of Trojans were said to have escaped and, after a long journey across the Mediterranean Sea, landed in Sicily.

They intermarried with the native Sicani to establish a new people, the Elymians.

Virgil describes them as having been led to Sicily by the hero Acestes.

Mythology apart, little that is definite is known about the identity and culture of the Elymians.

They are indistinguishable from their Sicani neighbors in the archaeological record of the early Iron Age (from about 1000 BCE to about 500 BCE).

Thereafter they appear to have adopted many aspects of the culture of the Greek colonists of Sicily, erecting the remarkable temple at Segesta and using the Greek alphabet to write their own language.

No one has yet succeeded in deciphering the Elymian language.

The Siculi or Sicels (from which the island of Sicily gets its name) are the latest of the three indigenous peoples to arrive on this land.

They are related to other Italic peoples of southern Italy, such as the Italoi of Calabria, the Oenotrians, Chones, and Leuterni (or Leutarni), the Opicans, and the Ausones.

Thought to originally have been Ligures from Liguria, the Sicels arrive from mainland Italy in the twelfth century BCE, forcing the Sicanians to move back across Sicily, settling in the middle of the island.

Other minor italic groups who settle in Sicily are the Ausones (Aeolian Islands, Milazzo), an Italic tribe, and the Morgetes (Morgantina), an Oenotrian tribe.

Many studies of genetic records show that inhabitants of various parts of the Mediterranean Basin mixed with the oldest inhabitants of Sicily; among these are Egyptians, Phoenicians, and Iberians.

Archaeological excavation has shown that the Sicels had received some Mycenaean influence.

The Sicels introduce the use of iron into Bronze Age Sicily and bring the domesticated horse.

The Sicel necropolis of Pantalica, near Syracuse, is the best known, but a Sicel necropolis has also been found at Noto; their elite tombs "a forno" or "oven-shaped" take the form of beehives.

Thucydides and other classical writers were aware of the traditions according to which the Sicels had once lived in Central Italy, east and even north of Rome.

Thence they were dislodged by Umbrian and Sabine tribes, and finally crossed into Sicily.

Their social organization appears to have been tribal, their economy agricultural.

According to Diodorus Siculus, after a series of conflicts with the Sicani, the river Salso was declared the boundary between their respective territories.

Among the populations of pre-Roman Italy, the most notable are the Etruscans who, starting from the eighth century BCE, create a refined civilization that largely influences Rome and the Latin world.

The origins of this non-Indo-European people, which first settles on the Tyrrhenian coast of central Italy and later expands to northern Italy (Emilia in particular) and Campania, are uncertain.

Other peoples living in northern Italy include the Ligurians (an Indo-European people who live in what is now Liguria, southern Piedmont and the southern French coast), the Lepontii, Insubres, Orobii and other Celtic tribes in Piedmont and Lombardy, the Veneti of north-eastern Italy.

In the peninsula, alongside the Etruscans, live numerous tribes, mostly of Indo-European origin: the Umbri in Umbria and northern Abruzzo, the Latins, who will create the Roman civilization, Sabellians, Falisci, Volsci and Aequi in the Latium; Piceni in the Marche and north-east Abruzzo; Samnites in southern Abruzzo, Molise and Campania; Daunians, Messapii and Peucetii (forming the Apulian or Iapygian confederation) in Apulia; Lucani and Bruttii in the southern tips of the peninsula.

In Sicily live the Sicels, Elymians and Sicani while Sardinia is still inhabited by the Nuragic peoples.

Later, other peoples will settle in the Italian territory, cohabiting with the previous inhabitants: new tribes of Celts in the north (Senones, Boii, Lingones etc.), the Greeks and the Phoenicians in the south and in part of Sicily and Sardinia.

Phoenicians had been early settlers before the Greeks in Sicily also; Palermo is a name of Phoenician origin.

Sicily’s strategic location at the center of the Mediterranean makes the island a crossroads of history, a pawn of conquest and empire, and a melting pot for the dozen or more ethnic groups whose warriors or merchants seek its shores.

Three peoples occupy Sicily at the coming of the Greeks: in the east are the Siculi, or Sicels, who have given their name to the island but are reputed to be latecomers from Italy; to the west of the Gelas River are the Sicani; and in the extreme west are the Elymians, a people to whom a Trojan origin had been assigned, with their chief centers at Segesta and at Eryx (Erice).

The Siculi speak an Indo-European language; there are no remains of the languages of the other peoples.