The prehistory of Sicily goes from the appearance of man on the island, in the Paleolithic, to the introduction of writing by the Greeks, who arrived in 756 BC.
The Addaura Cave, on the north-eastern side of Monte Pellegrino, in Palermo, is actually a complex of three natural caves, in which bones, tools used for hunting and rock engravings adorning the walls have been found. The discovery of the Addaura graffiti is recent and was completely accidental: after the landing in Sicily and the arrival in Palermo in 1943, the Allies had used the caves to store ammunition and explosives. The accidental explosion of the arsenal at the end of the war caused the walls of the main cave to crumble and a rock diaphragm to collapse, bringing the graffiti to light. Since 1997 the Addaura caves have no longer been open to visitors, as the site was closed due to the danger of falling rocks.
In Sicily, some of the main examples of impressed or cardial ceramics have been found, decorated with raw impressions, obtained mainly with the shell of the Cardium genus, hence the name.
The arrival of the Sicans in Sicily, from the Iberian Peninsula, dates back to 3000 BC. Later, they were removed from the eastern part by the Siculi, settling only in the western part.
The Siculi, however, arrived in Sicily around the 15th century BC.
In 1100 BC, they built the fortified cities of Motyche, today's Modica, Hybla Heraia, today's Ragusa, Sicli, today's Scicli and Geretanum, the current municipality of Giarratana.
Among the most important cultural expressions, the following are worth mentioning:
the Culture of Castelluccio, dated between 2200 and 1800 BC, by others between 1800 and 1400 BC, identified by the locality of the same name between Noto and Syracuse; burials took place in rounded caves carved into the rock, with doors carved in relief with spiral symbols; it is present in the villages of south-eastern Sicily, Cava d'Ispica, Pachino, near Noto and Rosolini; in the surroundings of Ragusa, traces of mining activity have been found, tunnels dug with the use of basalt hammers which allowed the extraction and production of the highly sought-after flints;
the Thapsos Culture, evidenced by the findings of a large inhabited center on the Magnisi peninsula, between Augusta and Syracuse, called Thapsos by the Greeks; it flourished between 1500 and 1200 BC throughout Sicily, although the main centres, sometimes surrounded by fortification walls, were located along the coast; in the necropolises, the burials are characterized by large tombs dug into the rock; the homes, in small numbers, were made up of huts, mostly circular, delimited by stone walls; the economy was based on agriculture, pastoralism, hunting and fishing.
Sicily, before the arrival of the Greek colonizers in 756 BC, was inhabited by ancient peoples, Sicani, Elimi and Siculi. However, the presence on the island of a population called Morgeti is controversial.
The Sicans arrived in Sicily around 3000 BC and settled on much of the island. Subsequently, the area east of the Salso river was occupied by the Sicels, who supplanted them.
The few and fragmentary historical information that have come down to us on the Sicani come from the Greeks. Upon their arrival in Sicily, they found the Sicani in the west, the Sicels in the eastern part and the Elymians in the north-western part.
Almost all Greek and Latin historians agree on the Iberian origin of the Sicans.
Around the 12th century BC, a mixture of Aegean and, perhaps, Ligurian exiles, certainly not Greek, merged with the Sican settlements, giving rise to the Elymian people.
Thucydides and Plutarch report that the Elymians had fled from Troy after the destruction of the city.
Other sources speak, however, of a possible Anatolian origin. The main cities founded by the Elymians were Erix, Erice, which housed the religious center on Mount Erice; Entella, located in the Palermo hinterland; Iaitias, on a promontory overlooking today's San Giuseppe Iato; Egesta, today's Segesta, the city with the most relevant and tumultuous history.
The Siculi, belonging to an Indo-European people of Italic origin, reached Sicily around the 15th century BC.
Around 1000 BC, they pushed the Sican populations towards the southwestern part of the island.
Diodorus Siculus reports that the areas abandoned by the Sicans, following an eruption of Etna, were occupied by the Sicels coming from the Italian peninsula. After a series of conflicts, a territorial border was defined, the Salso river, which remained so until the arrival of the Greeks.
They founded the cities of Menai, Morgantina , Palikè , Pantalica .
Sikelòs (or Siculos ) was the supposed Sicilian king who gave his name to the Sicilian people, Sikeloi, and to Sicily itself, Sikelia .
The Phoenicians were based on the entire western coast and reserved the promontories on the sea and the adjacent islands for their trade with the Sicels.
After the landing of the Hellenes, they abandoned almost all the coasts and gathered near the Elymian allies, they maintained Mtw (Mozia), Kfr (Solunto) and Zyz (Panormo). Later, they founded Lilybaeum. Solunto, destroyed by the Greeks, was refounded with a Hellenistic layout, on a site distant from the original. The Phoenicians chose the sites for their cities based both on the proximity of their Elymian allies and on the brevity of the crossing between Carthage and Sicily.
In addition to the Phoenicians, the Sicans, the Sicels and the Elymians, historical tradition remembers the Morgeti population. The only important city of this population would be that of Morgantion whose founder would have been the eponymous hero Morgete.
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