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.