Republican Army

[Mitra]

Normally grave stones show only a single spear or javelin.

True, but this make suspect of symbolism's form the use of five lancea in right hand in two lanciarii images where one or two is one hand is normal,
like this:

http://www.romanarmy.com/cms/component/ ... Itemid,94/
http://www.romanarmy.com/cms/component/ ... Itemid,94/
http://www.romanarmy.com/cms/component/ ... Itemid,94/

Having a bundle a javelins is in litarary sources an indication of being light infantry.

at example?

The first Roman histories were written in Greek by Q. Fabius Pictor and L. Cincius Alimentus. Both dealt mainly with the
.....

THe annales maximi are true of II century but are the compilation of tabulae Pontificum which reported continue datas after the gallic invasion,they reported synthetic information on military campaign and embassy. THis with the other souces of previous post are the sources Fabius Pictor have for old roman history like the other annalists after him (a part from oral tradition). The consulate has been reestablished in IV century after about a century, so the old name of praetor are not actual for the rebuild of annales before Allia.

But in prima deca Livus use only little of Pictor and Alimentus, the principale annalist is probably Tuberone (usually Livy use a principal source and use the others for correction and append).

I agree the annalist is not the best form of history, for the events or datas but the research of anachronisms in battles is plausile before the IV century when the major part of tabulae anterior the Allia has been rebuild a posteriori. So for the time of passage between the phalanx and the maniple we are cover for the terminology.
The prima deca is normally considerated the most archaic and poetic of Livy (where in latin the poetic bear for the archaic style), so a battle narration cannot be sure for the reconstruction but the word's choice isn't casual.