E T R U S C A N S

1
E T R U S C A N S

• Molly CarlsonGeology 270APRIL 21, 2005

2
H I S T O R Y

• Disputed origins either from West Asia,
  Mediterranean and surrounding civilizations or
  were people indigenous to Ancient Italy
  
• Settled Tuscany and Umbria c.900 and 800 BC
• The height of Etruscan power and money came
  around 550 B.C
  
• Brought Urbanization to Italy
• Mysterious civilization, most knowledge of
  Etruscans stems from funerary pieces or accounts
  by contemporary ancient civilizations

"The Orator" - A second century BCE life-size
representation of Aulus Metellus, magistrate and
Master of the Etruscan Language.
3
T E R R I T O R Y

• The territory spanned over north-eastern Italy
  between the Appenine mountain range and the
  Tyrrhenian Sea, and from the Arno river in the
  north to the Tiber river towards the center of
  the Italian peninsula
• On the Tiber river is the village of Latins,
  which later became Rome
  
• League of 12 City-States
• Arrezo
• Cisra
• Clevsin
• Curtun
• Pupluna
• Veii
• Tarchna
• Vetluna
• Felathri
• Velzna
• Velch

http//www.mysteriousetruscans.com/cities.html
4
T R A D E

• Sea TradeEvidence of trade throughout the
  MediterraneanTreaty with Carthage is only
  surviving treaty, but likely one of many.
  
• Each city state renowned for specific products
• Etrurias most distinctive products were sought
  throughout the Mediterranean world. Fine vases,
  metal utensils, arms and armor, wine, grain and
  timber were exchanged for Baltic amber, Gaulish
  slaves, Athenian olive oil, Corinthian and
  Rhodian perfumes, or glass, faience, and ivories
  from Phoenicia, Syria, or Egypt.

5
T R A D E

• Boats
• Storage

http//www.mysteriousetruscans.com/sea.htmlnaval
http//www.mysteriousetruscans.com/art/pottery.htm
lamphora
6
E T R U S C A N L I F E

• Religion
• Polytheistic beliefs and ritualistic
  practicesBelief in predestinationAll of
  nature and occurences in life represented the
  divine will.Ancient Romans adopted beliefs,
  but religion lost with onset of
  Christianity Arnobius, one of the first
  Christian apologists, living around 300CE, wrote,
  "Etruria is the originator and mother of all
  superstition"
• Deities
• Similar to Roman and Greek gods

http//www.utexas.edu/courses/romanciv/romancivima
ges02/liver.jpg
http//www.museum.upenn.edu/new/worlds_intertwined
/etruscan/religion.shtml
7
E T R U S C A N L I F E

• Language
• Etruscans had a written language.
• Partially decipherable, many different dialects
  and interpretations.
  
• Most examples we find now are funerary
  inscriptions in tombs or identification of
  ownership on common place items (mirrors,
  urns)Unlike Greek and Latin, Etruscan, the
  third great ancient language of culture in Italy,
  does not survive in any great literary works. An
  Etruscan religious literature did exist and
  evidence suggests that there was a body of
  historical literature and drama as well. There
  is also evidence to suggest music and plays were
  written in form.

8
E T R U S C A N A R T

• Pottery
• Geometric c.1000 to 700 BC
• Orientalization Phase c. 700 BC
• Black and Red Figure C. 630-540 BC
• Bucchero 7th and early 5th century BCE.
• Characteristically, the ware is black, sometimes
  gray, and often shiny from polishing. Achieved
  by firing in an atmosphere charged with carbon
  monoxide instead of oxygen

9
E T R U S C A N A R T

• Bronzes
• Artists remain unknown
• First true masters of bronze works
• Praised by Greek and Roman writers, techniques
  adopted.
  

http//www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/h
utchinson/m0023712.html
10
E T R U S C A N A R T

• Bronzes

The Chimera of Arezzo
http//www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/Valentin/J
peg/fullcapitolinewolf.jpg
Capitoline She-wolf5th century B.C.E. Bronze.
Roma, Musei Capitolini, Archivio Fotografico dei
Musei Capitolini MC1181. 75 cm.
Brothers Romulus and Remus, being suckled by the
wolf, were the legendary founders of Rome. They
took part in the first Roman celebration of the
Lupercalia, circa 753 B.C.E. Roma, Musei Capitoli
ni, Archivio Fotografico dei Musei Capitolini
Head of young Man Cervereri, 3rd Cent BCE
http//www.mysteriousetruscans.com/art/bronze.html
11
E T R U S C A N A R T

• Sculpture
• Sarcophagus adornment
• Terracotta sculptures of gods decorated temple
  roofs
  
• In-organic forms, Archaic Smile

Etruscan Terra Cotta Sarcophagus
520 BCE, Italian peninsula
12
E T R U S C A N A R T

• Frescoes
• Decorated walls of tombs.
• Light hearted celebratory scenes, celebrations of
  life.
  
• Suggest Etruscan involvement in the cult of
  Dionysus

Dancers and a harpist on an Etruscan fresco from
Tarquinia, Italy. This fresco was found on the
wall of a tomb and dates from c. 465 BC.
http//www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/h
utchinson/m0023712.html
Fishing Scene, Tomb of Hunting Fishing,
Tarquinia
http//www.mysteriousetruscans.com/art/fishing.jpg
13
E T R U S C A N A R T

• Jewelry
• Gold, Faience, Glass, Onyx, Carnelian
• Influences Greek, Orient, Celtic
• Greeks in Etruria began the practice of carving
  semi-precious stones
  
• Amulets, necklaces, mirrors, fibulas

http//www.mysteriousetruscans.com/art/jewels.html
14
A R C H I T E C T U R E

• Etruscan architecture looked quite different
  from the familiar stone temples and gleaming
  marble statuary of Greek architecture.
  Constrained by a lack of fine stone, Etruscans
  built their temples of wood, with terracotta
  roofs and ornaments. Today the wooden
  superstructures have almost entirely
  disintegrated. Only the stone foundations and the
  terracotta roofs and decorations remain.
  Fortunately, the size and types of terracottas
  can often tell us what the whole building looked
  like, and something of its history.

http//www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes/Arts/Architec/
AncientArchitectural/EtruscanArchitecture/Etruscan
Republican/EtruscanTemplebig.jpg
15
A R C H I T E C T U R E
16
U R B A N I Z A T I O N

• Engineering, underground water pipes, pressure
  boxes, floor heating, introduced the construction
  of arch to Italy
  
• Water Control, created clean water, prevention of
  rivers silting and clogging
  
• Extensive knowledge of hydraulics controlled
  floods and let agriculture prosper

17
U R B A N I Z A T I O N

• Use of Local Geology- Etruscans utilized the tufa
  layer of volcanic rock for both drainage and
  construction.

http//www.italyfarmhousesrental.com/etruscan/cerv
eteri.htm

• At Viterbo, where the remains of Etruscan Surina
  lie, the underlying rock is perforated by
  innumerable channels, devised to drain the
  ground. Their construction shows that the
  builders had an incredibly detailed knowledge of
  the local geology. Below the topsoil lie volcanic
  formations of tufa, and beneath that again, a
  deeply fissured layer.

Fig. 2 Etrusco-latin cuniculus on the side of a
hill near the via Torrevecchia on the outskirts
of Rome (Italy). The bushes growing around the
opening of the shaft are visible. The outlet of
this cuniculus is on the left hand side of the
photograph in correspondence with a curve in the
valley.
http//www.francoravelli.it/cunicoli/english/cunic
uli201987/1987.htm
18
T H E A F T E R L I F E

• Tomb sites are most of the archeological evidence
  of the culture
  
• The aristocracy were buried in rich tombs or
  necropolises next to cities such as Tarquinia,
  Caere, Vulci and Veii.
  
• Burial Styles Organized into Periods
• Villanovan c. 9th-8th century BCE
• Orientalizing c.850-6th century BCE
• Archaic Period c. 6th-4th century BCE

Caere orCerveteri
http//www.utexas.edu/courses/romanciv/romancivima
ges02/daytwocaptions.html
19
T H E A F T E R L I F E

• The Villanovan tombs dead are cremated and
  buried in a biconical urn, each covered by an
  inverted, one-handled bowl or a helmet.
  
• Orientalizing Period Tombs bodies are buried and
  not cremated. Increasing wealth and metallurgy is
  apparent, the dead are buried with sheet bronze
  objects, limestone slabs inscribed.
• Archaic Period Tombs rock cut tombs are created.
  The dome structures create great necropolises.
  The interiors are decorated with frescoes.
  

http//xenohistorian.faithweb.com/europe/villanova
n_biconical_urn.jpg
20
T H E A F T E R L I F E

http//www.italyfarmhousesrental.com/etruscan/cerv
eteri.htm
http//www.maghar.hu/etruszk/kep/CerveteriBanditac
chiaKurgE1n.jpg
21
T H E A F T E R L I F E

• Inside the Tombs

http//www.dialectus.com/jaimedejaraizyrosamariale
ncero/01estenoesmas/cerveteri-interiordeuntumulo.j
pg
http//www.pierreci.it/warehouse/images/necropoli_
cerveteri_tomba_rilievi.jpg
22
T H E A F T E R L I F E

• Funerary Games

The Tomb of the Jugglers Tomba Dei Giocolieri
end of the 5th or beginning of the 6th Century BCE
The juggler tosses some disks into the vase
brought by the woman (the scene probably
represents a type of funerary game). The woman
(juggler's assistant) has a see-through dress.
Nearby is the figure of an flute player.
23
T H E A F T E R L I F E

• Funerary Games

The Tomb of The Augurs Tomba Dei Augures Per
iod 530 - 480 BCE

To the center of the wall two wrestlers are
depicted, possibly part of the funerary games.
The next scene is also probably part of the
funerary games, and depicts a masked figure
holding a rope in his hand. The rope is attached
to the collar of a dog. When the Phersu (masked
person) pulls on the rope, a nail on the dog's
collar bites into its neck, enraging the animal
and causing it to attack a tethered man, possibly
a condemned criminal. Up until recently the names
of the characters could be read.
24

• Etruscans responsible for the civilization and
  foundation of the city of Rome and many other
  Mediterranean cities.
  
• Contributed engineering, technology, and pottery
  techniques to entire Mediterranean.
  
• Learn about them through the impact they had on
  other societies.

Nearly the whole of Italy was once under
Etruscan Rule. - Cato 2nd Century BCE
25
Back to Home Page