The Archaeology of Etruscan Society

A significant interpretation of Etruscan material culture which should transform our understanding of Etruscan society.

Vedia Izzet (Author)

9780521858779, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 13 December 2007

334 pages
24.4 x 17 x 1.9 cm, 0.83 kg

The late sixth century was a period of considerable change in Etruria; this change is traditionally seen as the adoption of superior models from Greece. In a re-alignment of agency, this book examines a wide range of Etruscan material culture - mirrors, tombs, sanctuaries, houses and cities - in order to demonstrate the importance of local concerns in the formation of Etruscan material culture. Drawing on theoretical developments, the book emphasises the deliberate nature of the smallest of changes in material culture form, and develops the concept of surface as a unifying key to understanding the changes in the ways Etruscans represented themselves in life and death. This concept allows a uniquely holistic approach to the archaeology of Etruscan society and has the potential for other archaeological investigations. The book will interest all scholars and students of classical archaeology.

Introduction
1. Models of change in Etruria
2. Etruscan mirrors: reflections on personal and gender identity
3. Funerary architecture: the living and the dead
4. Sanctuaries: the sacred and the profane
5. Domestic architecture: public and private
6. Urban form and the concept of the city
7. Making Etruscan society: culture contact and (material) culture change.

Subject Areas: Classical Greek & Roman archaeology [HDDK]