The Etruscans The Etruscans were an enigmatic race that populated much of Italy between the rivers Po and Tiber. The Etruscans were seen as a strange, different people in antiquity and had little or no similarities in culture or traditions with there neighbours. Historians believe that the Etruscan civilization was established between the tenth and eleventh century BC. There has been evidence from archaeological digs that the Etruscans were living in Italy from at least the time of the Iron Age and it is also believed that the Etruscans ended up laying the foundation of Rome. However most historians are still uncertain about the origin of the Etruscan development and culture. Of the well-known Etruscan cities, the majority are virtually unexplored, and some of them are now buried underneath new towns that arose before the archaeologists could find out where these cities were. Others have been found by accident and had only a brief and limited excavation time. There were seven major centres in the Etruscan territory. They were: Tarquinii, Caere, Vulci, Vetulonia, Volaterrae, Clusium and Veii. Tarquinii was the first Etruscan centre to respond to an external desire for its metals by completing the process of urbanization. It was positioned on the southwest tip of the territory. It was surrounded by land on three sides, and water on the other. It controlled much of the mining in Etruria and was one of the major port centres for the empires naval ships. Caere was strategically located at the junction of the coastal plains and the hills, and history suggests that it may have also had access to the mines of Tarquinii. The people of Caere were very strong on the sea. They were very involved in importing ... ... middle of paper ... ...ennium. Fifteen hundred years after the decline of the gifted Etruscans and the place they lived the Renaissance started and another great era began. Bibliography: Bibliography 1) Bloch, Raymond. The Etruscans, New York, Fredrick A. Praeger, Inc. Publishers, 1958. 2) Bonfante, Larissa. Etruscan Life and Afterlife, Detroit, Wayne State University Press, 1986. 3) Grant, Michael. The Etruscans, New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1980 4) Johnstone, M.A.. Etruria Past and Present, London, Methuen & Co. Ltd., 1930 5) Keller, Werner. The Etruscans, New York, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1974 6) Strong, Donald. The Early Etruscans, New York, G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1968 7)Vaughan, Agnes Carr. Those Mysterious Etruscans, New York, Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1964 8) Wellard, J. The Search For The Etruscans, New York, Saturday Rev
The two cities, Tiryns and Mycenae, were both built in the Mycenaean Period, and became the two greatest cities of Mycenaean Greece. They became cultural epicentres for the Greeks because of the beautiful architecture and temples. The two cities lay very close to each other, not more than twenty kilometres away on the Argolid Plain in the North East of the Peloponnese. Tiryns lay on top of a hill, over looking the marshy Plain of Argolis and was situated three miles from the sea. This allowed Tiryns to have good farming, good trade, from the sea and road as the Argolid was a key trade route and an easily defendable city. Mycenae also lay on top of a naturally defendable hill, over looking a fresh water supply. To both sides of the city, lay large mountains, providing more fortifications for the city. Both cities' walls were surrounded by fertile soil suitable for farming, with good irrigation because of the slopes. The geographical specifics of the two cities are very alike, allowing both cities to become very prosperous through farming and trade. This is what allowed the two cities to develop into the two greatest cities of Mycenaean times.
“The Barbeau archives at the Canadian Museum of Civilization: some current research problems” Anthropologica 43(2): 191. Accessed November 2004 on ProQuest http://proquest.umi.com/. ProQuest document ID: 357968991
ed. Rostand, Edmond. The "Rostand, Edmond The New Encyclopedia Britannica. 22nd ed. of the book. 1994.
There were buildings found with complex drainage systems and wide, paved streets, perfect for merchants, show sophistication unlike anything else from that time. The city was well planned and organized, and the size of some of the buildings indicate that they may have been used for religious or administrative purposes. The architecture is similar to that found on Crete, which is evidence of cultural diffusion between the two places, and their possible influence on each other. Crete-like architecture shows a trade route and influence from Crete, which means historians can find more connections between the Minoans on Crete and the Minoans in Akrotiri, which we would have not gained otherwise. From the buried city at the Akrotiri excavation site, we gained so much information about life in the Bronze Age, especially about their society and
"The Ecole Initiative: The Eleusinian Mysteries." The Ecole Initiative: The Eleusinian Mysteries. N.p., 01 Nov. 2007. Web. 04 Dec. 2013.
The description of the Axumite port of Adulis in the document “Periplus of The Erythraen Sea”, provides an idea of the influence and importance that Axum had on the rest of the World. This port allowed the Roman Empire to tap into many exotic product from India and the African interior that were not accessible in earlier times. The author describes the many exotic imports and exports that arrive, and
During the 1st century BC, Italy is under a single power, Rome, and it will remain until the 5th century AD. Around 700 BC, the majority of the tribes in Italy is relatively recent arrivals, either by land from the north or by sea across the Adriatic.(Gascoigne) They
classes them with 'barbarians'. 'Tuscan' to the Romans of later date frequently meant the same as did 'Italic' in
If, gentlemen of the jury, you will turn over in your minds the question what is the difference between being a slave and being a free man, you will find that the biggest difference is that the body of a slave is made responsible for all his misdeeds, whereas corporal punishment is the last penalty to inflict on a free man.
Mayans The Mayans believe that Mother Earth is a gigantic monster. It was an alligator, toad, and turtle combined. Above her was a sky with a layer for each planet and spheres of movement for the sun and the moon. Below her was the underworld where heavenly bodies passed when out of sight.
after the end of the Roman world, this level of sophistication is not seen again until perhaps the fourteenth century, some 800 years later” (Ward-Perkins, 88). The production of pottery made by the Romans was a phenomenon. Ward-Perkins pointed out before the fall of Rome, Roman pottery was made in excellent quality and in massive quantities that it spread out throughout the Mediterranean world,and regardless of the location it was transported and traded everywhere throughout the empire and people of differing social class were able to afford it because of its production. The decline of pottery being made was only the start of the deteriorating empire.
Dr. De Giorgi spoke on Cosa from its founding onward, especially focusing on the colony’s curious position and restricted sources of fresh water. Cosa was a Roman colony established in 273 BCE, and Rome actually made a new city, rather than take over a preexisting Italic town like they did in Pompeii and Herculaneum. Cosa was never truly prosperous and life must have been tough. Around 70BCE a threat, possibly pirates, caused many to leave and some building to stop being used eventually to be reoccupied years later. Chiefly, the lack of a fresh water source in the city, excluding a small spring near the port far off, probably made the largest contribution to the difficulty of life for the small, country town. Dr. De Giorgi then focused on
Damrosch, David, and David Pike. The Longman Anthology of World Literature. The Ancient World. Volume A. Second Edition. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2009. Pgs. .656-691. Print.
Boëthius, A., Ling, R., & Rasmussen, T. (1978). Etruscan and early Roman architecture. New Haven: Yale University Press.