Review of The Etruscan World, ed. by Jean MacIntosh Turfa

Rasenna: Journal of the Center for Etruscan Studies Volume 4 | Issue 1 Article 2 2014 Review of The Etruscan World, ed. by Jean MacIntosh Turfa Theresa Huntsman Harvard Art Museums, Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/rasenna Recommended Citation Huntsman, Theresa (2014) "Review of The Etruscan World, ed. by Jean MacIntosh Turfa," Rasenna: Journal of the Center for Etruscan Studies: Vol. 4: Iss. 1, Article 2. Available at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/rasenna/vol4/iss1/2 This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the CES Electronic Resources at ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Rasenna: Journal of the Center for Etruscan Studies by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact . The  Etruscan  World,  ed.  by  JEAN  MACINTOSH  TURFA.  London  and  New  York:  Routledge,   2013.  ISBN:  978-‐0-‐415-‐67308;  1167  pages;  727  illustrations.                          Reviewed  by  THERESA  HUNTSMAN,  Harvard  University  Art  Museums     In   the   Introduction   to   this   impressive   volume,   Turfa   states   that   the   goal   of   The   Etruscan   World   is   not   “to   replace   the   major   recent   works   in   English   on   Etruscan   culture,  but  rather  to  supplement  and  augment  them  with  in-‐depth  studies  of  special   fields,   and   to   present   the   very   latest   discoveries   and   analyses”   (2).   And   in   this   mission,  she  succeeds  admirably.     Developing   a   framework   for   63   topical   essays   by   62   different   contributors   is   no   easy  task.  The  book  is  organized  into  eight  thematic  sections,  yet  each  contribution  is   discrete  and  could  stand  alone  as  an  article.  A  bibliography  is  included  at  the  end  of   each   essay,   and   there   is   a   master   index   covering   the   entire   volume.   Almost   all   essays   are  illustrated  in  black  and  white.     I.  Environment,  Background,  and  the  Study  of  Etruscan  Culture   Section  I  “sets  the  stage”  for  Etruscan  studies,  from  the  earliest  theories  to  the   latest  scientific  analysis.  Wiman  addresses  Etruria’s  physical  environment  in  terms  of   geography,   geology,   and   natural   resources   alongside   ancient   and   early   modern   testimony  and  paleobotanical  studies.  Bagnasco  Gianni  and  Briquel  both  discuss  the   historiography   of   theories   surrounding   Etruscan   origins,   from   Herodotus   to   Pallottino   and   beyond.   Finally,   a   key   recent   contribution   to   answering   these   questions  is  Kron’s  essay  on  demography  and  the  physical  anthropological  study  of   Etruscan  osteological  remains  and  DNA  analysis.     II.  The  Historical  Development  of  Etruria   The   application   of   Greek   chronological-‐artistic   time   periods   to   the   Etruscan   world   is   a   convention   long-‐used   but   difficult   to   resolve,   and   this   section   outlines   that   difficulty  in  the  selection  of  topics.  Bartoloni’s  discussion  of  Villanovan  culture  (with  a   well-‐organized   bibliography)   is   followed   by   Sannibale’s   outline   of   the   Orientalizing   phenomenon  through  funerary  art  and  iconography.  Leighton’s  contribution,  a  social   complexity  survey  of  urbanization  over  five  centuries,  is  quite  short  and  shies  away   from   Greek   periodization.   Then   there   is   a   gap   in   the   development,   which   is   where   Etruscan  scholarship  has  a  difficult  time  rectifying  the  transition  between  Archaic  and   Hellenistic  periods.  A  “Classical”  period  of  artistic  development  does  not  really  hold   in   Etruria   and   is   avoided   here.   Jolivet’s   and   Nielsen’s   contributions   on   the   “Romanization”   of   Etruria,   beginning   in   the   fourth   century   BCE,   start   with   the   political  and  historical  framework  of  events  and  continue  illustrating  the  changes  via   2   Review  of  The  Etruscan  World   funerary  art,  specifically  cremation  urns  of  Volterra  as  “the  last  Etruscans”  before  full   Roman  political  and  cultural  domination.     III.  Etruscans  and  Their  Neighbors   Eight   different   contributions   address   Etruscan   interactions   with   other   cultural   groups,   beginning   with   Lo   Schiavo’s   well-‐organized   summary   of   cultures   in   the   Western  Mediterranean,  both  native  and  foreign,  and  early  trade  connections.  This,   and   the   next   three   contributions   (Lo   Schiavo   and   Milletti;   D’Oriano   and   Sanciu;   Milletti)   focus   on   native   cultures   and   Phoenicians/Punic   people   of   Sardinia   and   Corsica.  Additionally,  Gran-‐Aymerich’s  essay  on  interactions  with  Iberia,  Massalia,  and   Gaul   focuses   on   Etruscan   interactions   with   foreign   cultures   via   trade.   While   Sassatelli/Govi  and  Cuozzo  discuss  the  northern  Etruscan  settlements  of  the  Po  and   the   southern   settlements   of   Campania,   respectively,   the   only   essay   that   truly   deals   with  Etruscan  neighbors  on  the  Italian  peninsula  is  that  of  De  Lucia  Brolli  and  Tabolli   on  the  Faliscans.  A  notable  gap  here  is  Etruscan-‐Oscan  interaction  (in  fact,  the  Oscans   are  not  indexed  in  this  volume),  as  well  as  Etruscan-‐Latin  interaction.  In  the  case  of   the  latter,  however,  these  interactions  are  discussed  at  length  in  other  sections.     IV.  Etruscan  Society  and  Economy   Many   still   believe   that   the   Etruscan   language   is   nearly (...truncated)