Etruscans at the Crossroads: The Lost Cities of Tuscany

Dr. Rachel Horner Brackett, visiting assistant professor of sociology and anthropology, will present will present a talk on the Etruscans, drawing on her experience studying Etruscan archaeology through a National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship in the summer of 2015.

Description: Who were the Etruscans? Between approximately 800 BCE - 510 BCE, a distinctly Etruscan culture dominated what is now central Italy. Renowned for their skills in metalsmithing, impasto and bucchero pottery, and religious divination, the Etruscans grew a rich trade network spanning the Mediterranean. Their mythology, commerce, and government directly influenced the rise of the Romans — and thus the rise of Western civilization. However, few of their written records remain, and the Etruscans typically fall into the footnotes of history.
 
In this lecture, Dr. Brackett will present archeological evidence from Etruscan necropolises — literal cities of the dead built to mirror cities for the living. She also will connect the legacy of ancient Etruscans to her ethnographic work in modern Tuscany.