AGRICULTURE AMONG THE ANCIENT ETRUSCANS

Great advances have been made in the systematic study of Etruscan agriculture now that direct methods of analysis have substantially augmented the indirect interpretation of texts and art historical records. Mediterranean polyculture (wheat, vine, and olive) and the principal animal domesticates of sheep, cattle, and pig were the basis of agricultural production. Sheep and goats were particularly important in the Final Bronze Age, ranging between 46 percent (Sorgenti della Nova) and 67 percent (Gubbio), falling to lower levels in the full Etruscan period (20 to 40 percent). Pigs were generally a small component of stock breeding in the Bronze Age (6 to 36 percent) with the particular exception of Sorgenti della Nova, where part of the site’s stock was 75 percent piglets. Pig consumption increased slightly in the full Etruscan period (4 to 46 percent), but it was only in the Roman period that pig consumption became dominant on some sites (around 80 percent). The role of cattle was much more varied.  Cattle consumption varied between 12 and 53 percent in the Final Bronze Age and between 13 and 82 percent in the full Etruscan period, reflecting different ecological contexts and specialization.  Hunting was practised at a very low level in the Bronze Age and was mainly confined to some wild boar and deer, with slightly higher frequency at one or two sites such as Vejano (16 percent), Luni sul Mignone (19 percent), and Pitigliano (24 percent). There was also some specialized working of horn and bone, although this is most noticeable at Frattesina strictly outside the Etruscan area in Northern Italy. In the early Iron Age, there was a higher frequency of wild animals in some sectors of Gran Carro (32 percent). In the full Etruscan period, wild animals appear to have been employed for ritual purposes at the San Giovenale Spring Building (60 percent) and perhaps for aristocratic hunting at Murlo. Iconographic sources and animal bones contribute to our picture of the importance of hunting for the Etruscans. Many Etruscan tomb paintings give an idealized picture of Etruscan hunting practices, as for example in the Tomb of Hunting and Fishing (circa 510 BC) at Tarquinia where there is a continuous panorama of the hunter and fisher and teeming wildlife. By comparison, studies of agriculture show that wild animals formed only a small part of rubbish deposits, except when subject to sacrifice (as at San Giovenale). There is some evidence of elite hunting at Murlo, but information on the animal bones has not yet been effectively published.
The chicken was an exotic import in the early Iron Age. The oldest evidence is from Latium (Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome, in the ninth century) and the Po Valley of northern Italy (eighth century BC). The earliest evidence in Etruria is images from wall paintings and bones from a tomb in Vulci and eggshells from braziers in Caere and Tarquinia from the sixth century BC. The early use thus appears to be ritualistic (there is further evidence from Pyrgi in the fourth century BC) and it is only from the third century BC that the animal enters the farmyard, as indicated by the more numerous finds of chicken bones at Populonia and Blera. The exception to this rule is among Etruscan sites of the Po Valley, where the chicken seems to be present from as early as the sixth century BC (San Claudio and Marzabotto) and the fifth century BC (Casale di Rivalta). Wheat and barley had been present since the Neolithic, but the dates of the introduction of domesticated vines and olives are more controversial. Domesticated vines may have been present in the Iron Age (Gran Carro), but olives seem to have appeared later, in the seventh century BC. Systematic faunal and/or floral studies at key sites such as Blera, Caere, Roselle, Podere Tartucchio, Tarquinia, and elsewhere are beginning to establish patterns of regional variation, ritual practices, and economic specialization.
It is difficult to judge the relative importance of the different products of agriculture in the Etruscan diet. Preliminary studies from a seventh- or sixth-century sample of human bones from Ferrone cemetery, based on strontium/calcium/zinc analysis, suggest a varied contribution of meat and vegetarian food in the diet. Studies of a slightly later population from Tarquinia suggest a more uniformly vegetarian diet.
Around some major Etruscan cities, such as Veii, there is clear evidence for practices of intensification such as the construction of tunnels (cunicoli) to control the flow of water and sediment, improving the stability of the landscape so essential for the support of the Etruscan city’s food supplies.
Altitude also affected agricultural potential. Studies of traditional land use, although not directly transferable to the Etruscan past, point out the major differences that can be tied into archaeological evidence. Mediterranean types of cultivation (olives, vines, fruits, wheat, and maize) were restricted to the lower hill slopes, valleys, and basins. The traditional method of cultivation was 'coltura promiscua', that is, the polyculture or growing together of olives, vines, and cereals to provide temperature and water control. The rearing of animals (chiefly sheep, but also cattle and pigs on the central Apennines and goats in the south) was concentrated on the less fertile ground. An important issue is that of transhumance, an agricultural practice which exploits the contrasts between upland and lowland to move flocks between lowland winter and upland summer pastures. A number of scholars have emphasized the long-standing presence of these economic practices as one potential strategy, facilitated by the mountain plain structure of the Italian peninsula, that required political networks as well as ecological complementarity for their effective execution. Modern practices suggest that there were two alternative strategies for sheep and goat rearing. One was transhumance, involving in the most elaborate instances large numbers of animals driven over large distances. The other was to hold the smaller numbers of animals in stalls by night (providing manure for arable cultivation) and then allow them to graze locally.

HORSES. 

Wild horses disappeared from Italy at the end of the Pleistocene and reappeared in the third millennium BC. However, it is only in the Middle Bronze Age of northern Italy that the animal begins to reappear in large numbers. There is convincing evidence that horses were present in central Italy by the time of the Final Bronze Age in locations such as Narce, Gubbio, Sorgenti della Nova, and Colle dei Capuccini. Their introduction appears to be linked to status and warfare, most particularly the use of a long sword from a position of height. There is some discussion in the literature about the breeds of these and later horses, since some may have arrived from the north and others by maritime contact across the Mediterranean from the east. By the time of the Villanovan period, the possession of a horse had become an instrument of prestige demonstrated by the presence of horse bits among grave assemblages and the dedication of horse bits in Greek sanctuaries. The presence of some 200 carts and chariots in the graves of central Italy, in most cases drawn by horses, further indicates the prestige that accompanied these animals.

WINE. 

The domestic grape was cultivated as early as Iron Age times as shown by the finds at Gran Carro. Early studies of the genetics of the cultivated grape, such as from the wreck of Grand Ribaud F, suggest a close and common ancestor. Wine became an important component of feasting rituals and much of the material culture for liquids (made out of bronze and ceramics) found in Etruscan tombs relates to the storage, mixing, pouring, drinking, or dipping of wine. These were not restricted to male graves, although they outnumbered female graves in a proportion of five to one.

COOKING. 

The main evidence for cooking comes from artifacts from elite feasting, often with an emphasis on roasting, found in tombs. Another class of evidence for the more standard cooking of the majority of society is the ceramic cooking stand (fornello), used in a deep-seated tradition that dates to the Bronze Age and providing an important indication of identity that is not related to the elite. The presence of the cooking stand suggests the availability of a slow heat that, together with the spit, allowed cooking to take place at a controlled distance from the fire. Vessels were placed on the cooking stand and, according to the level of heat, would have allowed the production of gruels, stews, and milk products such as cheese and yogurt.

CHRONOLOGY

2300 Early Bronze Age. Low density populations.
1600/1550 Middle Bronze Age. Development of upland/lowland settlement systems.
1325/1300 Recent Bronze Age.
1175/1150 Final Bronze Age. Small permanent villages and small cemeteries. Hoards. Foundation of villages on location of most Etruscan cities. Possible social ranking.
950/925 Villanovan 1. Nucleation on the site of later Etruscan cities.
850/825 Villanovan 2. Development of clear ranking in cemeteries.
775 Foundation of Pithekoussai.
750 Foundation of Cumae.
734 Foundation of Naxos.
733 Foundation of Siracuse.
738 Foundation of Catania.
727 Foundation of Megara Hyblaea.
720 Early Orientalizing. Accumulation of wealth by leading descent groups of Etruria.
709 Foundation of Sibari.
708 Foundation of Crotone.
706 Foundation of Taranto.

680 Middle Orientalizing.
630 Recent Orientalizing.
580 Archaic. Mature urban status of Etruria.
540 Battle of Aleria.
474 Battle of Cumae.
400 Classical Period.
396 Destruction of Veii by Rome.
300 Hellenistic Period.
278 Foundation of Roman colony of Cosa.
248 Destruction of Falerii Veteres by Rome.

By Simon K. F. Stoddart in the book 'Historical Dictionary of the Etruscans',The Scarecrow Press, Inc. Lanham U.S,A, Toronto Canada & Plymouth UK, 2009, p. 6,7,8.56.57.101,102. Edited and adapted to be postedd by Leopoldo Costa.