Villanovan Culture
Villanovan culture, emerging around 1000 BCE in Northern Italy, is a significant early Iron Age culture known for its distinctive burial practices and artistic developments. It is often linked to the Urnfield culture, characterized by cremation and the use of urns for ashes, though its origins are debated among scholars. Theories regarding its emergence range from migrations of Middle European peoples to cultural evolution among indigenous populations. Archaeological findings indicate that Villanovan sites shared proximity with other local cultures, showcasing unique artistic traditions without significant overlap.
Villanovan culture features two main artistic periods: the Geometric period, which laid the groundwork for Italic styles, and the Orientalizing period, marked by the influence of Eastern artistic traditions from Greece and the Near East. This latter phase may have been driven by the movement of artisans or trade. Overall, Villanovan culture offers valuable insights into the early complex societal structures and artistic expressions that shaped the region before the rise of more prominent civilizations in Italy.
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Villanovan Culture
Related civilizations: Prerepublican Rome, Etruscan.
Date: 1000-600 b.c.e.
Locale: Northwestern Italian peninsula, Tuscany
Villanovan Culture
The origins of Villanovan culture are quite controversial, although it is associated with the third migration of Urnfield culture (the tradition of cremating the dead and placing the ashes in urns) into Northern Italy. The invasion theory proposes the movement of Early Iron Age Middle Europeans into the area before the first millennium b.c.e., and the migration theory suggests a movement of peoples from the southern Italian peninsula. The indigenous culture theory proposes the cultural development of native peoples during the earlier period of the Iron Age. Archaeological evidence suggests some similarities to Near Eastern and middle European cultures but also shows that some Villanovan sites coexisted in close proximity to other indigenous cultures without the overlap of artistic traditions.
Villanovan culture is characterized by two major artistic periods: Geometric and Orientalizing. The Geometric period (c. 1000-675 b.c.e.) begins the development of the basic native Italic styles, and the Orientalizing period (Early, c. 675-650 b.c.e., and Full, c. 650-600 b.c.e.) shows influences from Greece and the Near East and may have been the result of the migration of artisans (or imports) bringing Eastern artistic traditions to the region.
Bibliography
Barker, Graeme, and Tom Rasmussen. The Etruscans. Oxford, England: Blackwell, 1998.
Bonfante, Larissa. Etruscan Life and Afterlife. Detroit, Mich.: Wayne State University Press, 1986.
Hencken, Hugh. Tarquinia and Etruscan Origins. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1968.