The Etruscans

If you like history, this is your book. I just love history and history books, I began reading The Lombards, from this same series, and it was great, so I continued reading them all, until I read The Etruscans. The way this book is written makes you travel through time to those places and meet their peoples, and since it is really well documented with photographs, it makes you feel like wearing those little weird clothes they used.

The Etruscans are difficult to study and this work was of great value to me on my current project! Thanks to this work, my project is better!

When I took a survey course on the history of Western Art, the instructor passed over the Etuscans in about 15 seconds. I belive he showed us one slide of the elaborate tomb of an Etruscan man who was reclined in death on the lid of his sarcophogus. In the instructor's mind, the Etruscans formed a brief interlude somewhere between the Greeks and the Romans.My second encounter with the Etruscans came when I read D.H. Lawrence's book on his travels in Italy. In this book, Lawrence includes an extensive section on his visits to the Etruscan sites in Italy. Lawrence viewed the Etruscans with sympathy, and interestingly, THE ETRUSCANS takes off from Lawrence's book. Each section of this history is introduced by a passage from Lawrence who felt the Etruscans had been badly described by the Greeks and the Romans.THE ETRUSCANS is a history book in the series on 'The Peoples of Europe' and the third in this series of synopses on various European ethnic groups that I have read. I intend to read more. I am not interested in becoming an expert on every group, but these books provide me with an overview that allows me to determine which distinct groups I might want to study futher.Barker and Rasmussen have taken a wholistic approach in developing their text. They eschew the boundaries of traditional discplines without destroying the integrity of each of these various appoaches. They use all "sources, whether written records, inscriptions, monuments or excavated data..."The book is laid out by topic, and the discussions in each section are drawn from the work of scientists and historians who have deciphered text (tomb inscriptions and other preserved written material including the "histories" of the Romans and the Greeks) and subtext (geological formations, pottery shards; bone fragments from slaughtered animals; flora including petrified seeds; remains of metal implements, tools, jewelry, etc.; remains of various structures including houses, boats, etc.; disturbances in the terrain resulting from the construction of canals, roads, walls, mines, farms, and necropolises).The tale Barker and Rasmussen piece together is amazing. Scientists and historians know much more than they did about the Etruscans owing to recent advanced work involving forensics type investigation. The authors suggest much more can be known if additional steps are taken in the study of preshistoric Etruscan sites, i.e. researchers need to adapt the advanced techniques used in other places like Israel.The Etruscans apparently weren't great artists like the Greeks but they made a number of material advances the Romans simply incorporated and claimed as their own inventions. For example, recent archeological research shows the Etruscans were engineers who invented the means of moving water via canals and irrigation channels long before the Romans built their aquaducts.The Etruscans created a civilization that lasted longer than many others formed in Western Europe (800 B.C. to 300 B.C) and even after they were "incorporated" by the Romans they continued to make substantial contributions to the surrounding economy.Apparently, the Etruscans were an archaic people, native to the part of Italy where their remains can be found. Although their language seems to be unlike that of most other historic Europeans the discovery of a Phoenician/Etruscan rosetta stone has allowed researchers to untangle a number of words, including the names of many of those laid to rest in the ornate tombs I was shown so long ago.

This book has a lot of information that I didn’t know about the Etruscan’s and I like the way that it is laid out.

Excellent read, even though a bit dated now

Useful reference book for anyone with a serious interest in the Etruscans. Not recommended if you're looking for bedside reading.