'Round A Table of Wines and Wars: Agricultural Practices of the Etruscans

CBTNews Features ^ | 2006 | CropBiotech Net

[SunkenCiv]

The Italian peninsula seems to shimmer and shine with history and art, from graceful, full bodied nymphs set against make-believe cypresses and oaks, to crumbling mounds of marble on which lie the almost breathable, almost visible words of lives, songs, and politics past. But before all the art, before the reawakening, before the soldiers cloaked in scarlet and gold, and the senators in their Senate hall...before the reign of emperors and tyrants was a race of peoples whose culture lived on in the greatest empire the world has ever known.

They were the Etruscans, a mysterious tribe that scattered throughout northeastern and southern Italy, and brought civilization and urbanization in their wake... Their origins are still disputed; early accounts from the Greek historian Herodotus claimed that they were migrants from Asia Minor. Dionysius, another Greek historian, wrote that the Etruscans were native to Italy...

The Etruscans planted cereals such as barley, millet, panic grass (grass used for fodder) and rye, from which they extracted "puls," the precursor of today's bread. They cultivated olives, grapes, garlic, onions, ceci beans, black eyed peas, fava beans, and lupins. Fruit groves throughout the city states were heavy with pomegranates, figs, blackberries, strawberries, and egg-sized apples and melons. In the barns and yards roamed cows, pigs, chickens, ducks, geese, goats, and sheep. The forests were replete with game, which included hare, deer, and wild boar. From the sea came fresh fish, tuna, and tortoise eggs. In the house, rolling pins rolled out dough, and cutting wheels turned to make fresh pasta. Cellars and cabinets were filled with olive oil and wine.

The Etruscans, in other words, were the rock on which gourmet Italian cooking would be built.

[SunkenCiv]

"They kneaded their bread, practiced boxing, and whipped their slaves to the sound of pipes." -- Athenaeus of Naucratis

Our ticket to the art museum also got us into several other museums in Perugia, so after a cup of strong Italian coffee (sipped under an umbrella since it was still raining) we made our way down the hill to the archeology museum which is filled with ancient Roman ruins, prehistoric tools and artifacts, and a tablet with the oldest known example of Etruscan writing. | Etruscan boundary stone, Cippus Perusinus | The Intrepid Tourist | September in Umbria, Italy, Part 1: Perugia and Deruta | Author Caroline Arnold's travel blog | Monday, September 28, 2015

[SunkenCiv]

Cippus Perusinus

Google

[SunkenCiv]

Etruscan DNA Part 1 | Classics Confidential | interview with Dr Phil Perkins of The Open University

[SunkenCiv]

Etruscan DNA Part 2 | Classics Confidential | interview with Dr Phil Perkins of The Open University

[SunkenCiv]

[pax_et_bonum]

Thanks for posting!

[Telepathic Intruder]

"...whose culture lived on in the greatest empire the world has ever known."

The Pizza Empire.

[SunkenCiv]

• Ancient Etruscans Were Immigrants From Anatolia (Turkey) [2007]
• DNA Boosts Herodotus' Account of Etruscans as Migrants to Italy [2007]
• On The Origin Of The Etruscan Civilisation [2007]
• Tuscany's Etruscan Claim Knocked [2006]

[SunkenCiv]

;^)

[SunkenCiv]

My pleasure, glad you like it. I'd had this on deck, incomplete, for a few months.

[Telepathic Intruder]

If you've seen The Lord of the Rings (Peter Jackson's), by the way, you might notice that there's something missing from the culture of the Gondorians. They have magnificent walled cities, but no AGGRICULTURE. No FOOD.

[SunkenCiv]

rest of the Etruscans keyword, chrono sort:

• Etruscan Pyramid of Bomarzo, Italy [2019]
• Archaeologists On The Island Of Corsica Have Discovered An Etruscan-Roman Cemetery... 5th Century BC [2019]
• Ancient Naples port found [2500 year old site of Palepolis] [2018]
• Etruscan settlement found in Sardinia for first time [tr] [2018]
• Etruscan Code Uncracked [2016]
• Text in lost language may reveal god or goddess worshipped by Etruscans at ancient temple: [2016]
• Tomb excavations uncover treasures of an Etruscan princess [Egyptian gold scarab] [2016]
• Archaeological discovery yields surprising revelations about Europe's oldest city [2016]
• Intact, Packed Etruscan Tomb Found [2015]
• Ancient tomb of Celtic prince found in France [2015]
• New Lemnian Inscription [2014]
• Archaeologists Investigate Underground Pyramidal Structure Beneath Orvieto, Italy [2014]
• A New Type of Inscribed Copper Plate from Indus Valley (Harappan) Civilisation [2014]
• The Minoans were Caucasian [2014]
• Archaeologists' findings may prove Rome a century older than thought [2014]
• Ancient Etruscan Prince Emerges From Tomb: Photos [2013]
• Skeleton of Ancient Prince Reveals Etruscan Life [2013]
• French wine 'has Italian origins' [Etruscans] [2013]
• Bronze Age Golden Cup Unearthed in Italy [2012]
• Rare Cuneiform Script Found on Island of Malta [2011]
• Roman DNA project gives voice to the silent majority [2011]
• Ancient Etruscan childbirth image is first for western art [2011]
• Following Napoleon's trail on Elba [2011]
• Bulgarian Archaeology Finds Said to Rewrite History of Black Sea Sailing [2011]
• Ancient Etruscan 'holy site' found near Viterbo [2011]
• Etruscan House Reveals Ancient Domestic Life [2011]
• Unraveling the Etruscan Enigma [2010]
• New findings from ancient tomb in Italy [2010]
• Italy: Ancient Etruscan home found near Grosseto [2010]
• Men & ideas on the move: settled lands & colonized minds [review of "Empires and Barbarians"] [2010]
• Golden Bough from Roman mythology 'found in Italy' [2010]
• Tuscans 'not descended from Etruscans' [2009]
• 'Etruscan Treasures' On View At Dallas's Meadows Museum [2009]
• Etruscan tomb unearthed in Perugia [2008]
• Italian Builders Uncover (27) 2,000 year Old Tombs (Etruscans) [2008]
• Omens and Superstitions (Romans and Etruscans) [2007]
• Intact 2,000-Year Old Etruscan Tomb Discovered [2007]
• Ancient Etruscans Were Immigrants From Anatolia (Turkey) [2007]
• DNA Boosts Herodotus' Account of Etruscans as Migrants to Italy [2007]
• On The Origin Of The Etruscan Civilisation [2007]
• Pre-Roman sanctuary discovered [ Etruscan federation ] [2006]
• FSU Etruscan expert announces historic discovery at ancient site [ Cetamura ] [2006]
• Man Leads Archaeologists To Frescoed Tomb (Europe's Oldest) [2006]
• Tuscany's Etruscan Claim Knocked [2006]
• Lucca's Roman past revealed [2006]
• Untouched Roman Sarcophagi Found [2005]
• Where Did The Etruscans Come From? [2005]
• Semerano, The Scholar Feared By The Academy, Awarded (2001) [2005]
• Archaeologists May Have Found What Was Once The Biggest City In Italy [2004]
• Etruscan Engineering and Agricultural Achievements: The Ancient City of Spina [2004]
• The Etruscans: Reopening the Case of the Mute Civilization [2004]
• 50 Ancient Tombs Uncovered (1400BC, Crete) [2004]
• Huge Etruscan Road Brought To Light [2004]
• Fabled Etruscan Kingdom Emerging? [2004]
• Dietler Discovers Statue In France That Reflects Etruscan Influence [2004]
• Discovering Dante's Damsel In Distress [2003]
• Ghost Fleet 'Shows Pisa Was An Ancient Venice' [2003]
• Lost No More: An Etruscan Rebirth [2003]
• Church's taxation enrages Italians [bishop reinstates medieval church property tax] [2003]
• Who Were The Celts? [2002]
• Etruscan Ruins Show How Ancients Lived [2002]

  ---

• Can One Iraq Vet Stop Obamacare? [2013]
• Assyrians in Turkey: Disappearance of a Culture? (July, 2000) [2004]
• Destination Kabul for Turkish forces [2002]

[SunkenCiv]

The farmers and herders were tucked away behind Minas Tirith I think -- after the loss of Osgiliath and and verdant area by the River, things probably got a little tight.

[SunkenCiv]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3734012/posts?page=18#18

[onona]

Pizza good.

Where's my full bodied nymph though ?

[SoCal Pubbie]

Too bad the Etruscans had no tomatoes.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

... or spices or hat cake later to Sicily.

Sicilian women can really cook.

[Telepathic Intruder]

Really? No tomatoes, no civilization as we know it.

[SoCal Pubbie]

Tomatoes are native to South America. Italian cooking was a lot different before Columbus.

[Telepathic Intruder]

Ah. A lot of stuff we take for granted today are native to the Americas. Potatoes, corn (maize, rather), sugar, lots of other things probably. Agriculture is what put Native Americans in the late stone age. It was actually pretty advanced.