Tabla 2: IDENTIFICACIÓN DE ACTIVOS, MOTORES, PASIVOS Y BARRERAS HALLADOS DURANTE EL PROCESO
4.3. LA EXPERIENCIA PENSADA POR LA INVESTIGADORA: CONCLUSIONES Y RECOMENDACIONES
4.3.2. Sobre el proceso de transformación social
The Latin inscriptions written on cinerary urns from Perugia (ancient Perusia) are often cited as evidence for cultural change in Etruria, but the original tomb contexts of these epitaphs are frequently ignored. The suburban necropoleis of Perugia have yielded hundreds of urns, many inscribed in Etruscan script and many inscribed in Latin script. There are over one hundred and thirty Latin epitaphs that come from the hundreds of Late Etruscan (Hellenistic) family tombs of Perugia, but, unfortunately, they are often poorly documented archaeologically. Because the archaeological material from Perugia is vast, I have chosen to focus my attention on three Perusine family tombs. These tombs were chosen as case-studies for their relatively well- documented tomb environments and for the fact that all contained both Latin and Etruscan epitaphs. On the one hand, there are obvious limitations to a study that examines only three tombs out of hundreds, but, on the other hand, detailed analyses of the individual tomb
environments provide a starting point for investigating the negotiation of ethnic identity through funerary remains. In this chapter I will demonstrate that the archaeological and epigraphic evidence from Perusine family tomb contexts indicates that during the first century BCE the people of Perugia were actively constructing and negotiating their “sense of peoplehood”
through the creation, placement, and repeated interaction with their family tombs and the objects within.
Compared to the well-known histories of Rome or Athens, the history of Perugia is rather obscure. There are scant literary references to Perugia in Livy and in later authors, who provide
only brief glimpses into Perugia’s long history; archaeological evidence furnishes the rest. It is impossible, as Torelli and Curti have observed, to write a history of Perugia without relying mainly on material evidence.114 Even that is complicated by the fact that the primary source of archaeological remains from Late Etruscan (Hellenistic) Perugia are tombs, and the most abundant artifacts from the tombs are their travertine cinerary urns.115 Also known as
“cremation” or “ash” urns, cinerary urns served as containers for the burned remains of the dead, and they were the standard form of elite burial at Late Etruscan Perugia. Since they are
sometimes decorated and often inscribed with epitaphs, the urns are a rich source of data for the daily lives (and afterlives) of Perugia’s people.
It is the inscriptions from Perugia’s many cinerary urns that have received the most attention from scholars, who have generally been more interested in the texts of the epitaphs than in their tomb contexts or the urns themselves.116 The epitaphs provide not only the names of the dead, but also important genealogical information and evidence for an apparent change in
114 Torelli and Curti 1993, 65; the best overall treatment of Perugia’s archaeology (with bibliography) is Berichillo 2004.
115 The Late Etruscan or Hellenistic Period in Etruria is traditionally dated from the third to first centuries BCE. For the general dates of these periods, I follow Haynes 2000. This period is long, spanning several centuries, and, as such, there are serious difficulties in dating Late Etruscan tombs and their contents. At best, most tombs can only be assigned a general range of dates or a terminus post quem. Individual urns may be dated according to associated finds, such as coins or Greek pottery, or perhaps the rare mention of a Roman voting tribe, but because the tombs were often in use for multiple generations, it is nearly impossible to be certain about the exact dates of tomb environments or the objects found within them. Following the work of Jürgen Thimme (1954, 1957), most agree (cf. Huntsman 2014, 31-32) that the presence of Latin epitaphs within a tomb indicates a first century BCE date. Thimme’s 1957 study of Chiusine urns established a terminus post quem of 100 BCE for Latin-inscribed urns, but Jorma Kaimio observes (1975, 191) that it is unclear if Thimme based this date on his assumption that Latinization was the result of the Social War, “i.e. that the Latin inscriptions must be later than 90 B.C” (Kaimio 1975, 191). I am working under the assumption that tombs with Latin epitaphs from Perugia were at least in use during the first century BCE. Some could possibly have been in use even later, but I think, at Perugia at least, that the Late Etruscan family tombs’ use probably ceased with the destruction of Perugia by Octavian in the early months of 40 BCE. If this is correct, Perusine tombs with inscriptions in Latin script would have a tentative date range of 90 to 40 BCE (with a terminus ante quem of 40 BCE). Both Kaimio (1975, 190-193) and Theresa Huntsman (2014, 27-33) include extensive discussions of the problems with the chronology of tombs, urns, and their inscriptions.
116 For a complete summary of the sources for the Latin (and incidentally the Etruscan) epigraphy of Perugia, see the introduction to Volume 11 of the CIL (Bormann 1926, 350-352).
Perusine burial practices, as we begin to see Latin language inscriptions in the same tombs as Etruscan ones.117 The appearance of Latin inscriptions at Perugia and other locations in Etruria is often cited as evidence for a linguistic shift from the Etruscan language to Latin,118 and, by implication, as evidence for the Romanization of Etruscan society in the first century BCE.119 It is true that few, if any, Etruscan language inscriptions postdate the late first century BCE or the early first century CE, further bolstering the theory of Roman culture’s dominance over that of the Etruscans.120 The scholars who have used these inscriptions as evidence for the
Romanization of Etruria, however, have relied overmuch on the isolated texts of funerary inscriptions, usually from Perugia and Chiusi, and have often ignored their archaeological context. My goal in this chapter is to relocate these inscriptions in their broader context, by examining in detail three specific family tombs and their contents as thoroughly as possible. Through these three case studies, I hope to shed some light on the ways that people of Perugia negotiated and expressed their identities in the first century BCE.
Perugia sitsatop a lofty cluster of hills on the right bank of the Tiber.121 It lies about eighty-five miles upriver from Rome in the heart of the Italian peninsula about midway between Italy’s two Mediterranean coasts. Perugia is the modern capital of the region of Umbria, which embraces Lake Trasimene in the northwest and the Apennine Mountains in the east, as well as the cities of Assisi and Orvieto, but in antiquity Perugia was one of the leading cities of Etruria.
117 Latin inscriptions appear at different Etruscan cities at different times: some southern Etruscan cities have Latin inscriptions starting in the second century BCE, but in northern cities Latin appears later, sometimes well into the first century BCE and beyond (Wallace 2008, 27).
118 Kaimio 1975 is the seminal work on the so-called “linguistic shift.”
119 For my discussion of Romanization and how it relates to Etruscan material, see Chapter 1, pgs. 17-21. 120 According to Benelli (2001, 11) the latest Etruscan inscription is a bilingual epitaph from Arezzo (ET Ar 1.8) dating to the first quarter of the first century CE (ca. 15-20 CE).
Remnants of Perugia’s Etruscan past are visible today in its walls, gates, and numerous suburban necropoleis. For well over two-and-a-half millennia people have inhabited Perugia, yet its origins, and much of its history, remain hazy.
Although the truth about Perugia’s origins will probably always lie in obscurity, there are some ancient legends about the city’s beginnings. Servius, the fourth-century commentator on Vergil, names one Aulestes as Perugia’s founder,122 and elsewhere says that Sarsinates
(Umbrians) inhabited the city.123 Servius’ sources are unknown and his comments lack detail, but there is no reason to dismiss his claims, which may preserve elements of the truth. For example, Perugia’s proximity to the borders of ancient Umbria makes Servius’ mention of
Umbrian inhabitants at Perugia entirely plausible, even though there is no evidence to support his statements.
Archaeological remains from Perugia and the surrounding area are rare before the end of the sixth century BCE. Scholars have attributed the dearth of early material evidence to
Perugia’s lengthy, continuous occupation,124 and, since Perugia is still a living city,
archaeologists cannot easily conduct large-scale excavations in the modern urban center, which has yielded few artifacts to date.125 During the Iron Age or Villanovan Period (ca. 900-720 BCE),126 there is sporadic evidence of a settlement in and around the area of Perugia.127 The archaeological evidence from the following era, known as the Orientalizing Period (720-575
122hunc Ocnum alii Aulestis filium, alii fratrem, qui Perusiam condidit referent (Serv. adAen. 10.198). 123aSarsinatibus, qui Perusiae consederant (Serv. ad Aen. 10.201).
124 Feruglio 1993a, 33; Cenciaioli 2002, 49; Nati 2008, 7. 125 Torelli and Curti 1993, 66.
126 For the dates of the various periods of Etruscan history, I follow Haynes 2000.
127 Feruglio (1966, 303) mentions the discovery of Villanovan ceramics in 1960. For a discussion of the archaeological material of the Villanovan Period in and around Perugia, see Bonomi Ponzi 2002 and Berichillo 2004, 179-180.
BCE), is even scarcer than the Villanovan Period, and most of the material comes from outside what would in later periods be Perugia proper.128
Perugia’s archaeological record is mostly silent until the end of the Archaic Period (ca. 575-480 BCE), at which time Perugia shows signs of urban growth in the form of wealthy burials, trade, and literacy.129 Late sixth-century tombs contain rich grave goods,130 such as chariots and imported Greek ceramics.131 Other items, such as the famous Sperandio Sarcophagus (ca. 500 BCE), which is made of sandstone in a Chiusine style, confirm the
existence of commerce, or at least communication, between the people of Chiusi and Perugia.132 An Etruscan alphabet incised on a bucchero cup from Perugia is evidence for the advent of literacy.133 This sort of evidence has led some to conclude that an urban center and a stratified society characterized Perugia by the late sixth century BCE.134
During the fifth century BCE, at which time Etruria is thought to have suffered political crises caused by serious military defeats throughout Italy,135 Perugia seems to have remained
128 Bratti 2007, 27. For the Orientalizing Period at Perugia see also Bonomi Ponzi 2002 and Berichillo 2004, 180- 181. For a brief summary of the early archaeological material found in and around Perugia, see Nati 2008, 7. 129 Neil 2012, 56.
130 Feruglio 1993a, 33; Torelli and Curti 1993, 68; Bratti 2007, 27-28.
131 Feruglio (1993a, 35) dates these chariot burials to 560-500 BCE; Bratti 2007, 28-29. 132 Feruglio 1993a, 38; Neil 2012, 57.
133 Feruglio 1993a, 38-40; Bratti 2007, 30.
134 Berichillo 2004, 181; Neil 2012, 56. The evidence for the Archaic Period comes from burials found
predominantly during the nineteenth century at several suburban necropoleis (see Berichillo 2004, 181-182, n. 16-20 for an extensive bibliography).
135 In the fifth century BCE, this crisis had already begun for the cities in the south of Etruria: Etruscans had lost their foothold in Campania after Hieron of Syracuse defeated the Etruscan navy at the Battle of Cumae in 474 BCE. For the traditional account of this so-called Crisis of the Fifth Century, see Torelli 1984, 183-214.
largely unaffected.136 By the early fourth century, however, there is much more funerary evidence from Perugia, including new depositions at older cemeteries and the creation of some new suburban necropoleis.137 Tombs of the fourth century consist of individual inhumation burials.138 These people were interred in large stone or wooden sarcophagi, and their grave goods, which were relatively homogenous, included bronze weapons and armor, kottaboi,139 athletic equipment, imported Greek ceramics, bronze mirrors, and jewelry.140 The richness of their grave goods may indicate that the people of Perugia were flourishing at this time.141 Further indications of Perugia’s welfare during the fourth century include the construction of the earliest phases of Perugia’s city walls.142 More evidence for the city’s prominence is the mention of Perugia in Livy’s account of fourth-century historical events.143
During the third century BCE, the Romans destroyed several major Etruscan cities, including Volsinii (modern Orvieto), Perugia’s neighbor to the south, in 264 BCE,144 but there is no evidence for any destruction to Perugia during the third century, despite the historical
136 Nati 2008, 7-8; Neil 2012, 57. For a brief discussion of this crisis and how it affected Perugia, see Torelli and Curti 1993, 73-74.
137 Neil 2012, 57-58.
138 Feruglio 1993a, 40, 42; Bratti 2007, 30-31.
139Kottaboi are stands for the drinking game kottabos, which involved casting wine dregs or lees at a target. 140 Feruglio 1993a, 38-40; Bratti 2007, 30.
141 Feruglio 1993a, 40. 142 Neil 2012, 62.
143 Livy recounts a battle supposedly fought in 310 BCE near the Ciminian Forest at Sutrium, or possibly on the other side of the forest near Perugia (Livy 9.36-37). Livy also says that the Romans defeated the allied forces of Etruscans and Umbrians, and that afterwards the leading cities of Etruria (capita Etruriae), including Perugia, Cortona, and Arezzo, sued for peace and agreed to a thirty-year truce with Rome (9.37.11-12). The treaty, however, was short-lived, and hostilities between Etruscans and Romans soon resumed.
144 Bratti 2007, 32. The power vacuum created by the elimination of Volsinii may have allowed Perugia to take control of commercial routes along the upper Tiber River, and Perugia may also have accommodated a great influx of Etruscan refugees from the surrounding areas (Neil 2012, 62-63).
tradition that the people of Perugia were defeated in battle by the Roman propraetor Gnaeus Fulvius around this time.145 Perugia’s archaeological record seems to indicate that Perugia was flourishing again in the third century BCE, when most other Etruscan cities were struggling with internal and external conflicts.146 At this time the people of Perugia finished their city walls and built new roads and cemeteries,147 which in turn accommodated an increase in the numbers of burials.148 Beginning in the third century, burials favored the rite of cremation over inhumation, and in the new necropoleis there were now tombs of large, multigenerational families instead of tombs devoted to individuals.149 During the Second Punic War (218-202 BCE), even though the Battle of Lake Trasimene (217 BCE) occurred close to Perugia, there is no archaeological evidence that Perugia suffered at the hands of the Carthaginians. By the end of the war, Perugia seems not only to have remained loyal to Rome, but also to have fared well economically, if we can believe Livy’s claim that the people of Perugia sent large amounts of timber and grain to aid Scipio Africanus’ expedition to Africa in 205.150 From the end of the Second Punic War until the beginning of the first century BCE, momentous social and political changes came to Italy as Rome became more powerful and its relationship with its allies more strained. During this period, Perugia does not appear to have experienced the same social tensions that were affecting
145 Livy 10.31.3.
146 The Etruscans suffered a major defeat at the Battle of Sentinum (295 BCE), an event which traditionally marks the end of Etruscan power and independence in Italy, and which coincides with the beginning of the Late Etruscan (Hellenistic) Period (third to first century BCE).
147 Feruglio 1993a, 48. 148 Neil 2012, 62.
149 Berichillo 2004, 220. For the next two centuries, burials in family tombs became an important funerary practice throughout Etruria (see pg. 40).
150 Livy (28.45.18) lists the contributions of many other prominent Etruscan cities, which are also said to have sent supplies, including Caere, Populonia, Tarquinii, Volterra, Arezzo, Chiusi, and Rosellae. Scipio’s African expedition ultimately resulted in the defeat of Hannibal at Zama and the end of the war.
other northern Etruscan cities.151 Nevertheless, at Perugia, the proliferation of the Late Etruscan cinerary urns and their group burials may offer evidence of a changing social structure.152
Enormous political changes came to the peoples of the Italian peninsula in the first century BCE.153 The political structure of Perugia prior to the outbreak of the Social War (91-88 BCE) is unknown, but aristocratic Etruscan oligarchies may have been still active in Etruria on the eve of the first century BCE.154 After 90 BCE, however, we know that the people of Perugia were enrolled as Roman citizens in the voting tribe of Tromentina, and that the city became a Roman municipium, which had quattuorviri as its chief magistrates.155 Following the Social War there is no further mention of Perugia in the ancient sources until it emerges at the epicenter of a
151 Berichillo (2004, 265) attributes Perugia’s success to a “climate of social mobility” and “economic well-being,” in which the upper classes made concessions to the lower classes and created a so-called “middle class.” The Perusine “middle class” supposedly enjoyed the fruits of Perugia’s rich agricultural production and support from Rome.
152 Feruglio (1993a, 48) speaks of a more general wellbeing in Perugia, but also notes that the people were less wealthy than their predecessors. Scholars such as Feruglio see the cinerary urns as relatively cheap, simple burials, which in turn may indicate more egalitarian social practices, if we assume that funerary practices mirror actual social behavior.
153 When M. Livius Drusus promised to put forth a law that would grant Roman citizenship to the Italians (App. B.
Civ. 1.35; cf. Scullard 1970, 64-67 on Drusus and the outbreak of the Social War), he met with considerable opposition from Roman and some Italian upper classes (App. B. Civ. 1.35-36; Scullard 1970, 65). Appian writes that Etruscans and Umbrians opposed Drusus’s reforms, probably in order to preserve their ancestral lands, because Drusus’ law included within it a provision for the establishment of new colonies in Italy (App. B. Civ. 1.35-36; Scullard 1970, 65). Drusus’s proposal failed and he was assassinated (App. B. Civ. 1.36), and soon afterward the Social War broke out between Rome and its Italian allies (socii), who wanted Roman citizenship. Etruscans and Umbrians only briefly entered the war at its outset, and by late 90 BCE Rome granted citizenship to its loyal allies and to any who would agree to an immediate truce, and, although the war continued for three more years, under the
Lex Iulia the Etruscans were enfranchised (App. B. Civ 1.49-50; Sherwin-White 1973, 149).
154 It is generally thought that Roman policy in Etruria was to allow Etruscan aristocrats to maintain their traditional power, and that therefore the traditional social system of Etruria also remained in place. To quote Harris (1971, 202), “[their traditional power] is the dominance of the ruling class over the depressed but in some cases actively discontented serf class.”
155 On Perugia’s tribal affiliation: Harris 1971, 333; Perugia’s enrollment in the Tromentina voting tribe is attested in numerous inscriptions (cf. Bormann 1926, 353). On Perugia’s status as a municipium: Plin. HN 3.52. On the magistracies: inscriptions from Perugia indicate that there was both a board of quattuorviri and, later, of duoviri
(CIL 11.1934 mentions a quattuorvir; CIL 11.1943 and 11.1944 mention both magistracies; CIL 11.1924 and 11.1941, only the duovirate; cf. Bormann 1926, 353); for the establishment of quattuorviri after the Social War, see Sherwin-White 1973, 63.
horrific clash between Lucius Antonius and Octavian in 41/40 BCE, known as the Perusine War (Bellum Perusinum). In the midst of the civil wars following Julius Caesar’s assassination, Octavian had wanted to appropriate land in Italy for his own retired veterans.156 L. Antonius and