The Etruscans… where did they come from?
This article was written by my dear friend Monica Lupparelliand me some time ago. I decided to publish it again because, in fact, the question of the Etruscans’ origins is still incredibly fascinating, and I have noticed that it always arouses great curiosity… so, enjoy the read!
In the past
From the very beginning, anyone who comes into contact with the Etruscan people inevitably wonders about their origins. It is a subject that has stirred passions since antiquity. We do not know whether the Etruscans had their own foundation myth, but the ancient Greek and Roman historians, their contemporaries, had very definite—and sometimes completely opposing—ideas.
In the 5th century BC, Herodotus recounted that the Etruscans had arrived in Italy from Lydia (in present-day Turkey) following a terrible famine. Led by Tyrrhenus, the son of the king who had been entrusted with half of the population, they are said to have landed on the Tuscan coast and decided to call themselves Tyrrhenians—indeed, this was the name the Greeks used for the Etruscans.
Dionysius of Halicarnassus (1st century BC), on the other hand, believed that they had always been present on the Italian peninsula.
A third hypothesis, which developed between the 19th and 20th centuries, proposed that the Etruscans had arrived from Central Europe through the Alpine passes.
These theories have been the subject of much discussion, often heated. Yet the fundamental mistake underlying all three lies in assuming that the Etruscan people already existed as a fully formed entity before their history even began. The arguments put forward in support of one theory or another are all interesting and deserve careful consideration. “Our task when faced with ancient traditions is to explain them rather than simply accept or reject them.” — G. Camporeale
A New Approach
As we were saying, the question “Where did the Etruscans come from?” has echoed through our minds and stirred our hearts for centuries. Today, however, we tend to approach the question in a completely different way.
Rather than speaking of “origins,” scholars prefer to speak of “formation.”
Already in the mid-20th century, Massimo Pallottino, an archaeologist and one of the foremost scholars of the Etruscan people, argued that the question of their origins was actually a false problem.
A people, after all, is made up of individuals who organize themselves into a society and share rules and beliefs. Society is not static, nor does it emerge fully formed. Rather, it develops according to the needs of the people and the territory in which they live. It evolves through contact with neighbouring populations and gradually takes shape over time.
Speaking of an “origin” implies the existence of a clearly defined ethnic group from its very earliest manifestations—something that archaeology has long since disproved.
So, what can archaeology tell us about the earliest phase in the history of the Etruscan people?
The Contemporary Evidence
Archaeological evidence allows us to say that the earliest forms of settlement belonging to the population we can call “Etruscan” began to emerge during the Late Bronze Age (10th century BC).
We can trace this development through the systematic exploitation of the natural and mineral resources of a vast area stretching between the Tiber and Arno rivers, along the Tyrrhenian coast of present-day Tuscany and northern Lazio, as far south as the area around Salerno and northwards into the Po Valley.
These were villages made up of huts built from perishable materials. Each settlement was associated with land used for agriculture and for sheltering animals—a vegetable garden and a stable.
The villages, located roughly two kilometres from one another, were quite numerous and were generally inhabited by around one hundred people.
At the beginning of the Iron Age (9th century BC), during what is also known as the Villanovan phase, farming and pastoral communities began to gather into larger settlements, often located in strategic positions, and the first signs of social differentiation began to emerge.
These processes developed further during the 7th century BC, when we can already trace commercial exchanges, long-distance movements, and advances in both metalworking and agriculture.
Archaeology allows us to follow, step by step, the early stages in the development of this people. We can therefore say that the Etruscan civilization emerged from various ethno-cultural groups, both of Italic and non-Italic origin, who were attracted by the wealth of the territory and eventually settled in the area. They gradually integrated with one another and with the populations already living there, giving rise to a new civilization: the Etruscans.
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