| dc.description.abstract | Etruscan architecture underwent various changes between the
later Iron Age and the Archaic period (c. 800-500 BC), as seen in the
evidence from several sites. These changes affected the design and style
of domestic architecture as well as the use of raw materials and
construction techniques. However, based on a supposed linear
progression from inferior to superior building materials, explanations and
interpretations often portray an architectural transition in Etruria from
‘prehistoric’ to ‘historic’ building types. This perspective has encouraged a
rather deterministic, overly simplified and inequitable view of the causes
of change in which the replacement of traditional materials with new
ones is thought to have been the main factor.
This thesis aims to reconsider the nature of architectural changes
in this period by focussing on the building materials and techniques used
in the construction of domestic structures. Through a process of
identification and interpretation using comparative analysis and an
approach based on the chaîne opératoire perspective, changes in building
materials and techniques are examined, with special reference to four key
sites: San Giovenale, Acquarossa, Poggio Civitate (Murlo) and Lago
dell’Accesa. It is argued that changes occurred in neither a synchronous
nor a linear way, but separately and at irregular intervals. In this thesis,
they are interpreted as resulting mainly from multigenerational habitual
changes, reflecting the relationship between human behaviour and the
built and natural environments, rather than choices between old and new
materials. Moreover, despite some innovations, certain traditional
building techniques and their associated materials continued into the
Archaic period, indicating that Etruscan domestic architecture did not
undergo a complete transformation, as sometimes asserted or implied in
other works. This study of building techniques and materials, while not
rejecting the widely held view of a significant Etruscan architectural
transition, argues for a more nuanced reading of the evidence and greater
recognition of the nature of behavioural change during the period in
question. | en |
