Tomb Evidence and Gender in Etruria Abstract：It is not easy to define the differences of roles of different genders in Etruscan society because of the lack of direct， impartial evidence regarding their capacities. Luckily， the archaeology of Etruria left us with solid evidence so that we can picture some image from the burials， arts and other artificial evidences.
摘 要：然而，针对伊特鲁里亚社会中不同性别所扮演的角色，由于缺乏与其生活各方面能力有关的直接的，公正的证据，使得判定变得困难。幸运的是，伊特鲁里亚的墓葬考古发现为我们留下很多确凿的证据，帮助我们拼凑一副当时的家庭画面。
Key words： Etruscans；burials；mirror；gender
关键词：伊特鲁里亚社会；墓葬；镜子；性别角色
作者简介：裴沛（1987-），女，职称：助教。
[中图分类号]：G249 [文献标识码]：A
[文章编号]：1002-2139（2012）-24--02
Burials and funerary epigraphy constitute an extraordinary rich source group for the study of the Etruscan culture. The material is especially abundant from the fourth to the first century B.C. and virtually asks for statistical treatment. This is the period of Etruria’s gradual Romanization， from the loss of political independence to the change of culture and language. In this process， funerary customs constitute the most conservative element and are the last to change.
Burials and Gender of the Owner
One of the more illuminating pieces of recent research has been a simple statistical study of male and female burials， focusing on the sarcophagi and ash-urns of the Hellenistic period， where sex can be determined by the inscription and/or by the figure of deceased carved on the lid.[1] But Etruscan archaeologists occasionally specify whether a burial is male or female according to the objects that make up a given tomb-group （In the course of time， there was a tendency to place the individual graves in groups， often around one male and one female burial， probably a married couple and some of their offspring[2]）： ‘Helmets， swords， spears， chariots and razors denote men， while bronze spindle whorls and pottery spools indicate women.’[3] A tomb-group dominated by such articles as razors， weapons， armor and ceremonial drinking-vessels will be designated as male； a tomb-group comprising jewellery， cosmetic instruments， perfume vessels and objects that belong to textile production will be female. Sometimes spindles or bobbins were also put into men’s graves， perhaps as symbolic gifts from the widow.
Around Asciano in the north it was noted that ‘female’ objects such as mirrors and ear-rings were sometimes deposited in urns for men， so here it looks as if women could be buried in their husbands’ urns without this being made clear by inscription or other means. Almost certainly in these cases the husband would have died first. Almost certainly， too， a wife was more likely to be given her own burial container if she died before her husband. But to be given a container in one’s own right， with inscription and/or sculptural representation of oneself， must have been given an obvious criterion of esteem in the context of family and society. Widows were more likely to return to their own family than wives with surviving husbands.[4] Arts and Other Archaeological Evidences Related to Gender Roles
One theory connected to the ‘women’s liberation’ in the late Classical period points out that the scene of ‘liberation’ was mainly because much of the surviving archaeological material， painted vases， was designed to be used at weddings and as brides’ outfits， and because in the end， all these objects would follow their owners into the graves. It is therefore the decorations on wedding vases and toilet equipment often stress a balance between the sexes.[5]
Moreover， Etruscan art， in fact， much more than Greek art， and even before the Hellenistic period， focused on scenes of children， often with their mothers or their families， which indicate that Etruscan women may well have raised their own children. Besides， evidence shows that in Etruscan families， as in many other societies， much attention was paid to make-up and body-care， judging both by representations of women and by the costly toilet equipment buried with them. All these actions had a deeper purpose： body-care and health， beauty and sex-appeal were recognized as necessary conditions for a lasting and happy marriage， and for ensuring the continuation of the family.[6]
Mirror and Gender in Etruria
The biggest difference between archaeology and literature is that the monuments in fact speak to us more directly than does the literature. For example， the bronze women’s mirrors decorated with engraved designs demonstrate that literacy， considerably more widespread in Etruria than elsewhere， and important for religious reasons in all of central Italy， was not confined to men （which I doubted）； out of some 3000 mirrors， more than 300 （or 10 percent） are provided with inscriptions， mostly identifying mythological scenes.
Archaeologists believe that men have no need of mirrors. Especially in Etruscan archaeology， they are invariably assumed to be signs of femininity. In her Guide to Etruscan Mirrors， Nancy Thomson de Grummond unwittingly exemplifies the dangers of this assumption. She noted that “men did not own these objects， though they may have used in a casual way mirrors belonging to their wives or lovers.”[7]
Admittedly， mirrors， along with other media produced in Etruria itself reflected the broader range of women’s lives. And it is true， that self-referential images on mirrors， pictures showing mirrors being used， do feature women rather than men； and that the few onomastic inscriptions on mirrors identify only lady owners. Though I don’t believe Etruscan men did not own mirrors. It is natural for men to use them as well as women for arranging hair of the head and for general grooming. And it is ridiculous to imagine an Etruscan man had to creep into his wife’s boudoir every time he wanted a shave. There is no scene of an Etruscan man holding a mirror does not mean that they did not own a mirror. Conclusions
Due to the unique role of women in Etruria society， the family image and the roles of different genders of the entire society draw great intention in the field of both history and archaeology. In the tombs the houses of the living were reproduced for the dead， with all the equipment for eating， drinking， dancing and wall paintings depicting these feasts， as well as other artificial evidences such as mirror， we are able to share a glance at the image of the family life in the particular ancient society.
Notes：
[1]Nielsen 1989： 88.
[2]Nielsen 1998： 70.
[3]Hencken 1968b： 31； quoted in Spivey 1991： 57.
[4]Nielsen 1989： 87.
[5]Nielsen 1998： 77.
[6]Cf. Bonfante 1996； quoted in Nielsen 1998： 77.
[7]de Grummond 1982： 168.
References：
1、 Nancy Thomson de Grummond， 1982. A Guide to Etruscan Mirrors. Tallahassee， Archaeological News Publish.
2、 Marshall Joseph Becker， 2006. “Etruscan Women at Tarquinia： Skeletal Evidence for Tomb Use.” In Proceedings of the XVIth International Congress of Classical Archaeology Boston， August 23-26， 2003. Common Ground： Archaeology， Art， Science and Humanities， edited by Carol C. Mattusch， A. A. Donobue， Amy Brauer. England： Oxford， The David Brown Books Company Publish.
3、 Marjatta Nielsen， 1989. “Women and Family in a Changing Society： A Quantitative Approach to Late Etruscan Burials.” In Analecta Romana Instituti Danici 17-18. pp. 53-98. Copenhagen： E. Munksgaard Publish.
4、 Marjatta Nielsen， 1998. “Etruscan Women： a Cross-cultural Perspective.” In Aspects of Women in Antiquity， edited by Lena Larsson Lovén and Agneta Str?mberg. pp. 69-84. Paul ?str?ms F?rlag Jonsered Publish.
5、 Nigel J. Spivey， 1991. “The Power of Women in Etruscan Society.” In The Accordia Research Papers： the Journal of the Accordia Research Centre 2. pp. 55-68. London： Accordia Research Centre， Queen Mary and Westfield College， University of London Publish.
