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Celebration of Scholarship and Creative Activity 2021

Memory of Etruria: The Impact of a Disentombed Civilization

Sophia Verona Nunn

Senior, English, Spanish, Secondary Education

Abstract

Etruscan society is not one acknowledged throughout history often. Yet, it is through the impact of these people from the first millennium BC that impacted much Roman culture and later artistic, architectural, and subjective traditions. In this essay, there is an exploration of how the Etruscan community has passed down through the thousands of years along with their influence on the aspects of portraiture, burial practices, and societal hierarchy. Furthermore, this work connects how Etruscan ideals were formed from Greek clout and their facial proportions, religious denominations, and architectural tendencies. All in all, the sway of the Etruscans extends further than solely their artistic influence, but it is through renditions recovered from their Italian towns that modern historians are able to discern information about their culture and see how certain patterns have been passed down from generation to generation.

Project Background 

I chose to pursue this topic because of my love of ancient antiquity in art. The assignment for this class was extremely flexible, so I wanted to focus on times in art history that have always fascinated me. The Greeks were my go-to, but their subject matter and impact was too broad to encompass within a work of this size. The Etruscans, through, drew much of their culture from Greek impact. Furthermore, how they imparted knowledge onto the Romans is truly awe-inspiring. I think that people should be more aware of Etruscan impact because of how many roots of modern society are first founded through the Etruscans. This past society really demonstrates how a long forgotten community has helped make the world as we know it has come to be. Beliefs, traditions, and innovations are all built onto each other and release even more ideas for an idealistic state of life.

What Do You Think? 

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13 Comments

  1. Debbie Gray Patton

    Sophia, I loved your enthusiasm in your presentation. You are a natural teacher! Thank you for educating me.

    Reply
    • Sophia N.

      Thank you so much!

      Reply
  2. Susan Maxwell

    What a compelling presentation! You’re love of the subject matter and expertise really comes through. And as already mentioned, you are a born teacher!

    Reply
  3. Susan Maxwell

    Your research does an excellent job in using art to understand an ancient culture about which little written historical record remains and to place various objects, structures and ritual practices within historical context.

    Reply
    • Sophia N.

      Thank you so much for your support throughout this process, Dr. Maxwell!

      Reply
  4. Kimberly Rivers

    It is so nice to find someone interested in the Etruscans! There are fascinating and even now not well known or explored.

    Reply
    • Sophia N.

      Thank you! I totally agree that this subject is so awesome to constantly look at deeper.

      Reply
  5. Sam Looker-Koenigs

    This project illustrates one of my favorite things about you, Sophia: your endless intellectual curiosity and joy in learning. No matter what the subject area, you dive in and immerse yourself in new knowledge. And your joy in learning is infectious, which will be so very good for your future students! Proud of you!

    Reply
    • Sophia N.

      Thank you Dr. Sam! Your kind words mean the world to me. 🙂

      Reply
  6. Burgundy

    This is really interesting! I think learning about ancient cultures is super neat stuff. Great job presenting! 🙂

    Reply
    • Sophia N.

      Thanks Burgundy! Your project was amazing too.

      Reply
  7. gail panske

    Congratulations. Your interest is the subject, using art as a way to study ancient cultures, is exciting to see. Enjoyed the presentation and paper. Great work.

    Reply
    • Sophia N.

      Thank you for your kind words!

      Reply

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