The Etruscan World (Routledge Worlds)

• chapter 60: Animals in the Etruscan household –

Rome, Fiesole Museo Archeologico, Volterra Museo Guarnacci, Viterbo Museo Civico,
Museo Nazionale Cerite (Cerveteri) and The Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

Necropoleis/tombs

In addition to museums and art galleries, some of the catalogued material is still to be
found at tombs or other archaeological sites, or has known provenance to certain tombs.
These include: Cerveteri: the Regolini-Galassi Tomb, the Banditaccia Necropoleis, the
Tomb of the Painted Animals (reliefs), the Sorbo Necropolis; Tarquinia: the Tomb of
the Baron, the Tomb of the Augurs, the Bruschi Tomb, the Tomb of the Triclinium, the
Temple of Ara della Regina, the Tomb of the Chariots, Monterozzi Necropolis; Castel
san Mariano near Perugia; Palestrina: the Bernardini and Barberini Tombs, the Castellani
Tomb; Vulci: the Isis Tomb, Tomb 177, the François Tomb; Chiusi: the Tomb of the Hill,
Palazzaccio, the Purni family Tomb at Città della Pieve; Veii: the Tomb of the Ducks;
Peschiera Necropolis; and the Certosa Necropolis in Bologna. Still other material has
been catalogued simply according to city/region.

Animal motifs

Of the 433 animal motifs I have catalogued (260 artifacts), the most popular in terms
of the Etruscan “Top 10,” were, in descending order, the horse (see Fig. 60.2a, 2o, 2r);
lion (see Fig. 60.2e, 2n, 2s); sphinx (see Fig. 60.2d); dog (see Fig. 60.2m: Jannot 1986:
Fig. 5, British Museum GR1891.6–24.53, from Chiusi); bird (generic: see Fig. 60.2b,
and Fig. 60.3); winged horse (Fig. 60.2j); deer/fawn (Fig. 60.2c, 2l); griffi n (Fig. 60.2p);
and goat (Fig. 60.2c). However, it should be noted that the most popular by far were the
top three (horse, lion and sphinx), which together comprised some 35 per cent of all the
animal motifs catalogued.

ANIMAL MOTIFS

Over the eons of human history, our species has had a close contact with living organisms
and especially with those used to provide sustenance (Moore, 1988). Indeed, some cultures
have even chosen to dress for ceremonies in such a way as to resemble and imitate the
behavior of a protective animal “totem,” for example, a bear or a wolf. Furthermore, in
some cases, this tradition was extended to the belief that upon death, an individual would
revert to becoming just such a protective animal. However, representational art is believed
to have had its origins around 30,000 years ago, and the objects discovered so far tell us
something about our early ancestors, and what they thought about, which was for the
most part animals; those they chose to hunt for food and those they feared (Moore, 1988).
Early Paleolithic cave art reveals an insight into the artists’ passion. Moore (1988)
estimates that of all the known cave art more than 50 per cent represents wild horses, 16
per cent is of cattle, 11 per cent is of deer, 2 per cent is of cave lions and approximately 1
per cent is of mythical beasts, for example, unicorns. In another more detailed assessment
of early cave art, Leroi-Gourhan (1967) analyzed the paintings of 72 late Paleolithic caves
in France and Spain and found representations as follows: 28 per cent horse, 23 per cent
bison, 11 per cent deer, 9 per cent mammoth, 8 per cent ibex, 6 per cent cattle, 5 per
cent humans and less than 5 per cent in total of cave lions, bears, birds, fi sh and monsters.