Developmental Literacy and the Establishment of Regional Identity in
Italy
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Grotta Porcinara, site of a
Messapic sanctuary |
This research project (2002-2005) is an
inter-disciplinary project funded by a major research grant from the
Arts and Humanities Research Board
and based at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London.
It aims to study the role of incipient literacy as a critical factor in
the formation of urban/state societies, and in the emergence of
differing cultural identities. It will focus on three key areas of
ancient Italy - north-east, south-east and north-west - where local
communities developed in contact with the established urban societies of
the Etruscans, the Western Greeks and the Romans.
The broad research aim is to explore the
role played by the adoption of writing and literate skills in the
development of social complexity in culture-contact situations. The
comparative nature of the project should allow the identification of
both shared cultural processes of wide applicability and specific
factors operating locally. Some of the specific questions addressed include:
a) the restriction of literate skills to selected contexts, e.g. the
'ritual' area. Preliminary studies suggest that there is a heavy
emphasis on the ritual use of writing in all three areas, with most
inscriptions coming from either funerary or sanctuary sites. However,
there are many local variations. For instance, in SE Italy inscriptions
occur on the walls of caves such as the Grotta della Poesia and the
Grotta Pagliara, although this practice never occurs in association with
the Greek settlements. Some appear to represent dedications to deities,
which would support an interpretation of the caves as cult places,
perhaps representing the continuation of a long prehistoric tradition of
cave cults in southeast Italy. The local use of writing on cave walls
might provisionally be interpreted as a practice in which the new elite
technology of writing was used to bring renewed validity to
time-honoured rituals carried out in caves, while recursively the ritual
brought validity to the new technology by incorporating it within
established local symbolic systems and social practices.
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Grotta della Poesia: interior of
cave sanctuary
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b) literate skills as the exclusive prerogative of a religious and/or
political elite. This might be assessed through examination of the
absolute numbers of inscriptions, the variety of contexts in which they
occur and, sometimes, the content of the texts (e.g. plausible
interpretations as explicit references to priests and priestesses,
royalty or officials of various kinds). Where inscriptions occur on
everyday objects such as loom-weights, we might deduce that literacy (at
some level) was not restricted to elites but more widespread.
c) the association of developing literacy with one or both genders.
Analysis of contexts in which identifiably female and male names occur
may help elucidate the nature of these roles and also throw light on
other aspects of gender roles, relations and ideology in this society.
d) the technology of writing and its relationship to other technologies
and craft skills. One way in which this can be examined is by looking at
the different materials on which inscriptions are found. For instance,
where bronze objects were inscribed at the time of manufacture, we may
assume that some bronze-smiths were literate (at least to some extent)
and we may wish to deduce some connection between the craft of
metal-working and the craft of writing. We can also look at the
materials used for writing, such as the bronze writing palettes and
styluses discussed above, although it will be necessary to consider the
distinction between everyday tools and their symbolic counterparts
deposited in sanctuaries or tombs.
e) the application of the new literacy to specific purposes, the role of
the 'reader', and the importance of symbolic function. This involves
consideration of more general theoretical issues concerning literacy. In
particular we shall examine critically the interpretation of writing as
communication and the concept of the reader. For instance, we shall ask
who might be considered the 'reader' in the many cases of writing
interred in tombs, inscribed on cave walls (distant from natural light),
or buried in votive deposits in sanctuaries. At this preliminary stage
we feel that writing may often have had a symbolic function in these
societies, not necessarily directly connected with the content of the
inscriptions, but more closely related to the social contexts in which
they were produced, displayed and disposed of.
Etruscan and central Italian
literacy in socio-cultural context
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Etruscan tombs from Caere |
Central Italy in general, and Etruria in particular, is a key region
for the study of literacy in Italy. It was the first region to adopt
writing from Greeks and Phoenicians, and to adapt it to local
purposes. The early date of the introduction of alphabetic writing
poses interesting questions about possible connections between
literacy and the social, economic and political changes which resulted
in the development of state/urban societies in the region.
To enhance the study of
variation in the development of early literacy in central Italy, we
will study not only Etruria itself but also the neighbouring areas in
which Etruscans settled and with which they had close contact
(principally Latium, Campania and Umbria).
Since the quantity of written material from the regions is very large,
the project will focus on evidence for the period from the earliest
development of writing to approximately the early 4th
century BC. In addition to keeping the sample size manageable, this
will allow us to focus on a specific phase in the development of
Etruscan society, which underwent significant social changes and
changes from the 4th century onwards.
The primary objective of
this project is to develop an understanding of the social context of
literacy in Etruria, from its earliest development to approximately
the beginning of the 4th century BC. The project will seek
to build on the studies mentioned above by undertaking a more
comprehensive and fine-tuned chronological and geographical survey of
the early inscriptions from Etruria. It will also attempt a more
systematic survey of the wider culture of writing, studying items
related to writing and other evidence such as visual representations
of writing in tomb-paintings, sculpture and locally-produced
vase-painting. By comparing different types of evidence for writing
and literacy, it should be possible to reach some more secure
conclusions about the introduction and diffusion of writing, and its
social context.
Our second objective is
to contribute to the development of theoretical accounts of ancient
literacy and its impact on society, in particular in the context of
early Italy. There has recently been considerable interest in the
development of literacy in early societies amongst anthropologists,
archaeologists and historians working on many early societies, but
only relatively recently have scholars attempted to apply this
theoretical work to early Italy.
Finally, the project will
use the study of literacy as a vehicle for examining cultural
differentiation within Etruria. There has been a strong trend in
Etruscan studies to regard the region as a cultural unity in
Antiquity, but in fact, there are major differences within the region
(and especially between north and south Etruria) in culture, in
economic development, in contacts with areas beyond Etruria, and in
urbanisation. By examining possible differences in the establishment
and usage of literacy between various parts of the region, or between
major centres, we hope to shed further light both on differentiation
within Etruria and also differences between the Etruscans and their
central Italian neighbours, such as the Latins or Campanians.
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