Prompt Cast
Urbanization in the Iron Age Mediterranean: A Landscape Perspective
TLDR Professor Simon Stoddart discusses the process of urbanization in the Iron Age Mediterranean, focusing on the growth of cities in regions like Greece, Phoenicia, and Italy. Studying the Etruscans from a landscape perspective allows for a better understanding of their cities, their interaction with the environment, and their cultural achievements.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
Professor Simon Stoddart discusses the process of urbanization in the Iron Age Mediterranean and the differences between the growth of cities in various regions, such as Greece, Phoenicia, and Italy.
04:55
Professor Simon Stoddart discusses his background in archaeology and how it combines physicality and intellectual thinking, as well as his interest in the Etruscans and their material remains.
10:17
Professor Simon Stoddart discusses his interest in the Etruscans and their material remains, particularly their tombs and cities, and his focus on understanding the rural settlements and differentiation of the Etruscans throughout Italian history.
15:29
Taking a landscape approach to studying the Etruscans allows for a broader understanding of the context in which their cities were placed, and this approach is gaining force among the younger generation of scholars.
20:47
Studying the Etruscans from a landscape perspective allows for a better understanding of their cities and how they interacted with their surroundings, including their agricultural practices and resource distribution.
25:53
Studying the Etruscans from a landscape perspective allows for a better understanding of their cities and how they interacted with their surroundings, including their agricultural practices and resource distribution.
30:57
The study of the Etruscan city of Tarquinia, specifically the unusual burial practices and characteristics of certain individuals found in the center of the city, raises questions about their significance and potential role as leaders or agents in the creation of a new society.
36:00
The process of nucleation and urbanization can vary depending on the region, with some cities being built on fresh sites and others being persistent sites that grow over time, and the Etruscan cities in Tarquinia and Vey fall somewhere in between as they started as village-sized settlements and then expanded to exploit the entire plateaus.
41:04
The Etruscan cities, such as Tarquinia, had a stepwise gradual nucleation process, starting as villages and expanding to form groups of villages and then a foundation on the plateau, likely aided by religion as a cohesive force, but they never formed a unified imperial strategy like the Romans.
46:21
The concept of pure polity interaction, coined by Colin Renfrew, helps us understand the Etruscan civilization and their different culturally distinct cities.
51:44
The future of Etruscology involves the use of GIS and landscape approaches to understand the territory and cultural achievements of the Etruscans.
56:52
The exciting thing about archaeology is that it stimulates new questions and allows for a more comprehensive understanding of the past, including the human experience in landscapes, buildings, and fields, rather than just individual moments or snapshots in time.
Categories:
History
Society & Culture
