This book reconstructs political history from the spatial organization of ancient society, challenging the approach favored by classicists.

The new definitive text on Etruscan terra-cottas

In The Etruscan Cities and Rome, H. H. Scullard examines the cities of Etruria, the dominant power on the Italian peninsula just prior to the ascendancy of Rome. Though eventually conquered by the Romans, the Etruscans exerted enormous influence on Roman political and social institutions. Scullard describes the mysterious origins of these people, their years of conquest and expansion, and their encounters with Greeks, Romans, Celts, and others. Generously illustrated, the book admirably captures the distinct qualities of Etruria's various urban centers - from the southern cities, where art and handicrafts flourished, to the metal-working northern cities, to the outlying Etruscan areas of Latium and Campania.

Fifteen contributors examine the interpretative value of ideas of revolution for explaining historical development within their own speciality. They assess the existing historiography and offer their personal views.

Focuses on the economic history of the community of Rome from the Iron Age to the early Republic.

Our current world is characterized by life in cities, the existence of social inequalities, and increasing individualization. When and how did these phenomena arise? What was the social and economic background for the development of hierarchies and the first cities? The authors of this volume analyze the processes of centralization, cultural interaction, and social differentiation that led to the development of the first urban centres and early state formations of ancient Eurasia, from the Atlantic coasts to China. The chronological framework spans a period from the Neolithic to the Late Iron Age, with a special focus on the early first millennium BC. By adopting an interdisciplinary approach structured around the concepts of identity and materiality, this book addresses the appearance of a range of key phenomena that continue to shape our world.

The Oxford Handbook of Pre-Roman Italy provides a comprehensive account of the many peoples who lived on the Italian peninsula during the last millennium BCE. Written by more than fifty authors, the book describes the diversity of these indigenous cultures, their languages, interactions, and reciprocal influences. It gives emphasis to Greek colonization, the rise of aristocracies, technological innovations, and the spread of literacy, which provided the urban texture that shaped the history of the Italian peninsula.