Economy, 10th cent. - 730 BCE

Abstract: In economic terms the clearest features for Etruria during EIA 1 (1000/950–800 BCE) are:
– The increasing role of a landlocked network of exchange crossing from northeast to southwest
Italy with Etruria at its core. This network was managed by part-time traders who gained advantages
over the rest of the population by dominating exchange and communication.
– The growing exploitation of the local metal ores due to a gradual substitution of copper-alloy
tools and weapons by those of iron.
For EIA 2 (800–730 BCE) there is evidence for:
– Accelerated population growth.
– Craft specialization on account of politically motivated demands of the emerging upper classes
for prestige goods.
– The definite opening of the existing exchange network to overseas merchants/craftsmen from
the Levant and Euboea.
Food, shelter and clothing are the three economic necessities of life. In Etruria, everybody seems
to have had access to these necessities. Shelter during the whole Early Iron Age consisted of huts
that were probably constructed with communal labor by extended families or by clans. Clothing and
textiles were produced in most households, mainly as additional—though labor-intensive—tasks
for women. For the rest, the production of food or agriculture constituted 90–95% of the labor. The
remaining 5—10% was for activities such as mining, metalworking, salt production and a limited
amount for trade and political-religious services.
Agricultural land in Etruria was predominantly collective and probably belonged to clans. Some
rising families within each clan, possibly those managing long-distance exchange, started to control
labor of their fellows and thus claimed part of the productivity. For economic progress, it seems to
have been essential that the rising upper class found ways to collect and dispose of surplus production.
This probably gave rise to economic inequality in return for social-economic protection.
Keywords: Exchange network, craft specialization, land, agriculture