Economy 730-580 BCE

Abstract: In this chapter a divide is presented between the economies of:
1. The Early and Middle Orientalizing period (730–640/630), with its lavish levels of wealth and
conspicuous consumption as documented in funerary rituals. This phase also records the emergence
of monumental architecture, tombs and infrastructure; and
2. The Late Orientalizing period (640/630–580), with its rising urbanization, increasing workshop
mode of production and expanding markets for better quality, mass-produced commodities.
The shift between this divide is exemplified by the transition from huts to houses during the Late
Orientalizing period but can also be illustrated by the imitation of luxury products in more modest
materials. Stylistic conformity and devaluation were the result, revealing close relations between the
various crafts. The economy remained largely landlocked. The increasing exploitation of the available
resources rose gradually, starting from patterns that became established during the eight century.
However, during the seventh century, the scale and differentiation of the economy in Etruria enlarged
significantly assisted by considerable population growth. Surveys have shown that the countryside
around major centers became more and more inhabited with minor settlements. Hierarchies of craft
workers evolved with differences between primary, secondary and tertiary settlements. Specialization
was most advanced in the capitals of the rising city-states. The demand for ceramics during the late
seventh century probably established early nucleation of pottery workshops at key sites such as Veii,
Caere, Tarquinia, Vulci, and Vetulonia. At secondary settlements the process of craft specialization
occurred as well but not to the same extent as in the main power centers.
Market conditions and exchange by quantification were more developed in the trading sites
along the coast for the management of long-distance exchange with overseas traders. Most local
exchange was still reciprocal and by barter. Many farmers lived in or near the key centers and
acquired progressively more products from specialized workshops, reflecting the growth of interior
markets.
Uncertainties remain about the economic role of war and of rising institutions. It is probable
that ongoing economic growth created opportunities for many and that enduring warfare was absent
to some extent as long as the surrounding hinterland of the rising Etruscan city-states was not fully
exploited and dominated. Institutions were predominantly run by the leading families of various
clans. By managing labor and exchange, their hold on the increasingly more complex economy of
Etruria had become considerable.
Keywords: Standardization, urbanization, settlement hierarchy, workshop mode of production,
expanding demand