ETRUSCAN IDENTITY

   Etruscan identity appears to have multiple foci at different scales (the individual, the descent group, the community, and the “nation”) that could vary between contexts and permitted some considerable fluidity. The individual can be best identified through inscriptions and mirrors. The descent group can be best identified through the practice of funerary ritual. The community identity is best traced through the spatial layout of the city and the surrounding cemeteries. The “national” identity is best expressed through language, although this had its own regional variation, and a shared name, Rasenna, contrasting with the externally applied name of Tyrrennians.