BIOGRAPHIES OF OBJECTS

   The idea that an object has a biography relates to postcolonial theory, which emphasizes that objects collect a history (which may or may not be passed on) as they move between ownerships in exchange and trading transactions. Objects may also switch meanings as they move between contexts. This situation clearly applies to many distinctive objects found in Etruscan tombs and is particularly important because it counterweighs the strong thread of Hellenization that runs through the study of the Etruscans. Some of the threads of biography can be distentangled by looking at the sequence of treatments of the object, such as the addition of an inscription or wear patterns.