Abstract
A small quantity of burned human remains was found in a Hellenistic terracotta cinerary urn from Chiusi now housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This mold-made, painted ceramic chest decorated with a battle scene and its lid in the form of a reclining male figure were purchased from a collection known to be rich in materials recovered from Chiusi and its environs. Across the upper edge of the chest is the name of the deceased, inscribed in red pigment. In general, remains found in cinerary containers are assumed to belong to the individuals for whom the object was originally purchased, and a “blind” evaluation of the bones in this container was undertaken as part of the overall study of this object. Comparing the results of the skeletal study with the information from the inscription and lid form offers insights regarding the use of biological studies in augmenting our understanding of the ways in which cinerary containers were used and, by extension, how mortuary practices formed an important part of the Etruscan culture.
About the authors
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Acknowledgements
Our sincere thanks are due to Dr. Carlos Picón (Director, Department of Greek and Roman Art), Drs. Joan R. Mertens and Christopher Lightfoot (Curators, Department of Greek and Roman Art), Drs. Frederico Caro and Marco Leona of the Department of Scientific Research, and De Abramitis of the Department of Objects Conservation for securing permission to study these bones. Special thanks are due Prof. Jean MacIntosh Turfa for her suggestions and careful editing of an earlier draft of this manuscript, and to Alexandra Carpino and two anonymous reviewers for their many helpful suggestions. Thanks also are due to Dr. Anna Rastrelli for her aid to MJB during previous skeletal research in Chiusi. The contributions of Dr. Gabriella Barbieri and Dr. Cameron McNeil are most gratefully acknowledged. Thanks also are due the Congress of the United States of America for the encouragement provided by their tax rules supporting scholarly research. The ideas expressed here as well as any errors of interpretation or of presentation are, of course, solely the responsibility of the authors.
© 2013 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
