Lemnos

The inhabitants of Lemnos represented a pocket of Etruscan. There are difficulties with this theory if you look at the alphabet and language in some detail. The stele is dated to about 600, and uses an alphabet used in northern Etruria, at that time. The first evidence of Etruscan inscription dates to around 750 BCE, and use a script that was based on the alphabet beginning of Evia, learned of the Greeks of Cumae. The Greeks first established their settlement at Cumae in 750 BC, but there was evidence of the Etruscans in Italy long before that time. If the stele of Lemnos was an isolated aberration of a pre-Indo European language and the alphabet is too similar to the Etruscan for her to have developed any other source. It is more likely to represent a single colony of one of the Pelasgians.

Theory from the North, which bases its evidence on the similarities and Raetian Etruscan language has a major flaw, in that entries are Alpine Rhaetia much later and are more consistent with later influences, Etruscan, or associated dissemination of the Etruscans to the north after Celtic incursions.

Modern archaeologists have come to believe that the history of the Etruscans can be traced fairly accurately, based on the examination of burial sites, artifacts, and writing. The descendants of the people Villanovan in Etruria in central Italy, Etruscan, a distinct culture emerged in the early 7th century BC, as evidenced by the inscriptions in a language like Greek Euboea. The tombs, some of which were richly decorated, promotes the idea of an aristocratic city-state with centralized power structures of policing and public works construction, such as irrigation, roads and defense of the city.

There are problems with all theories that suggest that the truth is much more complicated than always.A likely solution is that the Etruscans were indigenous, but were subject to cultural influences and immigrants at various stages of their history. The nature of these cultural influences are now much better understood. The result of this was a gradual development of Etruscan civilization. The influx at one point a group of Lydia is not inconsistent with this neo indigenous winning the acceptance of more and more.

There is no moment where we can say that the Etruscan civilization began. According to the libri fatal as described by Censorinus, the date can be calculated to 968 BC, but it was a gradual change that came over the land that would become the Etruria. Between 10th and 8th century BC, several things began to happen: There was a drift of village settlements scattered in urban environments. The incidence of cremations has declined in favor of burial. The land was cleared and drained on a massive scale. Trade with the Aegean Sea has begun, seen by the appearance of Greek artifacts.

Heavy metal deposition on the island of Elba and the coast nearby and the wealth of Etruscan agriculture led to growing prosperity to the Etruscans. Bulk export of general trade amphorae used for delivery of large and metal ingots were also found in several sites.

At the end of the 7th century BC, the Etruscan territory was expanded to include parts of northern Italy, with the League of the Po Valley, and Etruscan cities ruled over vast areas of Lazio, including Rome, and Campania in the south.

With increased trade and specialization of craft, the application of new techniques, especially in metal mining and agriculture, living standards improved. This corresponded to an exponential.