Mirrors in the Adriatic Region: Holders, Contexts, Exchanges

Summary

This is an abstract from the "And They Look into the Mirror for Answers: Mirror Analysis to Understand Its Holder" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The ancient Adriatic Sea (seventh–second century BC) was a place where consistent encounters and trades happened between the many peoples and cultures who lived on its shores (Etruscan, Picenes, Daunians, Greeks, Illirian . . .). This paper focuses on the use of mirrors in this area by analyzing the contexts where they were been found (mainly, but not exclusively, tombs) in order to understand who their holders were and how these objects could also be moved between quite distant places whether for trade or following the owners. In fact, there are port cities, such as Spina, on the delta of the river Po in Northern Italy, where people with different origins coexisted (mainly Etruscans and Greeks but also Celts, Umbrians . . .) and so also mirrors belonging to different productions have been unearthed. What were the similarities and differences in the use made of mirrors in every cultural district overlooking the Adriatic? Were these objects perceived as distinctive of their own tradition and carried with them by the owners or instead were they luxury objects traded together with other similar ones? A complete survey of the Adriatic documentation allows to advance knowledge on these issues.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• And They Look into the Mirror for Answers: Mirror Analysis to Understand Its Holder   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 41730.0