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The Roman life course: a view from the inscriptions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2017

Louise Revell
Louise Revell*
Affiliation:
University of Southampton, UK
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Abstract

Epitaphs inscribed on stone record biographical information about the deceased, and in certain cases, the age at death. However, it has been demonstrated that these ages on Roman epitaphs are not an accurate reflection of the demographics of death, but are subject to cultural bias. Using the idea of the ‘life course’, this article explores these cultural biases and their relationship to age and gender structures. Material from Italy suggests that these are tied into ideologies of gender, with adulthood defined by the transition to magistrate for men and wife for women. Material from other areas demonstrates different patterns, and in the case of Etruria, these are shown to be a negotiation between pre-Roman and Romanized customs. The phenomenon of ‘age-rounding’ is also argued to be part of these ideas of correct age.

Les épitaphes sur pierre contiennent des informations biographiques sur les défunts et, dans certains cas, leur âge au moment de leur mort. Toutefois on a démontré que ces indications d'âge dans les épitaphes romaines ne sont pas un reflet exact des données démographiques des décès, mais sont soumis à des tendances culturelles. En utilisant le concept du ‘cours de vie’, cet article examine ces tendances culturelles et leur relation avec les structures d'âge et de sexe. En se basant sur des pierres italiennes, on prétend que ces tendances étaient liées à des idéologies de sexe, l'âge adulte étant pour l'homme le moment où il atteint la position de magistrat et pour la femme le moment où elle devient épouse. Parmi les épitaphes originaires d'autres régions se laissent distinguer des modèles différents. Dans le cas de l'Etrurie, ces modèles sont des négociations entre des coutumes préromaines et des coutumes romanisées. Le phénomène d' ‘arrondissement d'âge’ est également supposé faire partie de ces concepts de l'âge correct.

Zusammenfassung

Zusammenfassung

Steinerne Epitaphe zeichnen biographische Informationen der Verstorbenen und – in bestimmten Fällen – das Alter zum Zeitpunkt des Todes auf. Es ist jedoch nachgewiesen worden, dass diese Altersangaben auf römischen Epitaphen keine akkurate Widerspiegelung der Sterbedemographie darstellen, sondern kulturell beeinflusst sind. Mittels des Konzeptes des ‘Lebenslaufes’ untersucht der vorliegende Beitrag diese kulturellen Einflüsse und ihre Beziehung zu Strukturen von Alter und Gender. Fundmaterial aus Italien legt nahe, dass diese Einflüsse mit Ideologien von Gender verknüpft sind, mit dem Erwachsenenstatus, der durch den Übergang zum amtsfähigen Alter bei Männern und zur Ehefrau bei Frauen definiert wird. Material anderer Regionen zeigt unterschiedliche Merkmale, und im Falle Etruriens ist dies ein Wandel zwischen vorrömischen und romanisierten Bräuchen. Das Phänomen des ‘gerundeten Alters’ wird ebenfalls als Teil dieser Ideen des korrekten Alters diskutiert.

Keywords

ageage-roundingepitaphsgenderideologylife courseregionalityRomanâgearrondissement de l'âgeépitaphesidéologiecours de la vierégionalitéromainAltergerundetes AlterEpitapheGenderIdeologieLebenslaufRegionalitätRömer
Type
Articles
Information
European Journal of Archaeology , Volume 8 , Issue 1 , 2005 , pp. 43 - 63
Copyright
Copyright © 2005 Sage Publications 

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