A Cross-cultural Comparison of Tomb Murals from the Etruscans and the Kingdom of Goguryeo

Abstract

The Etruscan civilization on the Apennine Peninsula (ca. 900 - 27 B.C.) and the kingdom of Goguryeo on the Korean Peninsula (ca. 37 B.C. - 668) were separated by time and space. Nevertheless, they share an interesting aspect of their culture in common which is the creation of murals in the chambers of mounded tombs. These murals provide important insights into the lifeworld and the perceptions of the afterlife for both civilizations.
 The present study compares the themes of the murals from the Etruscans and the kingdom of Goguryeo in order to ascertain similarities and differences in their pictorial language. Whilst the differences may be simply explained by cultural differences, the similarities may point to commonly shared or universal values and modes of representation in early state formations. As can be demonstrated there is a range of themes that occur in both civilizations such as depictions of the tomb owners, banqueting scenes, hunting, processions and many more. The juxtaposition of the funerary art from both civilizations reveals also a few peculiarities which may be unique for each cultural sphere. In case of Goguryeo this is the depiction of star constellations and for the Etruscans the representation of sex scenes.
 It is being argued that the similarities in the scenes can be explained by common social and behavioral factors. These are for instance the performance of an ancestor cult, a strong affiliation to elite distinction and the creation of a group-related identity.