The origins of Roman art are a complex mix of native and imported styles and concepts that ultimately coalesced into what we now view as the art created by the Romans. Questions of chronology, location, and even historiography all come into play to help us understand the artistic and cultural meaning(s) of the art we have come to call Roman. Prior to the control of the Italian Peninsula by the Romans, the landscape was littered with cultures — Villanovan, Oscan, Etruscan, and Greek — all of which had lively production centers and trade in art of all media. Of these, the two most formative precursors to Roman art styles were the Etruscan and, via the Etruscans and the colonies in the south, the Greek ( see Art, Greece ). Indeed, much like their culture and broad political hegemony, Etruscan art had such an impact on the Romans that it can often be difficult to determine where Etruscan art ends and Roman art begins. Though their origins are obscure, the Etruscans ( see Etruria, Etruscans…