Michael Parker Jr., age 16, of Billings, Mont., for his question:

WHAT WAS THE VILLANOVAN CULTURE?

Villanovan culture dates from the earliest Iron Age of Italy, which ran from 1000 B.C. until about 700 B.C. The cultural period of time obtained its name from remains of an ancient civilization that wets uncovered by archeologists in 1853 in the town of Villanova, near Bologna.

Evidence of the early culture was found in a cemetery. Later, similar remains were found in many other places in northern and north central Italy.

Ail of the relics showed advanced knowledge of metalworking, far superior in quality to that of the lake dwellers.

The culture of the Villanovans was similar to the ancient culture of the Austrians. They cremated their dead and placed the ashes in pottery urns that wets decorated with geometric designs. The urns ware then buried in graves along with iron and bronze articles such as brooches and representations of animals that may have been votive offerings.