The debate on the origins of Etruscans, documented in central Italy between the 8th and the 1st century BC, dates back to the antiquity. Herodotus described them as a group of immigrants from Lydia, in Western Anatolia, whereas for Dionysus of Halicarnassus they were an indigenous population, a view shared by most modern archaeologists. Claims about an Anatolian origin of the Etruscans, based on similarities between the mtDNAs of contemporary Turks and Tuscans, were not confirmed by the analysis of ancient DNA data. In this study we tested alternative models of Etruscan origins by Approximate Bayesian Computation methods, comparing levels of genetic diversity in the mtDNAs of modern and ancient populations, with those obtained by millions of computer simulations. The results show that that the observed genetic similarities between modern Tuscans and Anatolians cannot be attributed to an immigration wave from the East leading to the onset of the Etruscan culture in Italy. Genetic links between Tuscany and Anatolia do exist, but date back to a remote stage of prehistory, possibly but not necessarily to the spread of farmers during the Neolithic period.
Genetic evidence does not support an etruscan origin in Anatolia
TASSI, Francesca;GHIROTTO, Silvia;BARBUJANI, Guido
2013
Abstract
The debate on the origins of Etruscans, documented in central Italy between the 8th and the 1st century BC, dates back to the antiquity. Herodotus described them as a group of immigrants from Lydia, in Western Anatolia, whereas for Dionysus of Halicarnassus they were an indigenous population, a view shared by most modern archaeologists. Claims about an Anatolian origin of the Etruscans, based on similarities between the mtDNAs of contemporary Turks and Tuscans, were not confirmed by the analysis of ancient DNA data. In this study we tested alternative models of Etruscan origins by Approximate Bayesian Computation methods, comparing levels of genetic diversity in the mtDNAs of modern and ancient populations, with those obtained by millions of computer simulations. The results show that that the observed genetic similarities between modern Tuscans and Anatolians cannot be attributed to an immigration wave from the East leading to the onset of the Etruscan culture in Italy. Genetic links between Tuscany and Anatolia do exist, but date back to a remote stage of prehistory, possibly but not necessarily to the spread of farmers during the Neolithic period.I documenti in SFERA sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
