The comparison between the mitochondrial DNA of the current Tuscan population and that extracted from bones discovered in some ancient tombs showed that the Etruscans did not come from Anatolia, as instead claimed by Herodotus, but were an indigenous Italic population, as claimed by Dionysius of Halicarnassus. . Today the descendants of that ancient population are few and scattered in some small communities in Tuscany.
The flowering of the Etruscan civilization was not due to an immigration of populations from Anatolia around the eighth century BC, and currently the direct descendants of the Etruscans are relatively few and dispersed in small communities in Tuscany, such as that of Casentino and Volterra. . It is the conclusion of a large study directed by Guido Barbujani of the University of Ferrara and David Caramelli of the University of Florence, which may have given a conclusive answer on the origin of this ancient population, a diatribe that has been dragging on for over 2000 years. and who saw the opposite hypothesis of Herodotus, according to which precisely the Etruscans would have come from Anatolia, and that of Dionysius of Halicarnassus who wanted them instead autochthonous.
As recalled in the article illustrating the research, published in the journal "PLoS One", previous studies had led to the supposition that the reason was on Herodotus' side, given that the mitochondrial DNA analyzes conducted on current populations had found a similarity genetics between inhabitants of Tuscany and western Anatolia, while noting possible significant differences in the Italian region between groups living a few tens of kilometers away.
To get to the bottom of the question, the researchers tried to analyze in greater geographical detail the biological relationships between contemporary and ancient populations, taking - in agreement with the Archaeological Superintendence for Tuscany - biological samples from bones discovered in the Etruscan necropolis of Casenovole and of Tarquinia, to analyze its mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and compare it with that of various medieval samples and with that of a larger group of Tuscans who now live in different areas of the region, more or less rich in Etruscan historical finds.
The most challenging part of the research is the reconstruction of the Etruscan mtDNA - made possible by the use of next generation sequencing technology (NGS, Next Generation Sequencing) at the Institute of Biomedical Technologies of the CNR in Milan - and the development of demographic models that allowed a small-scale geographical analysis capable of providing proof of a genealogical continuity between the Etruscans and some current inhabitants of ancient Etruria.
The results of the analyzes indicated, the authors write, "that the genetic heritage of the Etruscans is still present, but only in some isolated groups, while the current Tuscans generally do not descend, along the female lines, from Etruscan ancestors". The geographical analysis also shows that "there is no necessary correlation between the presence of archaeological remains and the biological roots of the inhabitants of the areas where these remains are found."
This fact therefore denies the conclusion of the studies that had suggested an Anatolian origin of the Etruscans. Indeed, the evaluation of the genetic distance between Etruscans and modern European populations turns the situation upside down, giving reason to Dionysius of Alicarnassus.
Since, however, the authors still write, "medieval Tuscans appear to descend directly from Etruscan ancestors, it can reasonably be assumed that the genetic heritage of the Murlo and Florence populations [two of the localities where the samplings of the current populations were made, ed] is changed with immigration over the last five centuries ”.
Original article:http://www.lescienze.it/news/2013/02/11/news/igine_etruschi_autoctoni_anatolia_analysis_genetici-1500957/