Etruscans 20 Jun 200718 Sep 2017 In a well known quote, the nineteenth century historian and classicist Theodore Mommsen said that the origins of the Etruscans was “neither capable of being known nor worth the knowing”. He had no idea of the results made possible by molecular genetic studies, naturally, as nobody did at that time, but it appears that now that it is capable of being known, it turns out to be worth the knowing. Who’d have thought? [Updated to add links] The Etruscans lived somewhat to the north of the Latins on the Italian peninsula, and also on Corsica. Their language is not identifiably related to any of the local dialects, and they were supplanted and ultimately their culture made extinct, by the Roman expansion. It turns out, according to Alberto Piazza of the University of Turin, that genetics places them squarely in the Anatolian region, or what is modern day Turkey, northern Syria and Northern Iraq. Modern populations that are identifiably derived from the Etruscans, in Tuscany (the name of which comes from the old Latin name for Etruscans), show closest relationships with modern populations in Anatolia. In my latest Genesis post, I mention the “sea peoples”. It’s entirely possible that the Etrsucans were part of the massive migrations in the period from 1500BCE to around 800BCE in the Mediterranean basin and surrounds. Some of the biblical peoples mentioned in Genesis may have been the forerunners of settlers on Sardinia, and the Etruscans are related also to native populations on Lemnos and Sardinia. Suspiciously, nearly all these movements happen at around the time that iron is being worked, largely for weapons; perhaps all these movements are due to displacement of bronze age peoples by iron age peoples. It is also the period in which many of our modern religious traditions began. In yet another vindication of Herodotus by modern science, he reported that the Etruscans were in fact Lydians, a particular kingdom in Anatolia. The “Father of Lies” is in fact quite the solid historian. More Etrurian posts: Effect Measure, and Gene Expression Later: Razib has an even more interesting post on Herodotus’ “Lydian hypothesis”. General Science History Religion Social evolution
Humor Math and urine 16 Sep 2009 I just had to bring this blag post by Randall Munroe on the mathematics of the right choice of urinal to use in mens rooms to your attention. How can one not like a post that describes the ICUP (International Choice of Urinal Protocol) thus: Read More
Evolution Philosophy is to science, as ornithologists are to birds: 1. Introduction 4 Jun 200724 Nov 2022 This three-part series is a talk I gave a while back to some ecologists and molecular biologists. It is a brief overview of the aims and relationship between science and philosophy of science, with a special reference to the classification wars in systematics, and the interface of science and the… Read More
Evolution Myth 4: Darwin was a gradualist 19 Feb 2009 This myth has more to do with what people thought their own views contrasted to, than anything Darwin said, but like all myths, there’s a hint of truth underlying it. The problem with this myth is the ambiguity of the term “gradual”. It is a weasel word, which can mean… Read More
This is lovely, although not entirely unexpected. I believe there was some cultural evidence of the Lemnian connection. Given the unclear relationship between early Rome and the Etruscans (Rome was evidently under Etruscan rule at one point), a completely unprincipled speculation would lead one to wonder whether an early iron age Etruscan migration from Anatolia contributed to the myth of Aeneas.
It is my view that a great many myths of that era are in fact based on actual events, and magnified later. In this case a number of people have suggested that the Etruscans and the Trojans are related. I’m unsure if the Trojans actually formed a single ethnic group, but it may be that Aenas, or his historical forebear, did settle in Etruria, and the Latins took over this story later to validate their claims.
Quite interesting points. You might also be interested in this examination of the history of the Celts and the Anglo-Saxons. It counters some commonly held beliefs. http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/article_details.php?id=7817 “Everything you know about British and Irish ancestry is wrong. Our ancestors were Basques, not Celts. The Celts were not wiped out by the Anglo-Saxons, in fact neither had much impact on the genetic stock of these islands Stephen Oppenheimer”
Great to get a confirmation from molecular biology. People who studied the Etruscans and their civilizations have been suspecting a close link to Anatolic populations for a long time. Thanks for the post.