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Scientists Solve Etruscan Mystery

(ANSA) - Rome, June 19 - DNA solves The ancient mystery of where the Etruscans came from. The Etruscans, who once dominated central Italy, were so different from the other peoples of Italy that their neighbours came up with severaltheories about their origin.

Long before the days of Rome's greatness, Italy was the home of a people far advanced in civilization--the Etruscans, or Tyrrhenians. These people rose to prosperity and power, then almost vanished from recorded history, leaving unsolved many questions about their origin and culture.

Some would say they were an ancient race from their heartland in present-day Tuscany but some thought they came from as far as northern Europe.

The Greek historian Herodotus believed, however, that they had sailed to Italy from Anatolia, in what is now south-east Turkey, looking to survive the long famine that had afflicted their homeland.

Now a team from Turin university says Herodotus was right.

Comparing DNA from people living in what was once the Etruscan heartland in Tuscany with that of today's inhabitants of Greek islands, the Middle East and other regions, a team led by Professor Alberto Piazza say they have found "a unique genetic component" shared only by central Tuscans and Turks.

"We knew that the people of Volterra and other Tuscan towns were genetically different from those in neighbouring areas," said Piazza at an international genetics conference in Nice over the weekend.

"Now we have found the precise genetic variant that appears to have clinched the question of their origins". The discovery has been supported by another recent genetic studies carried out by the University of Piacenza which found that Tuscany's cattle, famous for their uniquely tasty and hefty meat, were "60% similar" to Turkish breeds. It is also believed The Etruscans formed the first advanced civilization in Italy, based in an area called Etruria, which corresponds to present-day Tuscany and northern Lazio.

At the height of their power at around 500 BC - when Rome itself was subjugated - they spread to the foothills of the Alps and southward close to Naples.

Modern knowledge of their civilization is based mostly on archaeological findings, since much of their language still hasn't been deciphered.

For many people the Etruscans have a romantic, mysterious aura and there are tons of web sites devoted to them.

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