Italian DNA: ancient origins from the Iron Age Latins to Europe's steepest cline
Rome's ancient-DNA transect, the Iron Age base, the imperial eastern shift, why Italy holds Europe's largest internal genetic variation, and what Sardinia preserves. How to read an Italian genome, region by region.
- From farmers to the Iron Age peoples
- The imperial experiment
- The cline, and the island that opted out
- Reading your own results
- Frequently asked questions
- Are modern Italians descended from the Romans?
- Why do southern Italians score "Greek" or "Middle Eastern" components?
- Is there a single Italian genetic profile?
- Sources and further reading
Related posts
Sicilian DNA: ancient origins of the Mediterranean's great crossroads
Sicily's ancient-DNA record runs from island foragers through a late steppe arrival, Greek and Phoenician colonists, Roman, Arab and Norman centuries. What each layer actually left in Sicilian genomes, and how to read your own.
4 min read
English DNA: ancient origins from the Beaker reset to the Anglo-Saxon century
England has ancient DNA's best-measured migrations: a Beaker-era turnover, a mid-Bronze Age Celtic-era influx, the quantified Anglo-Saxon settlement and the Danelaw. What each layer left in English genomes, and how to read yours.
4 min read
Egyptian DNA: ancient origins from the Old Kingdom genome to the modern Nile
Egypt finally has ancient genomes: what the Old Kingdom and mummy-era samples show about ancient Egyptian ancestry, how the modern Nile gene pool differs, and how to read an Egyptian genome honestly.
4 min read