The Etruscan Enigma

REVIVED:
Asia Etruscos sibi vindicate
Asia Claims the Etruscans back

Sterling Wright
2014

Abstract
The Etruscan civilization was a unique ancient Italian culture that has a recognizable
archaeological culture, which is very different from the Villanovan and Roman culture. The
Etruscans were at one point a very powerful nation. In fact they had major influences on Rome
such as their architecture. However, once they were overtaken by the Romans, their sort of
culture faded and their story was forgotten. Since much academic effort has been put forth into
understanding this culture, a clearer picture has been painted about who they were. Nevertheless,
the question of whether the Etruscans were an autochthonous group or a group that migrated to
North Central Italy from the Near East has been debated for centuries. Ancient writers such as

Herodotus give us hints about the Etruscans origin but these sources disagree with one another.
Scholarship over the centuries has changed positions as new material has been analyzed. Today,
archaeologists agree for the most part that the Etruscans were an autochthonous group.
Interestingly, modern science such as DNA technology has revived this ancient question of where
the Etruscans came from. The DNA evidence put forth reveals that the Etruscans could have been
descendants of Near Eastern populations. However, much more work needs to be done. One idea
put forth is that ancient Lydian skeletal DNA and Etruscan skeletal DNA need to be compared
with directly.
1. Introduction
After the collapse of the Mycenaean civilization in the twelfth century, the decline of
prominent architectural structures and the reduction in trade left the Mediterranean in a different
state of mind. For centuries, traders and merchants travelled from the Levant all the way to Italy.
However, once mainland Greece recovered and their culture started to crystallize once more
starting around the ninth century, we start to see the emergence of organized civilizations such as
the Etruscans.
The Etruscan culture began to prosper ca. 900 B.C. and we can tell this by seeing
cemeteries and the grave goods buried in them. During the 8 th and 7th centuries B.C. we see
influences from the Near East becoming prevalent in the art of the Etruscans. Phoenician and
Euboean ceramics found in Sardinia, Sicily, and Veii, are evidence that there was contact from the
East. Pottery remains from Cerveteri, Vetulonia, Vulci, and other sites show distinct Greek
influences. Perhaps the most recognized ware that can be found is bucchero, which has a lustrous
black finish to its surface. Fast-forwarding, the history of the Etruscans comes to an abrupt end in
the first-century B.C. when the Romans annexed the Etruscan land. 1 For the most part, their
history and stories were forgotten.
For a long time the origin of the Etruscans has been a major question. There is a general

consensus among scholars today that the Etruscans were a group of people that lived in what is
not Italy. This agreement in scholarship is relatively new and has not come without much debate
and research over the last two hundred years. The question of the origin of the Etruscans has been
disputed since ancient times. Herodotus mentions them in his book but very briefly. According to
him, a Lydian group was exiled as a result of a prolonged famine. Other ancient authors such as
Dionysius of Halicarnassus and Livy disagree with his version of Etruscan origins. I will explain
what these authors said later on. The Etruscans themselves, however, believed that their story
begun with a boy named Tages, who popped out of the fields of Tarquinia. This vexed question
was once limited to a fixed number of literary sources and a scarce amount of archaeological
artifacts. In the twenty-first century, DNA testing, namely the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
technique and a few other techniques have revived this enigma about the genesis of the Etruscans.

1. The Theories for their origin

Three theories have been put forth to explain the origin of the Etruscans: the
autochthonous, the northern, and the oriental. First, the autochthonous theory, posits that the
Etruscans were a people who have always lived in North Central Italy, which again is what the
Etruscans themselves believed. An Etruscan scholar who has taken much time to uncover
archaeological artifacts on the Etruscans is Rosella Lorenzi. She describes the second theory,
which was supported by a Roman historian named Livy that the Etruscans were a group of people
who migrated south. Lastly, the oriental theory, gains much of its support from Egyptian and
Hittite records. These records refer to a group of people who called themselves the Teresh, which
to some scholars is close enough to Tyrsenoi, a name given ascribed to the culture that lived in
what is known as Etruria. According to Drews, the scholars who believed in this theory advocated
that environmental influences such as a major drought could have led a great migration of people.

These same scholars also supported this theory because of all the Eastern influences that can be
seen in the Etruscan culture. The name Tyrsenoi is similar in pronunciation, to some scholars at
least, to Tyrrhenos. Tyrrhenos, who Herodotus mentions in his first book (1.94), was the Lydian
prince that led a great migration of Lydians to a new land across the sea. Back in the 1950s, the
oriental theory was in fact the widely accepted theory by most archaeologists. However, most
scholars accepted this theory long before the DNA testing on ancient remains had been in place.
The beginnings of this Anatolian people and their language can roughly date to ca. 2000
B.C. Their culture continued until early Roman times. The Lydian kingdom had thrived for
several centuries, based on their amounts of gold and according to Herodotus about Croesus, until
Cyrus the Great of Persia invaded their land. The destruction of the Lydian kingdom has been
based on cups that have been excavated at Sardis. However, the rise of the Lydian empire did not
occur until the seventh century where much of the archaeological evidence, such as architecture,
coins, and so forth, for them dates to. We see them in the literary record in Herodotus, who was
an ancient historian writing in the fifth century. He describes the Lydians as being very similar to
the Greeks, since they share all the same customs except that the Lydians prostitute their women. 2
Furthermore, he describes how they known to have been for being the first people to use coinage
consisting of gold and silver. Lastly, he mentions that they were the first group to become retailers
of commodities that they themselves did not manufacture. 2
Most scholars today, unlike the scholars 60 years ago, agree that the Etruscans were an
autochthonous group. This conclusion is based on years of archaeological evidence that comes
from the area of with which the Etruscan, proto-Villanovan and Villanovan culture are associated.
These cultures are heavily defined by their material culture because the literary evidence on them
is scanty. Only recently has the Etruscan language been deciphered enough to shed any light on
what the Etruscans were writing. The question of what the Etruscan culture was like is not that
difficult to answer. With all the excavations in Italy, the material culture, including tombs, graves,
and architectural remnants, of the Etruscans has produced a vivid picture of their identity.

2. The Archaeological Evidence

Archaeologists and historians alike have tried to definitively answer whether or not the
Etruscans were an autochthonous group or a group from the Near East, solely based on the
features of the material they have unearthed. Clues about their origins can come from their
archaeological record which includes clothes, architecture, and other remnants. One finding, the
Morgan statuette was likely made by an Etruscan artist based on artistic characteristics but this
can be debated. The dress of the figure includes an Ionian chiton, pointed shoes, and a himation.
An interesting artistic motif here is the pointed shoes, which first appear in Etruscan art in ca. 550
B.C. At this time there was a transitioning period in art from the Daedalic to the Ionic style. An
architectural characteristic that can only be seen in Etruria and not in the West is the podia. In
addition, the Etruscans had influences on Roman architecture that can be seen at the Temple of
Jupiter Optimus Maximus, erected in 525 B.C. to 509 B.C. According to Lorenzi, not only did the
Etruscans influence Roman architecture, they even taught the Romans on how to build roads.
These examples of Etruscan material culture allow archaeologists to distinguish what is Etruscan
from other ancient Italic cultures.

Figure 1 The Queen's Tomb can be found in Tarquinia, which was a major Etruscan
settlement. The walls here were covered with gypsum. This gypsum could have been
exported from Cyprus, Egypt, or Syria. Most scholars believe that Eastern Mediterranean
artists were employed for this project. This image was taken from the Lorenzi study.
A specific example of an Etruscan artifact is the Queens Tomb (see Figure 1), which can
be found in Tarquinia. The tomb is 130 feet in diameter and dates to the Orientalizing period. 3
What is unique about this tomb is that the walls of it were originally daubed with a one-inch-thick
layer of gypsum. The gypsum used by the artisans came from Cyprus, Egypt and/or Syria.
Oriental and Greek luxuries begin to appear in Etruscan chamber tombs about 630 B.C. in places
like San Giovenale. Interestingly enough, Asia Minor is the closest comparison to the mounds
and chamber tombs of the Etruscans at sites such as Cerveteri and San Giovenale. The similarities

found between the Etruscans and the Lydians in tomb construction have lead some scholars to
believe in the theory put by Herodotus.

Figure 2 Found in Pyrgi, Italy, scholars have been able to understand more and more of the
Etruscan language with findings similar to this. The Etruscan script was a modified Greek
alphabet. This picture was taken from the Lorenzi article.
Language has been another puzzling feature that ancient historians have studied when
asking questions about Etruscan origins. There are definitely similarities between the Etruscan
and Lydian languages. The artifact that resurrected the Etruscan and Lydian connection was the
Lemnos stele, which was discovered in 1885 (See Figure 3). It is undoubtedly understood that
there is an affinityseveral similarities in language structurebetween the Etruscan and
Lemnian inscriptions. To some scholars, the inscriptions seem to be of an Etruscan dialect.

Figure 3 The Lemnos Stele. This stele was discovered in 1885. Lemnos has been an
interesting site for people interested in the Etruscan enigma. It is where the DNA and
language come together and puzzle archaeologists. Scholars agree that the stele is not
Etruscan but the form in characters seem too similar to Etruscan to not have connections.
This image was taken from the Ambrozic article.
Similarities found in the archaeological record, however, whether they are architectural,
artistic motifs, or language similarities, can never prove a genetic connection. Thus, artifacts with
inscriptions and architecture will never be able to definitively identify the Etruscans genetic
relatedness to their true ancestors. Just because similar styles in tomb construction can be found
in Etruria and Lydia does not mean a migration of Lydians occurred in the manner described by
Herodotus. It is an equally valid argument to say that the Etruscans went to the East and learned
techniques by cultural diffusion.
The relationship between science and archaeology has been growing and growing over
the years. One of the most fruitful contributions science has given to archaeology is DNA testing.
One example how DNA testing has been used to confirm history is the studying of the Genghis

Kahn bloodline. I will go more into detail about this later on. Great certainty of genetic
relatedness can be assumed when there are similarities in individuals DNA. Understanding how
DNA has provided new evidence for the Etruscans origins is critical and thus a little background
of DNA shall be provided.
To start with, the four basic components of DNA are adenine, thymine, cytosine, and
guanine. Long strands of these base pairs comprise an individuals DNA sequence. Thus, when
two sequences have exactly the same ten base pairs in order on the same number chromosome,
the probability of this happening at random, instead of by inheritance, is extremely small since
the chance is (1/4)10, which is 9.5x10-7 That is why similarities in DNA are convincing pieces of
evidence, because when two DNA are almost matching, the chance of this occurring by chance is
highly unlikely. Therefore, when similarities are seen in Etruscan samples and populations in
modern-day Turkey, Herodotus tale on the Etruscan origin gains some credence.
3. The DNA evidence
One academic has stated, Molecular genetics is conventionally seen to fuel a new
synthesis centered on population history. By this, he meant that science is allowing historians
and archaeologists to answer old questions and begin to ask new ones. For example, genetic tests
have revealed that many people who live in the area that was once conquered by Genghis Kahn
share his genetic makeup. In fact, it is estimated that 16 million males, alone, are living today
carrying his genes based on the sequences of their Y chromosome.
There are a number of reasons why reproducibility, which means can the experiment be
replicated over and over. This causes a conundrum for those who are working with ancient DNA
(aDNA), since there is a very limited amount of each sample. In addition, some samples are often
contaminated from environmental factors. In the scientific field, if an experiment cannot be
replicated or reproduced it has little to no value. Another problem dealing with aDNA is that
there are destructive processes in a living organism that constantly affect the DNA, which can

later affect its analysis. Although there are ongoing DNA repair processes in the body, when one
dies the destructive DNA processes continue. This is critical for scholars studying the Etruscan
DNA since the bodies sampled have been dead over two thousand years, thus allowing
microorganismsoften responsible for the destruction of DNAtime to contaminate the DNA
sequences. Nevertheless, there are some climates that are more conducive to the survival and
preservation of DNA. For the Etruscan samples, the conditions were ideal as I will later address
more thoroughly. These destructive processes should be red flags to how one interprets findings
from DNA studies on the Etruscans, since they can affect accuracy of data.
Even though there are different DNA testing methods, the only one that seems to be
fruitful for archaeology is the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique. The main reason it is
favored for archaeological cases is because it can be used when there is a small amount of DNA
or an impure sample of DNA. In brief, the technique PCR is like how a student goes to the library
to photocopy a few pages from a book, rather than checking out the entire book. There are two
basic limitations when using PCR on aDNA. First, it is practically impossible to obtain long
amplification of products, or in other words long strands of DNA. This constrains the amount of
work with aDNA to short sequences and necessitates the use of overlapping primer parts if longer
sequences are to be collected. Second, aDNA sequences indicate that some type of recombination,
the DNA being rearranged, has taken place during the PCR. Thus, DNA analyses on aDNA are
not infallible and can have experimental errors.
Understanding haplotypes have been crucial for genetically mapping the Etruscans. A
haplotype is a particular section of DNA that can be looked at on different individuals to establish
genetic similarity. Moreover a haplotype is a set of closely linked genetic markers present on a
single chromosome that has a tendency to be inherited together. For example, say that we looked
at a particular region on an individuals chromosome 10. If another individuals DNA sequence
was similar to that of the others and they were in the same region on the same chromosome, then
it can be highly likely that the two are related. Furthermore, when these DNA sequences match

or are very close to matching it is easy to believe that the two share a common ancestor, or shared
a common ethnicity.
Let us turn back to our question on how we can use DNA methods to resolve the Etruscan
enigma. First of all, let us see what these processes can and cannot tell us. It should be noted that
DNA analyses have limitations to them. For instance, they cannot tell us who the Etruscans were
on a cultural level. More specifically, DNA tests cannot tell us what an individual did or what
religion he practiced. Nevertheless, the DNA obtained from numerous samples can answer two
important questions:
(1) Were the Etruscans a single population, a group that shared similar gene frequencies,
or instead were they simply a set of individuals who shared a common culture and
language? In addition, were the Etruscans genetically related to one another or were they
just a loose confederation of people without a biological connection?
(2) Is there a genetic relationship between the Etruscans and modern populations and do
these patterns indicate any genealogical or migrational links between the Etruscans and
Near Eastern people?
A study conducted by Christiano Vernesi used DNA sampling techniques to investigate
the Etruscan enigma.19 The Vernesi study was the first study that conducted extensive data on the
DNA of the Etruscans. The Vernesi study gathered fragments of eighty well-preserved skeletons
from ten Etruscan necropoleis that were housed in museum and public collections. These remains
covered a wide-span of Etruscan history (7th-2nd centuries B.C.) and geography (multiple Etruscan
archaeological sites). According to Vernesi, the preservation of the aDNA samples was relatively
good. It is known that low temperatures can facilitate the preservation of DNA in ancient
samples. This is due to the fact that microorganisms tend to be more abundant when temperatures
are warmer (i.e. there are more living specimens in the rainforest than there are in Antartica).
Thus the Vernesi and the other researchers were confident in their results, since the environmental

factors were conducive for DNA preservation. In their case, the samples were mostly from
underground burials or caves, where temperatures were constantly low. Their results suggested
that the modern Italian population is a hybrid with up to four potential founding parents. The
study showed how mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), which is DNA specifically inherited by the
mother, from Etruscan bones demonstrate plausible genetic flow based on the mtDNA samples
from the Eastern Mediterranean regions.
Another laboratory in Italy took the same samples and ran similar tests. From the two
experiments, under double-blind conditions, the results from the two laboratories were congruous
with one another. This meant that there was a strong argument that the two laboratories
conclusion was valid. Their conclusion was that two lineages, characterized by substitutions at
sites 193-219 and 356, respectively, have a rather high internal diversity. These substitutions are
documented along the eastern and central Mediterranean shores and Tuscany, with some
derivatives in northern Europe. Looking at the statistical analyses there was no heterogeneity
among Etruscan sites. Nevertheless, the contemporary Italian populations had significant
differences that showed how diverse Italy is today. The scientists could not demonstrate any
significant differences between populations among the time period (7 th-6th centuries vs. the 5th-4th
or even the 3rd-2nd centuries), which is interesting to our case since these are critical times of
political upheaval for the Etruscan civilization.
Another study led by Vernesi looked at Etruscan DNA samples and focused on their
mitochondrial components, once again to see if he could come up with the same results. There
had been problems between the correspondence between distributions of mutations in ancient and
modern mtDNA sequences. In order to determine on whether or not the Etruscan sample
displayed mtDNA sequences similar to present-day humans, they compared mutational spectra
from ancient mtDNA and mtDNA sequences characteristics of present-day Europeans, Asians,
and Africans. The conclusion from this study was that the mutational spectrum of the Etruscan
mtDNA is characterized by a large portion of Etruscan-specific mutations. The ancient mtDNA

sequences contain unique mutations and by unique they mean that they were not found in modern
populations. The study did note, however, that at least some of the mutations found in the mtDNA
molecules were caused by postmortem damage. This uniqueness from the Etruscan DNA has
brought forth the questions that either the Etruscans died out or the samples that were recovered
suffered from postmortem damage.

Figure 4 This figure shows the distribution of mutations found in mtDNA data sets. The
numbers that are above the sequence are parallel mutation analyzed in mtDNA
haplogroups from modern human populations. This image was taken from the Vernesi
article.
It is important to note that these tests can only indicate if the sample bone fragments had
a biological connection. The Etruscans genetic make-up show closer relationships both to North
Africans and to Turks than any contemporary population. In fact, in the Etruscan gene pool the
Turkish component is three times larger than in other populations. This means that there is strong
chance that the Etruscans and the people of Turkey today shared common ancestors of a unique
culture group. By this, it can be strongly suggested that a culture group such as the Lydians were
the ancestors of both the Etruscans and people who live in Turkey today.
The internal genetic diversity among Etruscan sites or time periods supports the
view that the Etruscans were a genetically related people. From the analysis, it can be concluded
that either the Etruscans were a cultural and biological entity with a shared common ancestry.
Another modern group of people whose DNA were compared with the Etruscans were the people
who live in Tuscany today. In terms of genetic distances, the Etruscans are most closely related to
the Tuscans of the modern populations. The Etruscans and Tuscans, however, share only two
haplotypes. Based Historical documents state that the Etruscans were eventually absorbed by the
Romans and their culture along with their people died out. This historical account would explain
why so little of their DNA can be seen in the modern population today in Italy. Nevertheless, a
note of caution was added to their study. They realized that the specimens they retrieved were

recovered from extravagant tombs. Therefore, they recovered only the elite social class of
Etruscans which may not give a good representation of the entire cultural group. Since most elite
groups were executed for political reasons, the elite groups bloodline would have halted and thus
would have no descendents in the modern population today. Thus, it is possible that the more
impoverished Etruscans were able to mix their DNA with the Romans. This process of the
Etruscans being absorbed into the Roman culture would have excluded the social elites of the
Etruscans and thus ended their genetic line. Further evidence for this historical account is the fact
that there are some Etruscan mutations that are scarce or absent in modern humans. These
mutations were found in multiple individuals and therefore were designated as exemplary
haplotypes for the Etruscans, suggesting that these mutations should represent their original
mtDNA sequences. These findings were interesting because they showed that the Etruscan
civilization is extinct since their DNA can no longer be found in modern populations.
The Turkish and Etruscan gene pools may reflect some gene flow. Another study
examined 322 subjects from areas of Tuscany and compared their sequence variation with that of
55 western Eurasian populations. Of these 322 subjects, 86 of them were from Murlo, which is
an Etruscan site as well. The study revealed that Murlo, in fact, was characterized by an unusually
high frequency (17.5%) of Near Eastern human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroups that is
those who are in the Near Eastern population today. Their suggestion is that the Etruscans had a
Lydian origin. However, their study does not necessarily mean that Herodotus claim is true, but
instead reveals that some Near Eastern people did migrate and settle in North Central Italy during
the time of the Etruscans.
As mentioned before, archaeological artifacts such as Attic pottery found in an Etruscan
tomb do not automatically indicate that a Greek moved to Etruria or ever lived in Etruria. It is
equally possible, and more strongly supported by the archaeological evidence, a merchant went to
Etruria and sold ceramic vases there. However, if the groups of people from the East were
migrating to the West, then it is plausible that they would have brought over some long-term

necessities such as livestock. Although, the chance of the immigrants purchasing sheep or cows is
possible, an interesting genetic analysis of faunal remains has been. A genetic study has
demonstrated how DNA sequences from bovine belonging to Etruscans, association based the
surrounding archaeological remains, have been useful when assessing the Etruscan enigma.
Marco Pellecchia and some of his colleagues had not only tested mtDNA on human
samples but also on livestock populations. Several Bos Taurus breeds continue to be raised in the
area that corresponds to ancient Etruria. Within these breeds, there is a recognizably high level of
mtDNA variation, which is unique since this cannot be seen in Italy or Europe. In fact, Tuscan
bovines are not as genetically close to European gene pools as they are to Near Eastern ones. This
genetic signature from the East is paralleled with the modern Tuscan human populations, as I
stated before. The same scientists came up with two theories that can account for the distinct
genetic composition in the mtDNA of Tuscan breeds of bovine. One theory postulates that the
bovine were exported for trade, while the second theory posits that the genetic sequences are due
to human migration. On the one hand, if there were local traders importing cattle from the
Eastern Mediterranean, only bovines would carry the clear Eastern molecular signature. However,
if immigrants from the Levant were exchanging their bovine for other goods when they were
travelling to Tuscany, then the modern humans of that region would not share a genetic tie with
Eastern populations. Therefore, with this bovine and human DNA testimony, the theory of cattle
being imported into Etruria without human settlers is an invalid argument.
Pellecchia and his colleagues looked at the archaeological record and noticed some
striking events in the timeline of the Etruscans along with the entire Mediterranean. For instance,
the replacement of inhumation by cremation, the spreading of biconical urns and other artifacts,
and the onset of proto-urban settlements were seen in places beyond Etruria. These scholars
believed that the final Bronze Age cultural gap was due to Eastern settlers arriving in Central
Italy, because of catastrophic environmental factors, would be a clear explanation seem for the
mixing of genes between the indigenous Italic human populations, along with the livestock

mixing with the indigenous populations. This hypothesis of civilization collapsing has been
brought to the forefront of historians based on scientific evidence and historical records.
However, scientists who have conducted these DNA studies are not in agreement with
each others findings. Francesca Tassi and three other scholars believe that the DNA evidence put
forth for the Etruscans origin is not strong enough to support the argument that they originated
from Anatolia. This scholar does agree that the Etruscans were a single biological population,
based on their genetic links. Moreover, she agrees that they show a limited genetic resemblance to
modern people of Italy. Tassi also explains how most of the modern Tuscan population is not
genetically related to the Etruscans. They also point out that even though there are genetic links
between Tuscany and Anatolia, they date back to prehistory, possibly to the Neolithic period.
Therefore, Tassi believes that the migration of Near Eastern people to Etruria takes place long
before the historical sources suggest. In short, there are scholars who believe that the genetic
evidence does not simply account a people migrating to Tuscany and as a result manifesting a
culture in which historians label the Etruscans. With this study, it should be noted to Classicists
and historians alike as a red flag. For when they present evidence constructed from DNA
findings, they should note how scientists are coming up with different conclusions when they are
conducting separate experiments with the same samples.
4. Conclusion
The Etruscan origin enigma is as a puzzling phenomenon today as it was during
Herodotus time. Whether more evidence comes to the table is not the question but rather if
techniques such as DNA analyses become more refined and thus give archaeologists better
answers. Perhaps the question of whether the story told by Herodotus is true or not will never be
answered. Nevertheless, the question of whether or not there were people migrating from Lydia to
Etruria on a large scale may be within the reach. To answer the Etruscan enigma, better research
needs to be done that focuses on synthesizing DNA evidence along with the archaeological

evidence. This presumption comes from the journal articles that primarily would use literary
sources as their main evidence but mention the DNA evidence. However, the authors of these
articles did not give enough background information on the DNA evidence to strengthen their
argument. I believe that the Etruscan enigma is an unresolved question at hand which can be
answered only if more academic effort is put forth. What I found puzzling in my research is that
no DNA tests have looked directly at Etruscan samples and Lydian samples. Conducting DNA
tests on ancient Lydian burials that are contemporary with the Etruscan civilization may shed new
light to this twenty-five hundred years old question that was inspired by Herodotus. Furthermore,
looking at other pieces of evidence such as major climate changes, which this paper did not go
into great detail about, took place during the late second millennia B.C. would require another
investigation to undertake when looking at the historical record. Lastly, as more and more
Etruscan remnants are unearthed, the uses of hard-science techniques such as DNA testing need
to be implemented to assist in solving ancient historical questions. Maybe eventually there will be
enough pieces of evidence that will decisively answer the Etruscan enigma.

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