The presence or absence of genetic heterogeneity in Sicily has long been debated. Through the analysis of the variation of Y-chromosome lineages, using the combination of haplogroups and short tandem repeats from several areas of Sicily, we show that traces of genetic flows occurred in the island, due to ancient Greek colonization and to northern African contributions, are still visible on the basis of the distribution of some lineages. The genetic contribution of Greek chromosomes to the Sicilian gene pool is estimated to be about 37% whereas the contribution of North African populations is estimated to be around 6%. In particular, the presence of a modal haplotype coming from the southern Balkan Peninsula and of its one-step derivates associated to E3b1a2-V13, supports a common genetic heritage between Sicilians and Greeks. The estimate of Time to Most Recent Common Ancestor is about 2380 years before present, which broadly agrees with the archaeological traces of the Greek classic era....
We always knew Greeks settled and multiplied in Sicily. It was after all the linchpin of Magna Graecia. But what genetic imprint did they have? Were the native Sicels and Sicani numerous? The historical evidence suggests a very strong male skew to the migration, and the procurement in a very utilitarian fashion of wives from the native peoples, in particular the Sicels. The data above apply to Y chromosomal lineages, so this would likely be the strongest impact of the Greek influx you would see in the genome; the autosomal total genome content would be diluted, and the mtDNA would be skewed toward the pre-Greek populations. The North African contribution would likely be due both to the Roman period, when Carthage and Sicily were connected by trade, as well as the later period of Islamic rule when Sicily was a possession of the Aghlabid's. Combined with the genetic data on the exogenous origins of the Etruscans, we're getting a much better grip on the population movements of antiquity. The great thing about the ancient Mediterranean is that the people were so much like us; Herodotus wrote histories and the Greeks speculated on the origins of their neighbors. And their heirs during the Roman period and the Christian Church along with Arab transmitters handed down these independent extra-genetic data to serve independent methodological pegs to guide and contextualize the genetic data. The nice thing about genetics is that you can say something like "37% Greek" within a particular 95% confidence interval. You might be wrong, but at least you're clearly wrong. Via Dienekes.
