posted 21 December 2004 12:08 AM
Thought Writes:This site is interesting.
Thought Posts:
http://www.bestofsicily.com/genetics.htm
Genetics & Anthropology in Sicily
"Norman Sicily stood forth in Europe --and indeed in the whole bigoted medieval world-- as an example of tolerance and enlightenment, a lesson in the respect that every man should feel for those whose blood and beliefs happen to differ from his own."
-- John Julius Norwich, The Kingdom in the Sun 1970
The most personal of biological sciences, genetics influence everything about who we are. Our appearance, talents and health --even our identities-- are all shaped to a great extent by the genes we inherited through our parents. Perhaps for this reason, the topic often provokes strong emotions and opinions. This very simple overview is not intended as a detailed scientific or sociological treatise. First, let's define a few terms. Ethnology generally refers to the social study of peoples and the comparative differences among them, in view of culture, history and traditions; ethnography is a methodical identification of peoples based on ethnology. Genealogy is the historical study of ancestral lineages, descent and kinship. As a research tool, genealogy is quite useful in genetic studies, but social concepts such as consanguinity ("blood" relationships between people descended from the same ancestor) are not, strictly speaking, biological in nature. In a place as ethnically diverse as Sicily, ethnology is interesting (though this is not an "ethnic" website), while genetic knowledge is obviously important in treating certain diseases. Race is a traditional social method of identifying people from various regions based primarily on their appearance and various physical characteristics. Anthropology is the study of man generally --physically, socially, culturally. In its most general sense, anthropology often embraces ethnology, population genetics, genealogy and many aspects of biology, history, archeology, linguistics and the arts. (For more information about the origins and ethnology of the various Sicilian peoples, see the Sicilian Peoples series linked from "Brothers" in the following section.)
Brothers: Out of Africa
The brotherhood of mankind has ancient roots. In the remote shadows of human pre-history, there was only a single primitive culture. "Genetic tracking" is a new science but it indicates that "modern" man existed as a hunter-gatherer in eastern Africa around 150,000 years ago, with evidence of these same people discovered in the Middle East dated from around 80,000 years ago. A well-researched hypothesis that all humans are descended from a "mitochondrial" Eve (a reference to the mitochondrial DNA traced to a female ancestor living in east Africa 150,000 millennia, or about 7,000 generations, ago) emphasizes the "commonality" of all humans and our descent from a single "race." At one point, there were probably only around 10,000 humans in the world, and they gradually migrated, leaving a DNA trail behind them. Stephen Oppenheimer, in particular, suggests a single "exodus" out of Africa, not necessarily many waves of emigration as was previously theorized. Genetic drift would have resulted in a single line of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) surviving in isolated populations.
Peoples of Sicily Series
About 72,000 years ago, the effects of a major volcanic eruption (Toba) with global consequences killed off many humans. The divergence of humans into regionalised groups with their own particular genetic characteristics, often in response to climatic conditions, mutations or disease, generally took place at some point after this. At least this is suggested by genetic evidence. According to the best estimates, it was probably only around 45,000 to 40,000 BC (BCE) that a large group settled permanently in Europe, though they had already established a permanent presence in the Middle East and certain eastern and central Mediterranean coastal areas. By 25,000 BC, if not earlier, groups of humans could be identified, albeit very generally, by their cultures and superficial physical characteristics. (Comparative linguistic studies, though useful, enlighten us about only much more recent historical periods, written language being a relatively recent development.)
There is a point where evolutionary genetic conditions become localized (ethnic) ones. The Ice Man found frozen in the Alps in 1991 lived about 5,300 years ago, and genetic testing indicates his considerable affinity with the present Alpine population.
The earliest identifiable "modern human" inhabitants of Sicily were present 10,000 to 12,000 years ago and many lived in caves. People are interested in the physical appearance of their ancestors, whether recent or ancient. For lack of a more descriptive term, the earliest Sicilians would be identified as "Caucasoid" in appearance. Generally, they probably had darker hair and eyes than most of their northern-European counterparts, and probably tanned easily. Extant visual evidence (sculpture, mosaics, etc.) and surviving literary accounts indicate that most ancient Mediterranean peoples, whether Phoenician, Egyptian, Greek, Roman or Sicanian, were generally a little darker than northern Europeans. Ancient peoples were, on average, shorter than modern ones, and did not live as long. Peoples from across Europe were drawn (or coerced) to Rome, but it was the Middle Ages that brought Vandals, Vikings and Visigoths to the sunny "Med" in large numbers, literally changing the face of the Mediterranean population. (Even today, when there are more blondes in Sicily than in ancient times, Sicilian women joke about the obsession of the local men with foreign blondes, and a black-haired, dark-eyed Sicilian girl is referred to as a "mora," or Moor, while a redhead is a "normanna" or Norman --terms in wide use since the Middle Ages.) Until the fall of the Roman Empire, there were no known large-scale "non-Mediterranean" incursions into Sicily by sub-Saharan or east-Asian peoples (the Huns come to mind), nor do there appear to have been any substantial "Nordic" (northern European) colonisations until the arrival of the Longobards and Normans. Rather, the Sicels and Elymians were Mediterranean peoples arriving from regions such as the Italian peninsula or the eastern Mediterranean at some point after 1500 BC, while the Sicanians were probably descended from the earliest inhabitants of Sicily. There are few archeological differences among the three civilizations and their Iron Age cultures, though the very few known linguistic distinctions, inferred from Greek-era records and a few stone inscriptions using Phoenician characters, link them in some way to particular regions. (In theory, contact with certain civilizations, rather than colonization per se, may partly explain this; by analogy, many Indians and Chinese speak English but are not descended from the English, and many non-Italic peoples in the Roman Empire spoke Latin, just as many Romans spoke Greek.) The earliest Sicilians assimilated, and then amalgamated, with the Phoenicians and Greeks within a few brief centuries. By 300 BC, they had ceased to exist as distinct ethnic populations, having become Hellenized.
We are on more solid ground in describing the civilizations of the Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Arabs and Normans of Sicily through extensive literary, archeological, linguistic and artistic evidence. Their migrations and activities are well-chronicled. Historians occasionally debate the merits of certain particularly detailed events, but not the most fundamental historical facts (migration, colonization, amalgamation) which complement knowledge drawn from genetic data.
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Genetic Heritage in the Historical Context
If recorded and purely anthropological (i.e. non-genetic) knowledge of human migrations is rather recent, in Sicily there are certain native animal species that (based on genetic studies) are European in origin while others are African. This involves not only birds that could fly to Sicily but mammals such as wild cats and foxes. Genes are part of the human essence, but genetic testing only deals with particular gene markers in certain sample individuals; it is the science of statistics that allows us to generalize based on such studies. Various genetic traits (even superficial physical ones like red hair and green eyes) were introduced into the population by individuals from various places. This is a generality; it is probable that there were red-haired Sicilians in Greek times but equally probable that there were far more following the influx of the "Celtic-Nordic" Normans intermarrying with the local population. History indicates that amalgamation was always quite normal in Sicily; many of the tenth-century Arabs (mostly men) arriving from northern Africa married Sicilians who were already present, and the island's population doubled within two centuries as the Arabs founded dozens of towns and smaller communities across Sicily. In the flow of history, certain localized communities of ethnic Sicilians occasionally left Sicily (some Arabs from a few localities during the reign of Frederick II in the thirteenth century and some Jews during the Spanish rule at the end of the fifteenth century), but most of these people remained to be completely integrated into the population. A mass exodus of Siculo-Arabs, who had lived in Sicily for generations and knew no other country, would have entailed the migration of at least a half million people. Eventually, most Arabs and Jews in Sicily were Christianized. This is reflected in the historical record not only in actual chronicles but in medieval feudal records of taxes and population movements and, still later, acts of baptism.
Some simple examples of this immigration and residence information are in order. Towns such as Palermo, Castrogiovanni (Enna), Calascibetta, Caltanissetta,

Caltagirone, Caltabellotta, Racalmuto, Favara, Mistretta, Marsala, Mussomeli and Misilmeri were either founded by Arabs or grew considerably under Arab domination, and bore Arabic names (under the Greeks Palermo, from the Arabic Bal'harm, was Panormos). The specific mention of Arabs and the presence of Arabic given names and surnames was evident in these places long after Frederick II banished a few thousand Arabs of western Sicily to Apulia. As regards Jews present in many Sicilian localities until 1492, those who converted usually continued to name their children according to tradition (hence Abramo, Beniamino, Isacco, etc.) and to practice professions traditionally associated with Jews in Sicily (dyers, bankers). Many assumed distinctive surnames (Siino for Zion, Rabino for Rabbi) indicating a Jewish orgin. Similar generalities about the permanence of Phoenician, Carthaginian, Greek and Roman populations in Sicily are valid. Where are these peoples today? Genetically (so to speak), they are represented in the modern Sicilians --an amalgamated group of European and Mediterranean peoples. However, as we shall see, genetics and ethnic identity are two distinct ideas.
Population Genetics, Gene Markers, Genetic Diseases
The idea of genetic testing in general populations is that a particular gene marker is identified with a certain frequency in samples from the two (or more) populations being compared. Broadly defined, population genetics is the study of the distribution of, and change in, allele frequencies in particular populations. (Allele frequency is a term used in describing the genetic diversity of any species population.) There are also, strictly speaking, phenotype and genotype frequencies, but we'll leave the scientific complexities to the scientists.
Important factors in any genetic study:
Reliability of researchers and institution conducting the study
Hypothesis, objective or scope of the study
Gene or characteristic identified as being studied
Methodology (there are many forms of genetic studies)
Number and distribution of sampling of test subjects
In any statistical study, it is important to make the sample as large as possible, including hundreds or thousands of individuals rather than just a few dozen, in order to reach a statistically accurate conclusion. Genetic testing for comparative factors of the kind interesting to historians, genealogists and ethnographers (to ascertain, for example, the Phoenician, Norman, Arab or Longobardic genetic influence on modern Sicilians' genetic makeup) is costly and, thus far, has been undertaken in only a few small-scale studies. One does not test for the human genome as a whole, only for certain selected markers, so the entire process presumes a degree of judgement and even subjectivity. Why, for example, should one marker be chosen over another? Over the years, the identification of particular hereditary (and genetically determined) traits has yielded some interesting observations.
This involves the prevalence of blood types and certain rare --but statistically significant-- genetically transmitted blood diseases or conditions present in the Sicilian population. Not surprisingly, the thalassemia group (Cooley's Anemia, Mediterranean Anemia, etc.) and Sickle Cell Anemia are linked to population migrations into Sicily from the southern (African) and eastern (Asian) regions of the Mediterranean. Despite an influx of Iberian (modern Spaniards, medieval Aragonese and possibly ancient Elymians), northern (Norman, Lombard, Angevin French) and Balkan (Albanian) immigrants over the centuries, nothing can compare to the mass immigration entailed in the medieval Saracen (Arab) and ancient Greek colonization of Sicily.
In the case of Sickle Cell Anemia, studies generally indicate that marker genes were introduced into the Sicilian population correlative to immigration from northern Africa, probably with Carthaginians and Moors, groups with remote Semitic origins but amalgamated to some extent with native coastal north Africans such as Berbers (probably Capsian descendants). This is a logical thesis.
According to Giovanna Russo and Gino Schiliro of the Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University of Catania ("Sickle Cell Anemia and S-thalassemia in Sicilian Children"), "Sickle cell disease is the most common genetic abnormality that afflicts people of African ancestry and it is the most frequent hemoglobinopathy in Italy." Their report goes on to say that "HbS is endemic in Sicily and this anomaly has been described in living Sicilians and in people of Sicilian ancestry. For thousands of years the Mediterranean basin has been the crossroad for trade, races, ideas, and art. The geographical position of Sicily at the center of the Mediterranean made it a natural stopover on these journeys. Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Byzantines, Saracens, Normans, Spaniards, Arabs, Jews, and mercenaries from all over the world came to Sicily in large numbers to settle. In contrast to the past, there has been almost no immigration of this kind during the last few centuries. The genetic structure of the Sicilians is clearly not due to recent additions. The consensus is that the gene was introduced into Sicily and Southern Italy from Northern Africa through the trans-Saharan trade routes or, alternatively, by means of the Greek colonisation, although the introduction of the gene into Sicily during the Arab (Saracen) invasion cannot be excluded."
We couldn't have said it better ourselves. Here's an insightful observation on the part of Russo and Schiliro: "At present there are in Sicily about 400 patients with sickle cell disease who cannot be distinguished from other Sicilian subjects; we have observed three blond, blue-eyed patients." Whether such a wide distribution of the Sickle Cell and Thalassemia genes could be correlative to other factors, such as those related to malaria, remains to be seen. (For centuries, the presence of these diseases in Sicily has been essentially hereditary; the mutations which first caused sickle cell and thalassemia occurred many thousands of years before the historical migrations into Sicily. Malaria was finally defeated in Sicily with American help in the 1940s, but it had not been a very widespread problem here since the fourteenth century.)
Here's a summary of a subsequent study undertaken at Catania that dealt with genetic markers that some Sicilians have in common with some Africans:
"As an approach to investigating the origin of sickle cell hemoglobin (hemoglobin S) in white persons of Sicilian ancestry, two groups of native Sicilians were tested for blood group evidence of African admixture. Among 100 unrelated Sicilians, the phenotypes cDe(Rho) and Fy(a-b-), and the antigens V(hrv) and Jsa, which are considered to be African genetic markers, were detected in 12 individuals. Among 64 individuals from 21 families with at least one known hemoglobin S carrier, African blood group markers were detected in 7 (11%). These findings indicate that hemoglobin S is only one of multiple African genes present in contemporary Sicilian populations. The occurrence of hemoglobin S in white persons of Sicilian ancestry is considered to be a manifestation of the continuing dissemination of the original African mutation." (Sandler, Schiliro, Russo, Musumeci, Rachmilewitz; "Blood Group Phenotypes and the Origin of Sickle Cell Hemoglobin in Sicilians")
This kind of genetic research is certainly indicative. Though not necessarily conclusive, it's the best kind of research currently available, and coincides perfectly with our knowledge of migration history. Neurologist Gaetano Savattieri has suggested that the unusually high incidence of Multiple Sclerosis in the east-central Sicilian city of Enna (formerly Castrogiovanni) might result from Normans (Viking descendants) having settled there in large numbers during the Middle Ages. Monreale, also a medieval Norman stronghold, is also mentioned as having an exceptional number of cases. This condition is not usually highly associated with Mediterranean populations but is more frequent among Scandinavians or others known to descend from Norse ancestors. It's an interesting theory, and not entirely divorced from the realm of possibility.
Another interesting study deals with the populations of Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica and the differences among them genetically: "An informative set of biallelic polymorphisms was used to study the structure of Y-chromosome variability in a sample from the Mediterranean islands of Corsica and Sicily, and compared with data on Sardinia to gain insights into the ethnogenesis of these island populations. The results were interpreted in a broader Mediterranean context by including in the analysis neighboring populations previously studied with the same methodology. All samples studied were enclosed in the comparable spectrum of European Y-chromosome variability. Pronounced differences were observed between the islands as well as in the percentages of haplotypes previously shown to have distinctive patterns of continental phylogeography. Approximately 60% of the Sicilian haplotypes are also prevalent in Southern Italy and Greece. Conversely, the Corsican sample had elevated levels of alternative haplotypes common in northern Italy. Sardinia showed a haplotype ratio similar to that observed in Corsica, but with a remarkable difference in the presence of a lineage defined by marker M26, which approaches 35% in Sardinia but seems absent in Corsica. Although geographically adjacent, the data suggest different colonization histories and a minimal amount of recent gene flow between them. Our results identify possible ancestral continental sources of the various island populations and underscore the influence of founder effect and genetic drift. The Y-chromosome data are consistent with comparable mtDNA data at the RFLP haplogroup level of resolution, as well as linguistic and historic knowledge." (Francalacci P, Morelli L, Underhill PA, Lillie AS, Passarino G, Useli A, Madeddu R, Paoli G, Tofanelli S, Calo CM, Ghiani ME, Varesi L, Memmi M, Vona G, Lin AA, Oefner P, Cavalli-Sforza LL; Department of Biological Anthropology, University of Sassari, "Peopling of Three Mediterranean Islands Inferred by Y-chromosome Biallelic Variability")
The authors acknowledge that their findings confirm historical knowledge. This draws interesting genetic comparisons between Greek territories (i.e. Greece and the ancient Megara Hellas or Magna Graecia encompassing Sicily and southern Italy). One of the tricky aspects of genetic studies of populations' affinity with each another is that time and history must be accounted for. Comparing today's Sicilians to today's Greeks is not a simple matter because both populations have been subjected to extensive amalgamation with other populations since the first Greeks arrived in Sicily nearly three thousand years ago. The Sicilians are not purely ancient Greek, but neither are the Greeks living in modern Greece. Nevertheless, some interesting studies have been done. In Tuscany, in a remote town where there has been little immigration over the centuries, it was found that the people are closely related to the ancient Etruscans.
Surviving evidence makes it difficult to identify distinct "native" Elymian, Sicanian and Sicel genetic indicators in today's Sicilian population; we don't really know precisely how distinct from each other these populations were, genetically speaking, though their languages and ethnologies are identified with various regions. By 700 BC, the Phoenicians and Greeks had established coastal colonies in Sicily. Traditionally, historians have regarded eastern Sicily as being more Greek (and subsequently "Byzantine") than western Sicily, which had a stronger Phoenician-Carthaginian (and then Arab) presence. Undeniable sociological evidence supporting this is found in particular areas --such as the isolated Byzantine Greek communities of the Nebrodi Mountains of northeastern Sicily and the Arab-founded localities of central and western Sicily. However, the generality has become something of a historian's cliché. After all, Sicily's most impressive Greek temples (Selinunte, Segesta, Agrigento, Termini Imerese) were eventually built in the west, not the east. At least one genetic study suggests that the gene pool may indeed have been more uniform than was previously thought:
"We investigated the genetic heterogeneity of 2354 individuals from the 9 provinces of Sicily. The genetic markers we used were HP, GC, TF, PI, and AK1 plus other previously tested polymorphisms, for a total of 24 independent markers. Distinct multivariate statistics were applied to verify the claimed genetic distinctiveness between extant eastern and western Sicilian populations. Our hypothesis stated that any diversity found between the two subpopulations would represent the signature of early colonization of the island by Greek and Phoenician peoples. Correspondence analysis showed that there was no clear geographic clustering within Sicily. The genetic distance matrix used for identifying the main genetic barriers revealed no east-west differences within the island's population, at least at the provincial level. FST estimates proved that the population subdivision did not affect the pattern of gene frequency variation; this implies that Sicily is effectively one panmictic unit. The bulk of our results confirm the absence of genetic differentiation between eastern and western Sicilians, and thus we reject the hypothesis of the subdivision of an ancient population in two areas." (Rickards, Martinez-Labarga , Scano, De Stefano, Biondi, Pacaci, Walter; Department of Biology, University of Rome)
In theory, the biological conclusion could be debated based on the probability that populations continued to migrate across Sicily throughout the Middle Ages and afterward. Nobody doubts that Phoenicians would have been somewhat genetically distinct from ancient Greeks based on certain markers. A reliable test conducted in AD 100 may have yielded different results, though genetic analysis seeks to compensate for factors such as the passage of time (or, more precisely, generations). In the context of ancient history, studies such as this confront potential genetic differentiation not only between Phoenicians and Greeks but, to some limited extent, among Sicily's three native peoples --the Elymi (Elami), Sicans (Sicani) and Sicels (Siculi).
In this case, two thousand geographically distributed subjects are a good sampling, but one individual Sicilian's genetic makeup might have more in common genetically with Greeks, or Arabs, or Normans, than another's does. The layman must avoid the pitfall of drawing conclusions based on physical appearance or even stereotypes, all but irrelevant to this kind of genetic research (more about race later). It is entirely possible that a person with red hair and blue eyes has more gene markers in common with Arabs than with Normans, while a dark-haired, dark-eyed Sicilian may have more in common, genetically, with Normans than with Arabs. Wide genetic variations (in numerous "invisible" factors) are normal even among siblings --except for identical twins. In a very vague statistical sense, there may be more genetic differences between most Sicilians and (for example) most Japanese than there are between most Sicilians and most Spaniards, but every genetic study must be considered on its own merits. Genetic similarity is more common than most people imagine. Even at the cellular level, the traits that humans share are far greater than the things that divide us.
Ethnology and "Race" in Sicilian Genetics
Ethnology (a social study within the general science of anthropology) is not genetics. There is no such thing, genetically speaking, as a Sicilian, a Frenchman or a Russian; these are social terms used to identify the cultures which now exist in particular places. As a result of centuries of genetic exchange and transmission (usually in the context of marriage), certain genetic characteristics may be typical of the people who for generations have lived in a certain place, but the study of the culture, history, customs, language and arts of a particular people is ethnology. This is an important distinction that most of us overlook, or simply lose sight of. Ethnology usually has a familial continuity because people usually assimilate the culture of their ancestors, but a child born in Sweden to "native" Swedish parents, then adopted in infancy by Italians who raise her in Sicily, could become every bit as "Sicilian" as a girl descended in every line from twenty generations of Sicilian-born ancestors. Likewise, a child of Sicilian-born parents could be raised by foreigners in a foreign country and lose every trace of "Sicilianicity." Historically, in the context of a multicultural society, Roger II and Frederick II were every bit as Sicilian as the Sicilians they ruled. They were raised in Sicily, spoke the local dialect and were completely integrated into the complex local culture. Sicilian society itself was a blend of various cultures among which a strong continental European orientation emerged by the fourteenth century, with the overwhelming influence of Rome and Naples as (ecclesiastical and political) centres of power more important than Palermo, Messina, Siracusa and Catania.
Too often, emotions cloud popular public perceptions of genetics, sometimes in subtle ways. Certain publications which purport to deal objectively with population genetics, as the topic relates to ethnicity and race, do so from a socially-motivated perspective. Therefore, a book or website may be racist in perspective, while a health organization may overstate the prevalence of a particular genetically-transmitted disease in order to obtain more government funding for research or other spending. In terms of the more superficial (aesthetic) aspects of genetics (facial shape and features, body type, height, complexion, etc.), the overwhelmingly present artistic evidence (paintings, coins, manuscript illustrations, statues) provides us with more than enough information about what most Sicilians of times past actually looked like during any particular historical period. A degree of misunderstanding results from the "racialist" misconceptions dictating that all Africans (even those from the Mediterranean coast) are in some way "black" while all Asians (even those from Turkey and Persia) are in some way "Oriental." Afrocentric, Eurocentric and Nordicist concepts of "race" don't have much practical value in the Mediterranean, or as indications of Sicilian history or culture. The Phoenicians, Romans and Normans of Sicily did not view society in specifically African, European or Asian terms, but in the context of the Mediterranean.
In describing Sicilian society before the modern era (let's say circa 1450), a multicultural perspective is appropriate. This is not "political correctness," as Sicilian scholars such as Michele Amari described medieval Sicily this way well over a century ago, and John Julius Norwich wrote about it in 1970 (in The Kingdom in the Sun), long before the debate of the last decade was spawned:
"Norman Sicily stood forth in Europe --and indeed in the whole bigoted medieval world-- as an example of tolerance and enlightenment, a lesson in the respect that every man should feel for those whose blood and beliefs happen to differ from his own."
With the use of terms such as "Pacific Rim" to describe cultures or economies by the bodies of water they border rather than by their continental land masses, the term "Mediterranean" has again become popular in recent years. Considering that the ancient and early-medieval (pre AD 1000) peoples of southern Europe, Asia Minor and northern Africa were racially similar, and also culturally similar in many respects, we prefer to define them as Mediterranean rather than European, Asian or African --partly because broad geographical definitions (based on continents) had little political meaning until "new" places (like America) were "discovered" in the latter Middle Ages. The "European" Romans scarcely knew of the existence of the Lapps of northern Scandinavia, a unique ethnic group. Though the Egyptians had contact with Ethiopia, the "African" Carthaginians and Saracens had little, if any, knowledge of the peoples of what is now Zambia. Via the Persians, the Phoenicians traded with India and even Mongolia, but they probably knew nothing of Japanese civilization. Despite political differences, the Romans had more in common with the Carthaginians than with most northern European groups, while the Carthaginians had more in common with the Persians than with most sub-Saharan peoples.
This "cultural" perspective of Mediterranean ethnography is far from perfect, but it compares favorably to the blind geographic point of view espoused by those who would have us believe, despite reliable iconographic and numismatic evidence to the contrary, that Jesus was a blue-eyed Caucasoid European and Hannibal was a dark Negroid African.
Considering their common roots, the Sicilians were overwhelmingly similar to the Byzantines and Saracens who conquered them; indeed, they may have had more in common with these peoples than they did with the Romans. Was Sicily geographically part of Africa when it was ruled by Carthaginians or Saracens, only to be re-integrated into Europe when it was ruled by Romans and Normans? A good question, but one that was rarely posed before the modern era.
We don't wish to engage in a presentation of descriptions of various characteristics defining sub-races, namely Pontids, Dinarics, Mediterranids, Dinaricized Mediterraneans, Armenids, Saharids, Arabids, and so forth, but such classifications, at least in the abstract, are still used in certain quarters. Viewed in terms of the human genome, race (as the term is commonly used and understood) is a relatively insignificant and arbitrary consideration, and the future may see more reliance on purely genetic identification. Frankly, we should accept certain generalities linking genetics to "race" only with a certain degree of caution unless we're certain of the source's credibility. Some folks seem to have a vested interest in "proving" that Sicilians are "white " Europeans, and selectively cite research sources to "prove" their thesis. (There's sometimes a distinctly Hitler-esque element in such obsessions.) Nobody doubts the fundamentally European cultural orientation of Sicily and the European genetic affinity of modern Sicilians, or that we are defined as Caucasoid and European, but there were other factors at work over the course of thirty centuries of history --in human migrations, art, cuisine, music, literature and language. That this would be reflected genetically comes as no surprise. Europe, as a political concept, is a comparatively recent development. Genetic diversity is a reality.
While genetic research is a question of DNA, racial preceptions often cloud genetic conclusions in the public mind. Race is a more subjective, and superficial, concept than genetics. Broadly speaking, not all Asians are of the same racial group, and neither are all Africans. Historically, however, most Europeans --and Mediterranean peoples in general-- were defined as Caucasoid. These are broad categories; in certain regions an entire localized population could actually be identified with two racial groups (parts of Ethiopia, India and Nepal come to mind), displaying superficial characteristics of both. In many respects, the entire concept of race seems antiquated, so much so that the American state of California is gradually moving to abolish it as a statistical criterion because so many Californians are now multi-racial.
Some people (including some Italian descendants outside Italy) entertain bizarre perceptions about Italian ethnic and "racial" identity. One of the more comical misconceptions paints the picture of two Italies --one northern, Nordic and "light," the other southern, Mediterranean and "dark." This often takes the form of sociological "myths" which can result in negative stereotypes or even controversial racial profiling. (A more-or-less typical indication of this point of view, employed as a very broad social metaphor for Italians' assimilation as immigrants in countries far from Italy, is exemplified by Jennifer Guglielmo, an American, in Are Italians White?) The casual visitor to rural towns in Piedmont and Sicily would not observe many superficial physical differences between the inhabitants of the two regions; the occasional bigotry of northern Italians toward southerners has little to do with physical appearance. For every Sicilian with an "olive" complexion, there is one with lighter hair and blue eyes, while many northern Italians have dark eyes and dark hair. Too much importance seems to have been ascribed to the most superficial characteristics, to the point of their being considered (where Italians are concerned) serious sociological issues in themselves. Such a concept seems to dignify the imagined "scientific" value of men's
subjective preferences for blondes, redheads, brunettes, etc.
Many of the flawed (non-historical and non-scientific) opinions voiced by the ill-informed today are strikingly similar to those expressed by the ultra-Italianist Benito Mussolini in the 1930s: "Jews do not belong to the Italian race. Of the Jews who in the course of centuries have landed on the sacred soil of our country nothing in general has remained. Even the Arab occupation of Sicily left nothing but the memory of some names, and for the rest the process of assimilation was always quite rapid in Italy. The Jews represent the only population which has never assimilated in Italy because it is composed of non-European racial elements, absolutely different from the elements from which the Italians have originated." For the record, the Jews were present in Italy from the days of the Roman Empire; their congregation in Rome, which survived the Inquisition, pre-dates any Catholic one, and their contributions to the social fabric of Italian society through the ages are well-known. A stroll through old Palermo (where this website is edited) will confirm beyond doubt that the Arabs left much more in Sicily than "a few names."
Yes, Mr. Mussolini and his Fascists entertained some strange ideas about ethnology and population genetics, but they weren't alone. ("Racial science" still has a large following today, existing alongside revisionist history.) More generally, here are some examples of the kind of comments and queries we receive:
"As a Sicilian descendant I'm extremely offended by this page! Sicilians are ITALIAN, not multi-ethnic. Why do you say that they're multicultural?" Historically, they were. Sicily was the first province of the Roman Empire (the Italian peninsula was the Roman Province). Under the ancient Greeks and then the Normans, Sicily was loosely associated with mainland Italy, and this continued under Angevin rule into the modern era (the Bourbons' Kingdom of the Two Sicilies existed until 1860). However, a country called "Italy" didn't exist until 1860, so identifying Sicilians (or Florentines or Venetians) before that era as "Italians" is not entirely accurate. In earliest times, the culture of the Sicels (arriving in Sicily via Calabria before 1000 BC) was Italic, while Sicanian and Elymian society certainly were not. The Romans conquered Sicily but did not expel all the Carthaginians and Greeks here. Nor did the Normans expel all the Arabs. Every civilization left its traces, both culturally and genetically. (This is what most tourists come to Sicily to see, and it's an important element in Sicilian tourism promotion because it's what makes Sicily different from Tuscany and Umbria! Read our magazine for information about how Arab cuisine influenced what we eat in Sicily today.) Most of the conquerors were men (only the Carthaginians, Greeks and Albanians are known to have brought large numbers of women with them). Who do you think the Arabs and Normans married? Probably "local" women who were already living in Sicily. We are their descendants. (This is not political correctness; it is accurate anthropology and factual history.) Nobody doubts that today's Sicilians are citizens of the Italian Republic who speak Italian and are culturally similar to other Italians; that wasn't the case in 1100. The multicultural issue is addressed below, while ethnocentric Italianist philosophy is mentioned in the glossary. (Editor's Note: Criticisms of this kind are invariably voiced by "Sicilians" living outside Sicily; in contrast, children raised here in Sicily are usually better-educated about their unique multicultural heritage, confirmed by numerous sites and monuments, as well as ongoing published research findings and frequent archeological and historical exhibits, not to mention highly informative courses taught in schools in places like Palermo and Catania. Of course, Best of Sicily is more oriented toward Sicilianism than Italianism.)
"Are you saying that Sicilians are Greeks, or Arabs... or Italians?" Today, Sicily is part of Italy, a nation state founded in 1860 as the Kingdom of Italy. Today's Sicilians are indeed Italians (and citizens of the Italian Republic of which Sicily is part), but they are descended from various peoples, including the ancient Greeks and medieval Arabs who founded numerous localities across Sicily, as well as the Italic Sicels and Romans. Our observations do not concern modern concepts of nationality or citizenship, but are generally historical and genetic. One may be descended from Greeks without being a Greek citizen. It is not our intention to suggest or even imply that Sicily should become part of Greece, Tunisia, Lebanon (Phoenicia), France (Normandy) or Germany (Swabia), any more than we would suggest that Libya, England or Romania (Dacia) become part of Italy (modern seat of the Roman Empire that once governed those regions). Many societies are historically multicultural to some extent, but Sicily is one of the most conquered and colonized regions in the world. One difference between a united Italy and (for example) England, is that Italy has existed as a united nation only since the middle of the nineteenth century, while the national identities of some countries were established many centuries ago. Historians agree that, until the 1860s, "Italy" was little more than a geographical expression.
"How credible is the theory that extremely low alcoholism in certain parts of Italy is based on genetic factors?" This is an interesting, credible but unproven theory. The Italian attitude toward alcoholic beverages differs somewhat from those of northern and eastern Europe. As Italy has no legal minimum age for the purchase of liquor, wine and beer, these products are not considered part of adulthood exclusively but rather part of the everyday culinary experience of young and old alike. Italians appreciate fine wine and grappa, but alcoholic drinks are not viewed as an end in themselves, and in Italy their purchase or consumption at the age of 18 or 21 is not regarded as a "rite of passage." The genetic angle, when compared to the cultural one, gains some credibility when one considers that few "full-blooded" Sicilian descendants outside Italy seem to be alcoholics, but this kind of non-scientific observation, even if supported by statistical analysis, is far from conclusive proof of the theory. In recent years, alcoholism has increased among young people (in their twenties) in parts of northern Italy. The health community has taken the position that conditions such as alcoholism are rooted in cultural (social) factors as well as genetic ones.
"Genetically-transmitted conditions such as sickle cell and thalassemia cannot be very widespread in Sicily if you never meet anybody with these diseases!" Without intending over-simplification, these conditions result from recessive genetic traits and the genes are present in numerous Sicilians, with estimates for thalassemia ranging (widely) from 6 to 16 percent of the population. If even one percent (in a population of almost six million) of Sicilians suffer from the actual conditions, it's still statistically significant --though far fewer than one percent are affected. The effects of the two diseases are not usually visible superficially, so you would have to spend time in Sicily interviewing thousands of people to meet even one or two patients. (Unless, of course, you sought patients in a hospital.)
"As thalassemia and sickle cell distribution historically coincided with malarial regions (the diseases provided protection from malaria), doesn't this disprove the supposition of migration spreading these diseases?" No. To address this, we must consider when the mutations probably occurred, and factors such as how frequently mutations of any kind naturally occur in human populations generally. (In a large population, depending on the gene, it could take dozens or hundreds of generations for a mutated genetic trait to become widespread.) Moreover, the extent of malaria historically present in Sicily (in swamps, for example) would have to be carefully studied in archival records which provide little information on the subject because malaria was rarely considered an epidemic worth noting. We know that malaria existed in Sicily into the 1940s, but before then it had been much less frequent here since the Middle Ages. Interestingly, the Saracens (Moors), one of the peoples whose arrival probably brought these genes to Sicily, were experts at irrigation and swamp drainage and had, immediately prior to their arrival in Sicily, resided in dry regions. In the case of Sicily, the population of the island was so sparse under the native peoples (Elymi, Sicans, Sicels) when the Phoenicians and Greeks arrived circa 800 BC that many genetic traits must necessarily be attributed to mass colonisation by these "foreign" peoples. Incidentally, vocal detractors of the migration theory are not always geneticists or historians; often they are persons seeking to advance one racialist hypothesis or another, for example the idea that Sicilians lack much "African" ancestry.
"How is it that the characters in 'The Sopranos' and 'The Godfather' are so dark? Aren't those actors indicative of the southern Italian population at large?" Not necessarily. Many may have been cast to conform to a general public perception of what the casting agents or producers think Italians should look like. This even happens here in Italy, where dark-haired actors are deliberately sought to portray Sicilians or Calabrians. Statistics (based on driving license records) confirm that there are more blue-eyed blonds in Saxony than in Sicily, but public perceptions are misleading. It's a strange perception, because to many foreigners (i.e. non-Italians) a dark-haired Irishman or brown-eyed Swede is not considered exceptional, while a blue-eyed Sicilian is. This reminds us of an experience here in Sicily. Two of our writers --both of Sicilian ancestry but neither one having brown eyes-- were walking through the Sicilian town of Aragona (near Agrigento) and discussing this subject on the way to conduct genealogical research in the church archive. One observed that, yes, darker complexions seemed dominant in certain localities. At that moment, they passed an open doorway where a young girl about 6 years old was standing. The blue-eyed child had very long blonde hair that, in the morning sunlight, seemed the color of freshly-fallen snow. So much for generalities. Statistics are important in any discussion of a genetic topic involving populations, even regarding superficial things like eye color.
"Granted that there are many recent immigrants in Sicily today (most notably Chinese, Indians, Tunisians, Nigerians and Romanians), Italy doesn't seem very multicultural to me." Agreed. Compared to the United Kingdom, France, Australia or Canada, Italy is not very multicultural as we understand the term --though it has "ethnic" (non-Italian speaking) populations in South Tirol, Aosta and Trieste. It would be correct to say that Sicily was largely multicultural from about 1070 until circa 1300. By 1500, the Orthodox Christians, Muslims and Jews were completely amalgamated and their cultures essentially suppressed in favor of what became the dominant Latin and Roman Catholic culture we see today. (Repressive government and the Holy Inquisition did little to encourage tolerance!) Even the influx of Albanians circa 1500 resulted in quasi-ethnic communities which soon became largely Italianized, though they retained the Byzantine Rite (in parishes now under the Pope) and some Albanian traditions, as well as the Albanian language. However, the major medieval influx of foreigners (particularly Saracens and Normans) has certainly left its mark on Sicilian culture. Indeed, it distinguishes Sicily from many other regions of Italy. In some ways, the more recent immigration you mention seems to be bringing Sicily back to its medieval multicultural roots --and isn't a combination of flavors more appealing than just one?
"Considering that the Normans conquered Sicily and introduced feudalism here, does this imply that blue-eyed Sicilians are descended from the nobility?" A few, perhaps, but Sicily's aristocrats do not look any different physically from other Sicilians. Under the Normans, Swabians and early Angevins (until around 1300) many barons may have had slightly lighter complexions than the population at large, but intermarriage soon changed this. Despite claims to the contrary, few noble families of Sicily surviving today can trace Norman ancestry in the direct male line (most emerged as landholding aristocrats after the Middle Ages), though of course like most Sicilians they are probably descended from Normans through one line or another. There is little doubt that traits such as blue eyes and red hair became more widespread following the Norman Conquest, which began in 1061. In the past, people working in the fields under the Sicilian sun were more tanned than the aristocrats, who were more protected from solar effects; this may partly explain the misconception of a "racial" Sicilian social structure.
"This is subjective, but why are younger Sicilian women often exceptionally pretty while their mothers and grandmothers seem excessively short and ugly?" Subjective, indeed, but also interesting because this common observation relates to many parts of the world, not only to Sicily. (Theresa Maggio mentions it in her book, The Stone Boudoir, about her travels across rural Sicily.) Two factors are often cited to explain the phenomenon. Better nutrition since the 1940s (particularly higher dietary protein in youth) has greatly increased the average height of Italians, Japanese and other populations over the last few decades, allowing children to reach their genetically determined stature. On a genetic level, the gradual migration from small towns (many with "inbred" gene pools) to large cities has facilitated greater genetic diversity because, consequently, spouses typically are from different areas. Simply put, nowadays Sicilians (like people elsewhere) are less likely than in times past to wed distant cousins with whom they may share the same genetic traits. This is complex where humans are concerned, so please forgive us for what may seem like a rather detached --and highly simplified-- example: If most people in a certain small town had exceptionally large noses and ears, while those of another town generally had exceptionally small ears and noses, there is a good probability that the children of a father from the first town and a mother from the second would have children with features which were less pronounced, and perhaps more aesthetically pleasing by today's beauty standards. Beyond nutrition, there are various health considerations; plastic surgery is not as common in Sicily as it is in California, but dental care and specialized exercise have certainly improved, and are more available today than they were to generations of the past. Young Italian men don't seem particularly muscular (serious weight training is unusual in Italy and schools' physical education programs are mediocre), but many young Italian women are natural ectomorphs (slender with long limbs), and quite fashion conscious, being particularly adept at presenting an attractive image accentuating their aesthetic strengths. This is something that foreign women often notice, and envy, about Italian ones. Young Italian men, being generally thin (we're speaking in generalities), often look better in stylish Italian clothes than would more muscular American men. And statistically, childhood and young-adult obesity levels are far lower among Italians than among Americans and others. The other side of the equation, however, is that most Italians do not seem to age particularly well. Gyms in New York are full of people over 45; in Palermo you hardly ever see a middle-aged person working out. Most Italians smoke, and many suffer skin damage from excessive sun overexposure --with the cumulative superficial effects of these habits more evident at 45 than at 25. Nevertheless, let's remember that these are broad generalities. People are individuals influenced by their own unique genetics and lifestyle. Society's evolving concept of beauty is, in itself, often highly subjective and even controversial.
"Aren't Sicilians and Calabrians usually darker than Lombards and Piedmontese?" The "Nordic versus Mediterranean" myth is one of the most bizarre misperceptions about Italians, and one of the most enduring. (Strangely, it is perpetuated more by foreigners than by Italians, who seem to know better.) While some darker southerners seem to tan more easily than some northerners, a visitor to Bergamo and Brescia (in Lombardy) who then visits Caltanissetta and Enna (in Sicily) wouldn't notice many superficial physical differences between the two populations. Indeed, he or she might even notice more red-headed or blue-eyed Sicilians than Lombards. (The only exceptions might be certain parts of French-speaking Aosta or German-speaking South Tyrol, whose populations were not historicaly "Italic.") Don't take our word for it; visit yourself.
In 1071 the Normans conquered a city of Palermo (then Bal'harm) of at least 100,000 inhabitants, and possibly many more, with a clear Saracen (Arab) majority of as much as 60-70 percent. These Saracens came from northern Africa and they descended from migratory Semitic Arabs as well as Berbers. But today most of the Tunisian immigrants seen in Palermo are quite dark, easily distinguished from most Palermitans. "If most Palermitans are descended, at least in part, from Saracens of northern Africa, why don't more Sicilians look more like the Tunisians and other north Africans?" This is simply because the genetic composition of the populations of both places have changed somewhat since 1071. Twenty-first century Palermitans have more Norman and Longobard ancestors, and today's Tunisians have more Saharan or sub-Saharan ones (who migrated toward coastal areas over the course of centuries), than they did in the twelfth century. That said, some Sicilians have dark complexions while some Tunisians have light ones. For comparison, consider that the Albanians arriving in Sicily circa 1500 during the Turkish conquest of the Balkans probably had less Turkish ancestry than today's Albanians, who were part of the Ottoman Empire for centuries.
"There were never many Carthaginians in Sicily, and the Saracens (Arabs) only stayed for a few hundred years and were expelled in the thirteenth century, so why do you state that Sicilians are descended from Arabs when certain genetic studies seem to contradict this?" We say it because it is true. Firstly, there were indeed many Phoenicians and Carthaginians in Sicily and, like the Arab domination, theirs lasted many generations and resulted in extensive amalgamation with the pre-existing population; any statement to the contrary is simply ahistorical. Secondly, there is no evidence that a few thousand Arabs in San Giuseppe Jato, Palermo and the Marsala area (expelled in the 13th century) constituted a mass exodus of at least a half million (if not more) Arabs intermarried for generations with Sicilians and residing across Sicily, often in remote localities. No historical record puts the number of exiles sent to Lucera (in Apulia) or to Tunisia at more than a few thousand. Furthermore, records subsequent to the reign of Frederick II mention Sicilians bearing Arabic names and surnames. Most of the Siculo-Arabs were Muslims, and mosques are mentioned well into the time of the War of the Vespers (1282). Moreover, reliable genetic studies (such as those cited here) do indeed identify genetic traits (based on markers) common to both Arabs and contemporary Sicilians. (The existence of other, seemingly conflicting, studies, seeking to identify other gene markers possibly irrelevant to migration history, or incompletely documented, or cited out of context, does not change this fact.) Also, the influence of Arabic on the Sicilian language indicates a long presence during which the population at large assimilated to some extent with the dominant Arabs, and the population of Sicily appears to have doubled during the few centuries of Saracen rule, even as a number of isolated, predominantly-Greek communities thrived in the Nebrodi Mountains and other areas. When Abdullah al-Idrisi wrote his geography during the twelfth century, most Sicilian cities had mixed populations of Greeks, Arabs and Jews. As to the Carthaginians, they and their predecessors, the Phoenicians, did indeed establish numerous continuously-inhabited colonies, particularly in western Sicily --Motia, Zis (Palermo) and Solunto are but three examples-- and were still a strong influence in Sicily during the Punic Wars. The Sicanian language was written with Phoenician characters, and possibly influenced directly by the Phoenicians' language, which later formed the basis of Punic, the Carthaginians' language. Incidentally, based on their own migration history from the middle east, there were strong Semitic strains among both Carthaginians and Saracens (Moors), though both groups had amalgamated extensively with the pre-existing populations of northern Africa before reaching Sicily.
"As various publications (and websites) offer conflicting perspectives, is it true that Sicilians have "black" (Negroid) ancestry?" Firstly, it is worth mentioning that the spirited debates on this non-issue and its positions, either pro or con, usually reflect culturally biased or narrow-minded racist perspectives, and the very concept of "race" leaves much to be desired in terms of scientific (or social) validity. That said, there is no genetic or historical basis for presuming sub-Saharan (and specifically "Negroid") ancestry of Sicilians or Spaniards. The ancient Phoenicians and Carthaginians, and the medieval Moors (Saracens), were not Negroid. (Indeed, all had strong Middle-Eastern Semitic origins, as most of their ancestors had migrated to northern Africa from the eastern Mediterranean.) Many Sicilians share some genetic markers with certain north African populations descended from these peoples of coastal Mediterranean Africa. Sickle cell trait is one example. Contrary to popular belief, it is not associated specifically with "black" populations. Incidentally, terms such as "African-American," when used as synonyms for "Negroid," are misnomers as they are implicitly exclusive of most north Africans (such as Algerians, Libyans and Tunisians) who are not considered Negroid. The Phoenicians ruled parts of Sicily for four centuries, followed by their successors (and descendants) the Carthaginians, who colonised western Sicily and controlled that region for four centuries. The Saracens (an Arab people) colonised Sicily and ruled all of it for centuries. Some had dark complexions, and there were few, if any, superficial physical differences among these Mediterranean peoples. Though the ancient Romans and medieval Arabs had contact with Ethiopians and other sub-Saharan peoples, there is little evidence to suggest that either society attributed particular social merit to the color of a person's skin or even made great distinctions about race, but neither is there evidence of a great influx of sub-Saharans into Roman Sicily. (The ancient city of Rome, if not multicultural, did have a large population of foreign diplomats, traders, teachers and slaves, eventually leading to some degree of amalgamation.) What is certain is that the earliest pre-historic ancestors of all men and women were Africans, and they were not "white" as we commonly understand this term today.
As we mentioned earlier, discussions of genetics sometimes engender strong opinions. Our editors occasionally receive all kinds of queries, some quite bizarre. One can only wonder, would some of these inquiring folks like to return to the practice of measuring skulls to determine human intelligence? We don't have the time or inclination to respond to each item, and frankly, the revisionist logic implied in some of the queries reminds us of the bizarre reasoning behind claims that NASA never really put a man on the moon!
Genealogy and Genetics
The identification of families and their kinships is an aid to genetics researchers. In most cases a non-aristocratic familial lineage in Sicily cannot be traced reliably much earlier than the late 1400s, but genealogy is also useful for determining kinship among extended families of collateral relatives (siblings, cousins), and in this way it is possible to know whether two living cousins might have inherited a genetic disease from the same ancestor. See our genealogy page for information on Sicilian genealogical records.
Certain genealogical concepts that seem genetic are not. Consanguinity, as we've mentioned, is not the same thing as a genetically-demonstrated commonality, though the two events usually overlap to some extent. For example, people who are first cousins through both paternal and maternal lines (i.e. two brothers marry two sisters and each couple has children who are first cousins to each other) are usually said to share the same first degree of consanguinity as a full brother and sister. Yet, geneticists use more complicated models and formulae for explaining such concepts as genetic similarity and the probability of inheriting certain genetic traits --particularly recessive ones. Genetics are more complicated than anything thus far devised by humans.
Genealogists and geneticists alike acknowledge that closely related individuals in small remote communities often intermarried and had children (a condition sometimes called "inbreeding"), sometimes with negative health consequences. This is one reason why marriages between closely-related cousins is discouraged by both Church and State. That said, consanguinity does not always imply the kind of genetic redundancy that favors inheritance of recessive traits linked to certain diseases. Each case is unique.
Affinity is a legal term and genealogical concept that defines relationships apart from kinship through common ancestry (blood relationships). A man is said to have affinity with his brother's wife (i.e. his sister-in-law), and in Catholic Canon Law could not marry her even after she is widowed. This a social convention rather than a biological one.
The study of families reminds us of a fundamental reality, namely that it is intermarriage and reproduction that makes gene pools diverse. At some point in time, the Phoenicians, Carthaginians and ancient Greeks intermarried with the Elymi, Sicans and Sicels. Later, in the Middle Ages, Saracens (Arabs) intermarried with the people already living in Sicily. Most of the Normans who came to Sicily were fighting men who married local women; that both Roger II and Frederick II kept harems and in this way fathered illegitimate children is indicative of social realities.
In these "mixed" unions, economic considerations often overshadowed questions of religion, though the Jewish populations, in particular, remained somewhat distinct until the Inquisition forced them into exile or conversion in the 1490s. In the medieval Mediterranean, many everyday social practices of Muslims, Jews and eastern (Orthodox) Christians were similar enough to make adaptation minimal. (In Mediterranean countries of the ninth-century, for example, Christian and Jewish women wore veils in public, as did Muslim women, and the social status and roles of women in Christian societies were not, generally speaking, very different from those of Muslim women. Islam had existed for only a few centuries; naturally, Muslim-Arab society was similar to other Semitic and eastern-Mediterranean societies in terms of dress, cuisine and other aspects of popular culture.) By way of analogy, the societies of the waves of Nordic peoples who conquered parts of England into the eleventh century (Saxons, Vikings, Norsemen, et al.) were overwhelming more similar to one another than some social historians would have us believe. This is logical; after all, these peoples came from regions a few hundred miles from one another, not from opposite sides of the world. In stark contrast, developments such as the Mongol-Tartar conquest of western Russia accentuated more extreme cultural differences between societies. The Normans are remarkable in that they readily and easily adapted to their new southern Italian environment, but numerically the influx of Norman knights into Sicily was far less than that of ancient Greeks and medieval Arabs, whose movements were more akin to full-scale colonization.
Some Early Conclusions
Genetic studies do not always reflect historical realities perfectly because living populations are descended from only some historical inhabitants. Let's say that the fictional AX population settles the island of ID and amalgamates with the local population, the IDs. Are today's IDs descended from all the ancient AXs? Not likely. As far as we know, most of the ancient AXs could have died childless, leaving only a very small number to bear offspring and perpetuate their genes. From this perspective, genetic studies provide a basis for comparison but not a definitive conclusion about the remote past. We're looking at the footprints of the past, not the past itself. Statistically, the fact that only 12% of living IDs bear a certain gene associated with the ancient AXs does not imply that the population of ID Island never consisted of more than 12% AXs, only that rather few AXs produced offspring who in turn survived to produce offspring generation by generation. It is also quite possible that the population of an entire small town could have inherited a single gene from a single ancient or medieval ancestor.
Much remains to be discovered in comparative population genetics and its integration with historical knowledge. The mapping of the human genome is only a useful first step. Within the limits of scientific methodology (hypothesis, controls, parameters, analysis, etc.), genetic research involving the Sicilian populatiuon generally tends to confirm, rather than refute, the presumptions arrived at via historical research, which in recent years has become increasingly multi-disciplinary (linking archival history to climatic studies, geology and other fields). It's a good beginning...
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Some Terms Defined
This is hardly a complete list but includes a few terms used in this article:
Angevin - relating to the French region of Anjou. King Charles of Naples (who followed the Hohenstaufens) was descended from the Royal House of France, called Anjou for its fief there. In medieval Sicilian history, the term "Angevin" refers generally to French associated with the House of Anjou, and not specifically to people from the Anjou region.
Afrocentrism - various sociological philosophies which emphasise particular modes of studying African anthropology and history in a positive way, often as a reaction to longstanding bias present in certain "Eurocentrist" and race-based "Nordicist" histories of Africa. Afrocentrism seeks to present global history from an African perspective. Extreme Afrocentrism is sometimes revisionist or racist in tone. As a social and political movement, it is particularly popular outside Africa, though the independence of African countries from European colonial powers clearly reflects a positive (and practical) form of Afrocentrism.
allele - one of two or more alternative forms of a gene that arise by mutation and are found at the same place on the same chromosome.
amalgamation - process of ethnically or genetically diverse populations uniting through marriage, resulting in a "mixed" population.
anthropology - comparative study of societies and cultures, including human evolution.
Arabs - Semitic people of the middle-east and northern Africa.
assimilation - process of distinct ethnic populations coexisting in the same place, possibly adapting similar ethnological characteristics, without necessarily intermarrying.
Byzantine Greek - reference to Greeks and their eastern Mediterranean society following the fall of the western Roman Empire.
Carthaginians - residual Phoenician civilization of Carthage (in northern Tunisia) in ancient times.
consanguineous - relating to or denoting people descended from the same ancestor.
consanguinity - state of sharing descent from the same ancestor.
chromosomes - structure made of nucleic acids found in most living cells, carrying information in form of genes.
DNA - deoxyribonucleic acid, substance present in most living organisms and carrier of genetic information.
Elymi - also Elami or Elimiian; one of the three most ancient Sicilian peoples, inhabiting parts of far western and northwestern Sicily, sharing some regions with the Sicans. Probably a west Asian people from what is now Turkey, arriving via Africa around 1200 BC.
ethnic - relating to a population or group having common cultural or national traditions.
ethnology - study of characteristics of various peoples and differences and relationships between them.
ethnography - scientific description or classification of peoples and cultures with reference to their particular characteristics and customs.
Eurocentrism - vague sociological concept (and new term) which emphasises study of European anthropology as pre-eminent, sometimes implicitly regarding it as superior to all others. Western historical perspectives popular through the 1960s are often considered broadly "Eurocentric" because they seem to minimise or even overlook the cultural importance of peoples in Africa, Asia and the New World, or view these cultures from an exclusively European perspective. Extreme Eurocentrism is sometimes revisionist or racist in nature, though it rarely reflects a well-defined philosophy or a formal movement.
genealogy - social study of lines of descent, kinship and familial history.
gene - unit of heredity consisting of DNA forming part of a chromosome.
gene pool - stock of different genes in an interbreeding population.
genetics - scientific study of heredity and variation of hereditary characteristics based on genes.
genetic tracking - science applied to determine migrations of people in antiquity, particularly pre-historically.
genome - haploid or complete set of genetic material of an organism.
Greek - the people of Greece; the language of Greece. (Here the term refers to the ancient Greeks of Greece, Sicily and all of Magna Graecia.)
heterogeneous - diverse in character or content.
Italianism - nationalist theory popularised during the Italian unification era (1848-1870) and subsequently encouraged under Fascism (1922-1945) advocating the idea of Italians as having existed as a united people continuously since Roman times, notwithstanding the factionalization existing from the end of the Roman Empire (Early Middle Ages) until the nineteenth century; the theory often supports the Roman Catholic Church as the only "Italian" church, and the standard use of the Tuscan-Italian language (over regional Italic languages such as Piedmontese, Milanese, Sicilian and Sardinian) to the complete exclusion of all others. Italianism has become less popular with the advent of regionalism (federalism) in Italy. Nowadays, Italianists are most often encountered in extremely reactionary right-wing (Neo-Fascist) circles; the movement discourages the use of languages other than Italian even in traditionally non-Italian-speaking territories such as South Tirol (German), Aosta (French) and Trieste (Slovenian). Fascism's Italianist laws prohibited the study of English and French, and strictly regulated public worship by Protestants and Jews. In a broader (non-political) humanistic and positive cultural context, Italianism refers to an affinity for Italy, Italians and Italian culture.
Italic - relating to the Italian peninsula, its ancient peoples and the ancient languages related to Latin, particularly Oscan and Umbruian. More generally, refers to Italian peoples generally, but not to be confused with "Italy," a nation state which was established in the 1860s.
Italy - modern nation (Italian Republic) which includes the Italian peninsula and the islands of Sicily and Sardinia. (In historical references the term is often used to describe the Italian peninsula as opposed to the two large island regions, but today's Sicilians are Italian.) Italy has existed as a united country only since 1860, before which time the peoples of this region identified themselves as Milanese, Piedmontese, Sardinians, Venetians, Sicilians, etc.
Magna Graecia - Megara Hellas (Greater Greece); Italian regions colonized by ancient Greeks, including Sicily and most of the peninsula south of the Etruscan regions around Rome.
Mediterranean - relating to the Mediterranean Sea and the land masses touching it; the peoples of this region.
Moors - residual medieval Arab population of northern Africa; also Saracens. (Moor is favored in describing Arabs of medieval northwestern Africa who invaded the Iberian peninsula.)
multicultural - relating to, or constituting, several cultural or ethnic groups. (Norman Sicily is said to be multicultural because during this era various ethnic groups lived in equality.)
Nordic - most generally, refers to native inhabitants of Scandinavia, nortwestern Europe and regions bordering the North Sea.
Nordicism - various modern sociological philosophies which emphasise study of "Nordic" anthropology, often (but not always) as a racial "science" based on principles no longer widely accepted. Often characterised by its own unique definition of the term "Nordic," contemporary Nordicism is sometimes revisionist or racist in nature, and particularly popular outside Nordic regions. Certain Nazi ideas of race were, in a very broad sense, Nordicist.
Normans - residual Norse civilization of medieval Normandy, amalgamated with the essentially Gallic-Celtic population already resident there. In the medieval context, the Normans were Frankish as well as Scandinavian.
Phoenicians - seafaring semitic people of Phoenicia who settled coastal areas of the Mediterranean.
population genetics - study of genetics applied to populations or groups of persons, particularly allele frequencies.
Punic - pertaining to Phoenician descendants in northern Africa, especially the Carthaginians; also the language of the ancient Carthaginians, based on Phoenician.
race - major division of humans having distinct physical characteristics; distinct population (as a subspecies) within a species.
racial science - pseudo-science which purports to identify and explain "racial" differences based primarily on superficial traits (i.e. physical appearance), and various concepts popularised in the nineteenth century and formerly considered accurate, sometimes advancing arbitrary philosophies rooted in racism. Nazi and Fascist concepts of race owe much to racial science.
racism - discrimination against or antagonism towards other races; belief that there are abilities or qualities specific to each race. In practice, racism is usually negative, as it often seeks to demonstrate that one race is clearly superior to another.
Romans - people of Rome, the Roman Province (Italian peninsula) or Roman citizens of the Roman Empire.
Saracens - residual medieval Arab population of northern Africa; also Moors. (Saracen is favored in describing Arabs of medieval northwestern and north-central Africa who invaded Sicily.)
Sicans - also Sicanians; one of the three most ancient Sicilian peoples, inhabiting central and western regions following arrival of Sicels and Elymians but originally present throughout Sicily. Probably native to Sicily, descended from neolithic inhabitants; their language apparently was not Indo-European.
Sicels - also Sikels or Siculi; one of the three most ancient Sicilian peoples, inhabiting central and eastern Sicily from around 1100 BC. Probably an Italic people.
Sicilian - of or pertaining to Sicily; the people of Sicily; the language of Sicily.
Sicilianism - any of several regionalist movements and fields of study which focus on Sicily and Sicilian ethnology (including the Sicilian language and literature), as well as Sicilian history and culture, usually in the wider context of Mediterranean and Italian society. Sicilianist studies and social movements were ruthlessly suppressed from 1860 until 1943, when the Allied liberation of Sicily spawned an independence movement resulting in Sicilian semi-autonomy politically.
sickle-cell anemia - also sickle-cell disease; hereditary form of anemia in which a mutated form of hemoglobin distorts red blood cells into a crescent shape at low oxygen levels.
Siculo- - descriptive of the quality of being Sicilian, of Sicilian origin, or being in Sicily (i.e. the Siculo-Normans of Palermo as opposed to Anglo-Normans of London)
Swabian - relating to the German region of Swabia. Sicily's Hohenstaufen dynasty was Swabian and brought a Germanic influence to Sicilian society.
thalassemia - British thalassaemia; hereditary hemolytic disease caused by faulty hemoglobin synthesis, prevalent in Mediterranean, African and Asian countries.
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