Since the tenth century BC, the Abruzzo region has hosted different Italic populations. According to historical sources, they originated from an ancestor population following the ritual “ver sacrum” migration. Contact among the populations within the region was always difficult, as Abruzzo is crossed longitudinally by the highest peaks of the Apennines chain. It was only after the Roman conquest from the fourth century BC that the construction of a new road system allowed quick and safe connections among some of the populations. This study was designed to use non-metric skeletal traits and mean measure of divergence analysis to determine the effective biodistance between five nuclei populations (Scurcola Marsicana, Tortoreto, Opi, Sulmona, Teramo) and whether this was influenced by the construction of the Roman road network. The statistical analysis thus defined the effective common origin of these populations. It can be seen that the populations that lived alongside the main Roman communication routes (Tortoreto, Teramo, Sulmona) had a greater degree of hybridisation than those that were further from the road system (Opi), who were instead biologically isolated.

Influence of the Roman road network on the biological proximity of Italic Abruzzo populations through mean measure of divergence analysis

Cilli J.
2021-01-01

Abstract

Since the tenth century BC, the Abruzzo region has hosted different Italic populations. According to historical sources, they originated from an ancestor population following the ritual “ver sacrum” migration. Contact among the populations within the region was always difficult, as Abruzzo is crossed longitudinally by the highest peaks of the Apennines chain. It was only after the Roman conquest from the fourth century BC that the construction of a new road system allowed quick and safe connections among some of the populations. This study was designed to use non-metric skeletal traits and mean measure of divergence analysis to determine the effective biodistance between five nuclei populations (Scurcola Marsicana, Tortoreto, Opi, Sulmona, Teramo) and whether this was influenced by the construction of the Roman road network. The statistical analysis thus defined the effective common origin of these populations. It can be seen that the populations that lived alongside the main Roman communication routes (Tortoreto, Teramo, Sulmona) had a greater degree of hybridisation than those that were further from the road system (Opi), who were instead biologically isolated.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11564/763322
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