L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2024 www.italoamericano.org 18 L'Italo-Americano I n an era where the concepts of multieth- nicity and multicul- turalism are perva- s i v e a n d d o m i n a t e conversations in our highly connected and globalized w o r l d , i t ' s i m p o r t a n t t o remember that this isn't a n e w p h e n o m e n o n i n t h e annals of history. Indeed, our very own forebears, the inhabitants of the ancient Roman Empire, stand as liv- ing proof of this enduring human experience. Y o u s e e , t h e w o r d " R o m a n s " d u r i n g t h e Empire's zenith, referred to a population of astonishing diversity, both culturally and ethnically. This diversity was not merely the result of the Empire's vast conquests but also stemmed from cen- t u r i e s o f i n t e g r a t i o n a n d intermingling with the peo- p l e w h o w e r e c o n q u e r e d , including Italic populations, the Etruscans, the Greeks, and the Celts. This is why the Roman Empire, in all its grandeur and complexity, embodies the ancient roots of our mod- ern discussions on multicul- tural societies, reminding us that human coexistence and cultural exchange have deep historical precedents. At its height, the Roman Empire stretched across Europe, Africa, and Asia and was a symbol of multiethnic- i t y a n d m u l t i c u l t u r a l i s m unparalleled in the ancient world. This vast expanse was characterized by a prosper- ous mosaic of cultures, eth- nicities, languages, and even religions, the result of cen- t u r i e s o f e x p a n s i o n , c o n - quest, and trade. T h e e s s e n c e o f t h e Empire's identity and opera- tional framework was deeply embedded in this diversity, with one of the key strategies for managing such a mixed population being the gradual extension of Roman citi- zenship: originally confined to the inhabitants of Rome, citizenship was progressively offered to other Italians and eventually to people in far- flung provinces, weaving a common thread of identity among the Empire's myriad peoples. Crucially, it also allowed them to maintain their unique cultural charac- teristics. The urban centers of the Empire, such as Rome, A l e x a n d r i a , A n t i o c h , a n d Constantinople, were vibrant melting pots where different cultures mingled with one another: these cities, flour- ishing with administration, military, trade, and culture, f a c i l i t a t e d i n t e r a c t i o n s a m o n g v a r i o u s e t h n i c g r o u p s , a n d n u r t u r e d a n e n v i r o n m e n t o f c u l t u r a l exchange and assimilation. Rome's extensive trade networks further amplified this effect, connecting the Empire with distant lands and introducing exotic goods alongside new ideas and reli- gious beliefs. And we should- n't forget the Roman mili- tary and the role it played in the Empire's multicultural fabric: soldiers were recruit- ed from across the territories and could be stationed in distant lands, with veterans often settling far from their original homes, a practice that not only facilitated the spread of Roman culture but also encouraged a blending of traditions and peoples. History has always taught us all this, but today science c a n a l s o d e m o n s t r a t e i t t h a n k s t o D N A . I n a n i n t r i g u i n g e x p l o r a t i o n o f human movement during the Roman Empire, a study l e d b y r e s e a r c h e r s f r o m Stanford University, and r e p o r t e d b y S a r a h C . P . Williams on the Stanford Medicine website, uncovers the extensive diversity and migration patterns of ancient p o p u l a t i o n s . T h i s s t u d y , originally published in the journal eLife, employed the analysis of ancient DNA to offer a groundbreaking per- spective on how populations i n t e r a c t e d a n d m i g r a t e d throughout the Empire's ter- ritories. T h e f o u n d a t i o n o f t h i s research lies in the collabo- rative effort of an interna- tional team spearheaded by J o n a t h a n P r i t c h a r d , a professor of genetics and biology at Stanford's School of Humanities and Sciences. The team meticulously ana- lyzed the genomes of thou- sands of ancient individuals, i n c l u d i n g 2 0 4 s k e l e t o n s n e w l y s e q u e n c e d f o r t h i s research, from 53 archeolog- ical sites across 18 countries. These individuals primarily lived during the imperial Rome and Late Antiquity periods, from the first to the seventh centuries AD. This new genomic data fills a cru- c i a l g a p i n o u r h i s t o r i c a l understanding of this era, as p o i n t e d o u t b y C l e m e n s Weiss, a key contributor to the study and a former post- doctoral fellow in Pritchard's lab, now associated with the Stanford Cancer Institute. Previously, Pritchard's group had traced the genetic d i v e r s i t y o f p o p u l a t i o n s around Rome over a period spanning 12,000 years, from the Stone Age to medieval times, which revealed a sig- nificant increase in diversity around the time Rome was officially founded, in 753 BC. The current study narrows its focus to a more defined t i m e f r a m e b u t e x p a n d s geographically to encompass the entire Roman Empire. By d o i n g s o , i t b u i l d s u p o n existing DNA data and intro- duces new sequences to pre- sent a more nuanced view of the demographic changes that occurred. The study's findings indi- cate a remarkable level of genetic diversity within the Roman Empire, with at least 8% of the studied indi- v i d u a l s o r i g i n a t i n g f r o m regions outside their burial locations. This diversity was particularly pronounced in a r e a s l i k e S a r d i n i a , t h e Balkans, and parts of central and western Europe. The less diverse regions, such as t h e A r m e n i a n h i g h l a n d s , w e r e t y p i c a l l y t h o s e t h a t were geographically isolated. To ascertain connections b e t w e e n d i f f e r e n t a r e a s , researchers analyzed individ- uals whose genetic ancestry did not match their burial locations, suggesting migra- tion or travel: this analysis revealed patterns of ancestry and movement, highlighting the role of trade routes and m i l i t a r y e x p e d i t i o n s i n e n h a n c i n g d i v e r s i t y . F o r instance, individuals found in Britain were most likely to have origins in northern or central Europe. T h e s t u d y a l s o t r i e d t o understand the conundrum of how regional genetic dif- ferences remained distinct despite historical migrations. One hypothesis is that the decline in mobility following the collapse of the Roman Empire played a role, which raises questions about the nature of population move- ment and integration over time. This interesting research n o t o n l y a d d s a g e n e t i c d i m e n s i o n t o o u r u n d e r - standing of historical popu- l a t i o n d y n a m i c s b u t a l s o illustrates the complex inter- p l a y b e t w e e n m i g r a t i o n , trade, and political develop- ments in shaping the genetic l a n d s c a p e o f t h e R o m a n Empire. The insights gained underline the mobility of a n c i e n t p o p u l a t i o n s a n d their impact on the genetic diversity observed today. With contributions from researchers at the University of Vienna, Austria, and sup- port from the National Sci- e n c e F o u n d a t i o n , t h e National Institutes of Health, the Austrian Science Fund, a n d t h e H o w a r d H u g h e s Medical Institute, this study marks a significant advance- ment in the field of ancient DNA research and certainly o p e n s n e w a v e n u e s f o r understanding human histo- ry. Perhaps just as signifi- cantly, it also shows how the past can always teach some- thing important, including h o w d i v e r s i t y i s , i n f a c t , embedded in our very own DNA. People dressed as ancient Romans. Our imperial ancestors knew a lot about multiculturalism and multi-ethnicity (Photo: Zaid Saadallah/Dreamstime) GIULIA FRANCESCHINI The multicultural DNA of ancient Rome HERITAGE HISTORY IDENTITY TRADITIONS PEOPLE

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