Sicani Discussion

Dedicated for all DNA, Analysis Results, History, Research topics related to: Sicani

The Sicani are the oldest inhabitants of Sicily with a recorded name. The origins of these people have been debated since ancient times - modern DNA analysis does shed some light on this: perhaps Timaeus of Tauromenium had it best explained in 300 BC when he stated they were indigenous to Sicily. The proto-Sicani had left cave paintings as old as 8000 BC which is esimated to be 2000 years after their first arrival to Sicily at the end of the last Ice Age. It is thought the same proto-Sicani people migrated to Malta and were perhaps the most advanced civlization in Europe during this ancient time. It is clear from archaeological research that the Sicani were influenced greatly by the Mycenaeans before the Greek colonization of Sicily. They first appear in historical records with the Phoenicians who established colonies during the 11th century BC - well before the Greeks who founded the colony of Syracuse which in ancient times had a population of 300,000. Only after the Roman Empire annexed Sicily much later did the Sicani people themselves disappear as a distinct group - it was then that they became part of the local population.