Prehistory and Protohistory in Sicily. A Geometric Morphometrics Approach to Study the Biological History of Early Human Peopling of the Island

Abstract

In recent years, the debate about the early human peopling of Sicily has almost exclusively focused on the archaeological evidence. The dispersal patterns and the possibility for, and degree of, admixture caused by ancient migratory flows have been only investigated in limited anthropological studies conducted on a short time spans. Recent craniofacial morphometric analyses that considered migratory flows and population influx have provided a more comprehensive approach. These analyses go beyond archaeologically based settlement hypotheses by merging previous archaeological evaluations and paleoclimatic studies with an anthropological approach. This study expands upon earlier morphometric work and provides an overview covering the period from the Upper Palaeolithic to the Iron Age. For this study, human skulls from Sicilian Prehistory and Protohistory were considered. These skulls were divided into six periods based on the dating of associated archaeological artifacts. Sample selection was based on a detailed bibliographic review of previously published archaeological and historical works. With the aim of associating the diachronic changes in cranial morphology with population migrations and admixture we performed a 3D geometric morphometrics (GM) comparative analysis. The data reported demonstrate that the first colonization of Sicily started during the Upper–Paleolithic when stable climatic conditions allowed hunter-gatherers to move from the Italian Peninsula to the island. Moreover, the results show a cyclical occupation of the land counterclockwise direction completed only with the hinterland colonization in the first historical periods with Greek and Punic colonization.