Tuscan DNA
Genetic origins and closest populations · Italy · Southern Europe
Tuscany, the land of the ancient Etruscans and later of Renaissance Florence, gave Italy its standard language, which grew out of the Florentine of Dante. Tuscans are also one of the reference populations of the 1000 Genomes Project. Ancient DNA shows that the Etruscans, despite their non-Indo-European language, carried steppe-related ancestry like their Latin neighbours. In our model, the Tuscan average is 59.2% Anatolian Neolithic farmer, 33.2% steppe, 2.7% Western hunter-gatherer, 2.5% Iranian Neolithic and 2.4% Natufian: a middle position between Piedmont in the north (1.4% Natufian) and Marche on the Adriatic side (5.6%). The nearest modern averages are Emilians (distance 0.0108) and Umbrians, then the Italian average from Marche and the Piedmont average. The closest ancient groups are early medieval people with a Central Mediterranean profile from Lombard-period cemeteries in Hungary (0.0103), then Avar-period and Roman Pannonians and High Medieval Christians of Segesta in Sicily.
- Largest ancient components in our model: Anatolian Neolithic farmers 59.2%, Steppe herders (Yamnaya) 33.2%, Western hunter-gatherers 2.7%
- Closest modern population in our data: Italian (Emilia), distance 0.0108
- Closest ancient group in our data: Hungary Early Medieval Lombard Period (Central Med Profile), distance 0.0103
This page sums up what the DNA of the Tuscan sample tells us about deep origins. It is built from the averaged Global25 (G25) coordinates of individuals sampled in Italy, listed in the G25 sheet as "Italian_Tuscany", and it is one of 335 populations in our atlas. An average describes the group as a whole, not any single person in it.
Ancient make-up of the Tuscan average
Modelled as a mix of deep ancestral reference populations, the Tuscan average comes out as 59.2% Anatolian Neolithic farmers, 33.2% Steppe herders (Yamnaya) and 2.7% Western hunter-gatherers. The Anatolian Neolithic farmers component reflects the Neolithic farmers of Anatolia, who carried agriculture into Europe from about 6500 BC. The Steppe herders (Yamnaya) share (33.2%) reflects the Bronze Age herders of the Pontic-Caspian steppe (Yamnaya and related groups), whose ancestry spread across Europe and into Asia from about 3000 BC.
Smaller traces of Western hunter-gatherers, Iranian Neolithic farmers and Natufian hunter-gatherers (Levant) (under 5% each) also appear. At that level they can reflect real minor ancestry, but also simple model noise, so they should not be over-read. The model fits well (fit distance 0.017), so these proportions are a reasonable summary. The model draws on West Eurasian ancient genomes, with modern West African and East Asian stand-ins.
Thalassa – Mediterranean Islander Report
Closest modern populations to Tuscan
Ranking every modern population by genetic distance puts Italian (Emilia) first for Tuscan, at 0.011, then Italian (Umbria, Umbrian) and Italian. Leaving aside the other regional samples listed under the same name in the G25 sheet, the nearest other populations are Italian (0.014), Northern Italian (0.016) and Swiss (Italian) (0.019). Even the tenth closest, Greek (Central Greece Phocis), is only 0.025 away: Tuscan belongs to a dense cluster of related populations, so small differences inside that cluster should not be over-interpreted.
| # | Population | Distance | Closeness |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italian (Emilia) | 0.0108 | Very close |
| 2 | Italian (Umbria, Umbrian) | 0.0123 | Very close |
| 3 | Italian | 0.0137 | Very close |
| 4 | Northern Italian | 0.0156 | Very close |
| 5 | Swiss (Italian) | 0.0188 | Very close |
| 6 | Greek (Thessaly) | 0.0189 | Very close |
| 7 | Vlach Aromanian (Greece) | 0.0204 | Very close |
| 8 | Corsican | 0.0205 | Very close |
| 9 | Albanian Tosk (Cham Greece) | 0.0216 | Very close |
| 10 | Greek (Central Greece Phocis) | 0.0254 | Close |
Distances are Euclidean distances between averaged G25 coordinates. On our scale, below 0.025 is very close, below 0.050 close, below 0.080 moderate, and beyond that distant.
Closest ancient populations to Tuscan
Among ancient genomes, the closest match to the modern Tuscan average is Hungary Early Medieval Lombard Period (Central Med Profile) (Early Medieval, c. 500-1000 AD), at 0.010, followed by Hungary Late Antiquity-Early Medieval Avar Period (Central Med Profile) and Hungary Late Antiquity Roman (Central Med Profile). That is a very close match, which suggests strong genetic continuity between those ancient people (or close relatives of theirs) and the modern population. A close ancient match is not proof of direct descent: it means those individuals carried a similar overall mix of ancestry.
| # | Ancient sample or group | Period | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hungary Early Medieval Lombard Period (Central Med Profile) | Early Medieval, c. 500-1000 AD | 0.0103 |
| 2 | Hungary Late Antiquity-Early Medieval Avar Period (Central Med Profile) | Late Antiquity to Early Medieval, c. 250-1000 AD | 0.0125 |
| 3 | Hungary Late Antiquity Roman (Central Med Profile) | Late Antiquity, c. 250-600 AD | 0.0136 |
| 4 | Hungary Early Medieval Avar Period Middle (Central Med Profile) | Early Medieval, c. 500-1000 AD | 0.0137 |
| 5 | Italy Sicily High Medieval Segesta Christian (Central Med Profile) | High Medieval, c. 1000-1300 AD | 0.0139 |
| 6 | Hungary Early Medieval Avar Period (Central Med Profile) | Early Medieval, c. 500-1000 AD | 0.0146 |
| 7 | Hungary Early Medieval Avar Period Early/Middle (Central Med Profile) | Early Medieval, c. 500-1000 AD | 0.0170 |
| 8 | Croatia Roman Empire Zadar (Central Med Profile) | Roman era, c. 1-400 AD | 0.0172 |
| 9 | Croatia Early Medieval Sipar (Central Med Profile) | Early Medieval, c. 500-1000 AD | 0.0184 |
| 10 | Hungary Late Antiquity-Early Medieval Avar Period (Paleo-Balkan Profile) | Late Antiquity to Early Medieval, c. 250-1000 AD | 0.0187 |
Ancient DNA from Italy
Our ancient DNA database holds 1,616 individuals excavated in present-day Italy, dated from about 37,855 BC to 1750 AD. The most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups among them are R1b (216), G2a (154) and I2a (59), and the most frequent mtDNA haplogroups are T2 (156), H1 (128) and U5 (121). These are people who lived on the same land in the past, not necessarily ancestors of today's Tuscan population.
Most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups
Ancient DNA studies on Italy
- LAYERED GENOMIC COMPOSITION AND LINGUISTIC CONTINUITY IN GRECÌA SALENTINA (2026)
- From prehistory to present-day: How isolation shaped the distinct genomic makeup of Italian Alpine valleys (2026)
- DNA signatures preserved in the official 1978 sample collection of the Shroud of Turin (2026)
- Ancient DNA analyses of remains of the Medici family (16th century) provide insights into the genetic variation of Plasmodium falciparum (2026)
- The Etruscans of Felsina: Reconstruction of the Genetic Profile and Biological Connections with Italic and Transalpine Populations from the Villanovan Period to the Roman period. (2026)
- DNA Traces on the Shroud of Turin: Metagenomics of the 1978 Official Sample Collection (2026)
- Ancient genomes from the siege and destruction of Middle Bronze Age Roca Vecchia (Apulia, Italy) shed light on Aegean contacts and conflicts (2025)
- The shifting dynamics of ancestry and culture at a post-Roman crossroads (2025)
Browse them in our ancient DNA database: 1,616 from Italy.
Compare yourself with Tuscan
Paste your G25 coordinates (scaled, one line, with or without a name in front) and we compute your genetic distance to the Tuscan average and to its closest neighbours, right in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or stored.
| # | Population | Your distance | Closeness |
|---|
This list only covers Tuscan and its neighbours. To find out which of our reports actually fits your DNA, run the free Report Finder: it runs the same fit test that every report uses before an order.
No G25 coordinates yet? Get a free simulated G25 from your raw DNA file, or order G25 coordinates.
About these numbers
A word of caution: these figures describe the average of the Tuscan individuals who were sampled, not every person who identifies as Tuscan. Individuals vary around that average, and identity is about history, language and family, not about a genetic score. Read this page as a map of deep ancestry, not as a definition.
Method: averaged G25 coordinates, Euclidean distances to other modern and ancient averages, and a non-negative least-squares model against deep ancestral reference populations (data generated 2026-10-01). Read the full method.
Go deeper than the average
This page describes the Tuscan average. Your own DNA has its own story: Thalassa – Mediterranean Islander Report (15€) models your genome against the ancient sources and modern communities of the region, era by era, in a personal PDF report.
A report built for people of Mediterranean-island ancestry: ancient regional core (Minoan, Mycenaean, Nuragic Sardinian, Phoenician, Sicani, Daunian) versus non-regional outside admixture, across 9 communities (Sicilian, Sardinian, Maltese...
More populations from Southern Europe
Frequently asked questions
What is the ancient genetic make-up of Tuscan?
Modelled with deep ancestral reference populations, the Tuscan average is about 59.2% Anatolian Neolithic farmers, 33.2% Steppe herders (Yamnaya) and 2.7% Western hunter-gatherers. These proportions are model estimates for a group average, not exact values for any one person.
Which populations are genetically closest to Tuscan?
Leaving aside other regional samples listed under the same name in the G25 sheet (such as Italian (Emilia)), the closest modern populations to the Tuscan average are Italian, Northern Italian and Swiss (Italian). The closest ancient matches are Hungary Early Medieval Lombard Period (Central Med Profile), Hungary Late Antiquity-Early Medieval Avar Period (Central Med Profile) and Hungary Late Antiquity Roman (Central Med Profile).
Can a DNA test tell me if I am Tuscan?
No DNA test can confirm an ethnicity or a nationality. What DNA can show is how similar your genome is to the sampled Tuscan average and to its neighbours. If you have G25 coordinates, paste them in the comparison box on this page to check that for free.
Which ExploreYourDNA report suits Tuscan ancestry?
Thalassa – Mediterranean Islander Report is our regional report for this part of the world. On the Tuscan average its fit test reads partial, so check your own DNA first: the free Report Finder runs that test on your file.
Where does the data on this page come from?
From the averaged Global25 (G25) coordinates of the sampled individuals: genetic distances to other modern and ancient population averages, and a non-negative least-squares model against deep ancestral reference populations. The full method is described at https://www.exploreyourdna.com/populations#method.