DNA STUDY SHOWS WHEN ANCIENT GREEKS COLONIZED ITALY.

 A recent DNA study by an international group of scientists shows when ancient Greeks colonized Magna Grecia in Italy.

Magna Grecia is the name of the coastal areas in southern Italy and Sicily that were extensively populated by Greek settlers.

The settlers brought with them their Hellenic civilization, which was to leave a lasting imprint in Italy such as the culture of ancient Rome.

While the cultural contribution of the Greeks to southern Italy is clear researchers have argued for years about their biological contribution.

"There are scenarios ranging from a colonization process based on small groups of males moderately mixed with indigenous groups to substantial migration from Greece and a Hellenic origin for a  significant part of the pre-Roman Italian population," noted author Sergio Tofanelli and his colleagues.

The team picked up DNA samples from people who lived in southern Italy and Sicily and compared them with samples retrieved from Greeks from Euboea and Corinth where archaeologists believe the first wave of colonizers came from and found the DNA was identical.