DNA Testing on 2,000-Year-Old Bones in Italy Reveal East Asian Ancestry

[Liffrea]

Researchers excavating an ancient Roman cemetery made a surprising discovery when they extracted ancient mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from one of the skeletons buried at the site: the 2,000-year-old bones revealed a maternal East Asian ancestry.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0201171756.htm

[antonio]

With the due respect for East Asians ;-) I suggest to read the full article for peace of mind.

[The Ripper]

"This research addresses broader issues relating to globalization, human mobility, identity, and diversity in Roman Italy."

"We're all immigrants"

The mtDNA is another line of evidence that indicates at least one individual was of East Asian descent.

"We must all re-think about how we identify ourselves"

[Kadu]

"We're all immigrants"

The article was merely stating that before this finding nobody would ever think that an East-Asian individual could be found in Rome two thousand years ago, as mobility was quite reduced.

"We must all re-think about how we identify ourselves"

Even if you were a Roman i doubt your identity would change, whether there was one, or one hundred East-Asians at that time in Rome. Even more because the Roman identity was very solid, so solid that it still endures in the present and not only in Rome but in all the Western World.