Persistence of Lombard Y chromosomes in old Northern Italian families?

Traces of medieval migrations in a socially stratified population from Northern Italy. Evidence from uniparental markers and deep-rooted pedigrees.

Heredity (Edinb). 2015 Feb;114(2):155-62

Authors: Boattini A, Sarno S, Pedrini P, Medoro C, Carta M, Tucci S, Ferri G, Alù M, Luiselli D, Pettener D

Abstract

Social and cultural factors had a critical role in determining the genetic structure of Europe. Therefore, socially stratified populations may help to focus on specific episodes of European demographic history. In this study, we use uniparental markers to analyse the genetic structure of Partecipanza in San Giovanni in Persiceto (Northern Italy), a peculiar institution whose origins date back to the Middle Ages and whose members form the patrilineal descent of a group of founder families. From a maternal point of view (mtDNA), Partecipanza is genetically homogeneous with the rest of the population. However, we observed a significant differentiation for Y-chromosomes. In addition, by comparing 17 Y-STR profiles with deep-rooted paternal pedigrees, we estimated a Y-STR mutation rate equal to 3.90 * 10(-3) mutations per STR per generation and an average generation duration time of 33.38 years. When we used these values for tentative dating, we estimated 1300-600 years ago for the origins of the Partecipanza. These results, together with a peculiar Y-chromosomal composition and historical evidence, suggest that Germanic populations (Lombards in particular) settled in the area during the Migration Period (400-800 AD, approximately) and may have had an important role in the foundation of this community.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/hdy.2014.77

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The Partecipanza Persicetana

The Agricultural Cooperative of Participants or Partecipanza is an ancient form of land ownership that has its roots in the twelfth century and still involves the Participants, or the male-line descendants of the original families persicetane. The origin of the goods that make up the current assets of the Consortium is to be attributed to concessions of vast tracts of marshland, forest and grassland made as early as the twelfth century by the Abbot of Nonantola and the Bishop of Bologna old community Persicetana. These concessions, such enfiteutiche, provide for the clause to meliorandum, namely the commitment to reclaim and cultivate the land by paying a rent, and to observe the incolato, that the continuous residence in the place, or risk losing the grant. It was at that time one of the means used to deal with the huge problem of deforestation and land reclamation, because the effort of the individual would have been in vain.

The peculiarity of the institution of Partecipanza is the continuation of this kind of concession to the present day. If, in fact, in all other cases, the grant to meliorandum has resulted in a move towards private property, in the case of the formula Partecipanze instead of lease it continues through the centuries, as evidenced by the renewal of the concessions, issued by ' Abbot of Nonantola and the Bishop of Bologna. In particular, for the Partecipanza Persicetana as for other area, the reason lay in having land areas "low" subject to flooding.

San Giovanni in Persiceto was surrounded by rivers on the move such as the Rhine, the Samoggia and Panaro. When at the end of 1400 the rivers consolidated their course, in the community Persicetana established himself with the notion that only the collective effort could achieve results. For this reason the original families, those who had carried out the reclamation, decided to fade before the arrival in the territory Persiceto many interested in enjoying those lands already broken up and by the end of 1400 he began to work on the drafting of the "chapters" , to regulate the enjoyment of goods reserved for the original families, until then left to the customs.

In 1833 he finally came to the division between the City and Partecipanza and between 1865 and 1869 the Consortium finally freed his land. Today the Consortium of Participants of San Giovanni in Persiceto is an Agricultural Association, which owned extensive tracts of land and still constituted by the community of participants, who, every nine years, participating in the allotment of land.

www.consorziodeipartecipantisgpersiceto.it
http://www.comunepersiceto.it/la-citta-e-dintorni/storia-e-statistiche-cartella/la-partecipanza