Study by the University of Zurich Medieval migration of the Walser leaves genetic traces

The medieval migration of the Walser people has left genetic traces to this day. In a new study published in the journal "Forensic Science International: Genetics", researchers from the University of Zurich show how history is reflected in the genes of the Alpine people.

Keystone-SDA

27.12.2024, 22:10

SDA

"Our study provides an insight into the genetic diversity in Switzerland and highlights the unique genetic patterns of communities in the Swiss Alps that are otherwise linked by a common history and culture," study author Natasha Arora was quoted as saying by the Keystone-SDA news agency on Friday.

Around 800 years ago, some Walser people left the Upper Valais to settle in other regions of the Alps. As the researchers from the University of Zurich have now shown in their study, the Walser communities still differ slightly to moderately from other Alpine communities in genetic terms.

Isolation and exchange

According to the study, this result reflects the historical and geographical isolation, which was influenced by the settlement of remote high mountain valleys as well as social and cultural factors such as marriage patterns and migration. However, it also shows that despite their isolation, these communities had genetic exchange with neighboring communities over generations.

According to the study, the geographically more remote and therefore presumably more isolated Walser communities in the Lötschental VS, in Vals GR and in Gressoney (Italy) are genetically more distinct from other Alpine communities.

In some of the Walser communities, the researchers also found the DNA haplogroup W6, which is otherwise rare in Central Europe. This haplogroup could either have been introduced into the Walser population through earlier migrations or be a relic of earlier genetic diversity that has survived in these isolated communities.