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We chose the Basques as representative of western Europe, the Turks as representative of the eastern Mediterranean region, Karelians and Volga Finns as representative of northeastern Europe, and Egyptians and Algerians as representative of North Africa. 

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the similarity between the Etruscan and Turkish gene pools may indeed reflect some degree of gene flow. Commercial exchanges are documented between the Etruscan harbours and Asia Minor (Tykot 1994) and trading is often accompanied by interbreeding, ultimately leading to detectable levels of genetic affinity (see Relethford and Crawford 1995). Thus, the present study suggests that gene flow from the eastern (and possibly southern) Mediterranean shores, not necessarily from Lydia as proposed by Herodotus, left a mark in the Etruscan gene pool, above and beyond what is observed in contemporary Italy.