Tuscany in the Early Middle Ages was a palimpsest of earlier Etruscan towns, Roman infrastructures and evolving medieval polities. Archaeological data from cemetery contexts around Chiusi and the environs of Siena indicate continued settlement and reorganization of rural and urban landscapes between ca. 700 and 1200 CE. In the cinematic sweep of cypress-lined hills, stone churches and market lanes took form atop far older foundations; Chiusi itself, with well-known Etruscan roots and an enduring episcopal presence, remained a focal place for continuity and change.
The human remains sampled (n = 8) come from small cemetery assemblages that archaeological excavation has dated by stratigraphy and associated artifacts to the Early Medieval period. Limited evidence suggests these burial grounds reflect local communities rather than large-scale migrant encampments. Material culture—pottery fragments, simple metalwork and churchyard placement—archaeological data indicates a society reorienting around parish structures and regional trade routes. Genetic data, when integrated with this archaeological picture, offers an additional lens on mobility and ancestry: maternal lineages recovered here show affinities common in European and Mediterranean populations, but low sample numbers mean broader population dynamics must be inferred cautiously.
Key threads: continuity of settlement at historic towns, reconfiguration of community life around ecclesiastical centers, and the potential for small-scale mobility evidenced by both artifacts and maternal haplogroups.