| Sicani | |
|---|---|
| Spoken in | Sicily |
| Extinct | BCE |
| Language family | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | sxc |
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Approximate locations of the Sicani and their neighbors, the Elymians and the Sicels, in Sicily around 11th century BC (before the arrival of the Phoenicians and the Greeks).
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The Sicani (Greek Σικανοί Sikanoi) or Sicanians were one of three ancient peoples of Sicily present at the time of Phoenician and Greek colonization.
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The Sicani are thought to be the oldest inhabitants of Sicily with a recorded name. The Greek historian Thucydides[1] claimed they immigrated from the Iberian Peninsula (perhaps Catalonia)[2][3] driven by the Ligurians from the river Sicanus, drawing his information from the Sicilian historian Antiochus of Syracuse, but his basis for saying this is unknown.[4] Important historical evidence has been discovered in the form of cave drawings by the Sicani, dated from the end of the Pleistocene Epoch, around 8000 BC[5] and this is probably the reason why Timaeus of Tauromenium considered them as aboriginal.[6] Some modern scholars think the Sicani may have been an Illyrian tribe that gained control of areas previously inhabited by native tribes.[7] Archaeological excavation has shown that they had received some Mycenean influence.[8]
The Elymians are thought to be the next recorded people to settle Sicily, perhaps from the Aegean or Anatolia. They settled in the north-west corner of the island, forcing the Sicanians to move across eastward. The Sicels were the next to arrive, from mainland Italy, perhaps Liguria, and settled in the east. Historical records start with the Phoenicians, who established colonies in the 11th century BCE, and especially with the Greeks, who founded the colony of Syracuse, which eventually became the largest Greek city, in 734 BCE. Other Greek colonies were established around the island. The indigenous Sicilians were gradually absorbed by these colonizing peoples and finally disappeared as distinct peoples under Roman occupation.
A few short inscriptions using the Greek alphabet have been found in the extinct Sicanian language.[9] Except for names, they have not been translated, and the language is unclassified due to lack of data.[10]
Sicilian Peoples: The Sicanians by Vincenzo Salerno [1]