THYRGWAUNAS vs. GWAULGWAUNAS: the Etruscan case

This study focuses on the Etruscan case and develops a recent diffusion theory based on the analysis of the time and space distributions of ancient ethnonyms and toponyms integrated with historical attestations. Estruscans are considered as a confederation of tribes belonging to two distinct lineages descending from *Thyrgwaunas, speaking a Proto-Altaic language, and *Gwaulgwaunas, speaking a Proto-Indo-European one. Such a confederation had been known in the Aegean area as “the Mixed People”, i.e. *Mykgwaunas (whence Mygdonianians and Mycenaeans). The descendants of the two lineages are recognised in Italy and distinguished as Tyrsinians and Volsinians, according to the terminology of Greek and Roman historians. The phonetic changes in the names of the tribes with respect to the original common forms are analysed. The diffusion of Tyrsinian and Volsinian tribes along the Italic peninsula is then investigated by analysing the origins of the main Etruscan and related cities.