Origins of the Ancient Rhaetians

by Blue-Soldier

I was wondering about the origins of a confederation of ancient tribes known as the Rhaetians.

For context, the Rhaetians were a group of tribes who lived in the Central Alps. The dominant theory up until the 1960s was that they were Etruscans who were separated by the Gaulish invasion of the Northern Italic Peninsula. It is now believed that they were only related to the Etruscans and were instead the indigenous inhabitants of the Alpine mountains. Another theory which is the one which I believe to be most likely is that they are of Venetic origin due to their proximity of the two peoples to each other and the similarity of the name Rhaetian to the name of the Venetic goddess Reitia.

While as I said I do have a theory which I find to be most convincing, I was hoping to find more conclusive evidence. Also, along with this, if any of you know any more about the Rhaetians, specifically about their settlements and warfare that would be very helpful.

Blue-Soldier

As a side note, when searching for information you may want to look for the names Raeti, Rheti, or Rhaetii as well.