Illusion In Small Village, Alps

Political and cultural history
Little is known of the early dwellers of the Alps, save from scanty accounts preserved by Roman and Greek historians and geographers. A few details have come down to us of the conquest of many of the Alpine tribes by Augustus. Also, recent research into Mitochondrial DNA indicates that MtDNA Haplogroup K very likely originated in or near the southeastern Alps approximately 12–15,000 years ago.
During the Second Punic War in 218 BC, the Carthaginian general Hannibal successfully crossed the Alps along with an army numbering 38,000 infantry, 8,000 cavalry, and 37 war elephants. This was one of the most celebrated achievements of any military force in ancient warfare.
Much of the Alpine region was gradually settled by Germanic tribes (Lombards, Alemanni, Bavarii) from the 6th to the 13th centuries, the latest expansion corresponding to the Walser migrations.