Post by Διαμονδ on Nov 4, 2017 10:13:40 GMT
Modern Greeks are the direct descendants of Pre-Indo-European population of the Aegean sea
The DNA of the representatives of the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations proved their genetic relationship with each other and with the modern Greeks. It is shown that the main contribution to the formation of the Minoans and Mycenaeans made the Neolithic populations of Anatolia. The authors discovered that they have a genetic component, originating from the Caucasus and Iran, and the Mycenaeans, a small trail from the North, from Eastern Europe and Siberia (called the component "ancient North Eurasians", ANE). Ie this component is present even before the Dorian invasion, the period of mass migration of the Indo-European conquerors of the Dorians from the North to the Peloponnese in the late bronze age (about 1200 BC), who founded in consequence the Ancient Greek civilization (Greece).
Genetic history of two cultures Aegean – Minoan and Mycenaean – first studied by analyzing ancient DNA. Article with the results of this work published in the journal Nature, the first author Iosif Lazaridis, a co-host among the authors, David Reich (Harvard University), Johannes Krause (Institute of Sciences about the human history of the max Planck Society in Jena) and Georg Stamatoyannopoulos (University of Washington).
Minoan and Mycenaean is the most developed culture of the Aegean bronze age. They have long and well-studied by archaeologists, at the same time, their origin remains a subject of controversy for over a hundred years. The Minoan culture arose in Crete in the middle of the fourth Millennium BC, it is named after the mythical king Minos of Crete. The Minoans built cities and palaces, was engaged in active trade, they belong to the linear a – an early version of the script, which replaced hieroglyphics. The decline of the Minoan civilization leading role give to a volcanic eruption on the island of Santorini in 1645 – 1500 BC Mycenaean culture developed in mainland Greece from the sixteenth century to the XI century BC, it is named after the city of Mycenae in the Peloponnese. The Mycenaeans established with other major policies: Athens, Thebes, Pylos. The writing system of this culture – linear letter became the basis for the formation of the Greek language. The Mycenaeans were active in trade with Crete, and subsequently conquered it.
The authors tried to solve a few specific issues. Can we consider the Minoans and the Mycenaeans separate populations or is it just names an island and mainland population of Greece at that time? As these groups are genetically linked with their geographical neighbours in the Aegean region and Anatolia and other ancient populations of Europe and the Middle East? Is it possible to find out the origin of these cultures? Are genetically the Minoans and the Mycenaeans with the population of modern Greece?
The authors studied 19 ancient genomes, among them 10 genomes of Minoans from Crete, of two graves — Moni Odigitria and Minoan_Lasithi (age 2900-1700 BC), 4 of the genome of the Mycenaeans from the Peloponnese (1700-1200 BC) the genome of britanki of Armenoi, who lived after the spread to Crete Mycenaean civilization (1370-1340 BC) and Neolithic samples from mainland Greece (around 5400 BC) and three of the genome of the bronze age from Anatolia. The location of the studied samples of DNA are presented on the map (the Minoans bonacini green icons, the Mycenaeans blue).
Ancient DNA genetics was studied by SNP capture, analyzing 1.2 million sites of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP). Data for the 19 samples are combined with data on 332 ancient genomes, published in the literature.
Using the principal component analysis method, the researchers placed the genomes of Minoans and Mycenaeans in genetic space ancient and modern populations of Western Eurasia. As the graph shows, the Minoans (green icons) and the Mycenaeans (blue icons) located close to each other, indicating that their genetic similarity. The most close to them are the populations of the European Neolithic and bronze age, Anatolian Neolithic and bronze age, Greek Neolithic and modern populations – Greeks and Cypriots.
The authors conducted an analysis of ancestral components by the method of ADMIXTURE (in the figure it is presented for different specified number of ancestral populations from K=2 to K=17). They draw attention to the fact that the Minoans and Mycenaeans have in common a genetic component (pink), which is also present in populations of the Neolithic/ Chalcolithic/bronze age of Anatolia, and maximum reaches in the Mesolithic/Neolithic samples of Iran and Caucasian hunter-gatherers.
Addressed the modeling of the origin of populations of the Aegean bronze age. The model showed that both the Minoans and the Mycenaeans, the main genetic contribution (62-84%) received from the Neolithic populations of Anatolia, but their genomes and the Eastern component is present (from 9 to 32%), originating from the Caucasus and Iran. Previously it was shown that this component in Europe was brought by the nomads of the Eurasian steppe.
Eastern influence is confirmed by the analysis of the Y-chromosome of the Minoans and Mycenaeans. Four out of five men it belonged to haplogroup J, which is characteristic of Caucasian hunter-gatherers and Mesolithic population of Iran.
According to Iosif Lazaridis, given in a press release on the website Phys.org "Minoans, Mycenaeans and the modern Greeks have genetic contributions of ancestors with the Caucasus, Armenia and Iran. This suggests the existence of migration from the East to the Aegean region and in Anatolia after the appearance of the first farmers".
The Mycenaeans differ from the Minoans to the presence of another genetic component came from the North, it is akin to the hunter-gatherers of Eastern Europe and Siberia (called the component "ancient North Eurasians", ANE).
New findings bring some clarity to the controversial issue of the origin of the Aegean population, although not answer it definitively. Research proves that the Minoans and the Mycenaeans were independent populations, that they are related to each other, and refutes the hypothesis that the latter are foreigners. Confirmed by the origin of the modern Greeks – they rightly can be considered the descendants of the Mycenaeans and ancient Greeks. The authors come to the conclusion that in the Aegean region since the first farmers up until modern times there was relative genetic continuity (though no insulation).
The questions remain for future research. For example, the clarification of the origin of the common ancestors of the Minoans and Mycenaeans; the elucidation of the way in which the Mycenaeans received genetic contribution from the North (whether it was a long slow penetration or fast migration of the population); the details of the formation of the Greek language in the overall picture of the spread of Indo-European languages.
Finally, geneticists were able to learn some features of the appearance of the Minoans and Mycenaeans. DNA analysis confirmed that they had dark eyes and dark hair, and, therefore, is quite consistent with their images on ceramics.
www.nature.com/articles/nature23310?foxtrotcallback=true
The DNA of the representatives of the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations proved their genetic relationship with each other and with the modern Greeks. It is shown that the main contribution to the formation of the Minoans and Mycenaeans made the Neolithic populations of Anatolia. The authors discovered that they have a genetic component, originating from the Caucasus and Iran, and the Mycenaeans, a small trail from the North, from Eastern Europe and Siberia (called the component "ancient North Eurasians", ANE). Ie this component is present even before the Dorian invasion, the period of mass migration of the Indo-European conquerors of the Dorians from the North to the Peloponnese in the late bronze age (about 1200 BC), who founded in consequence the Ancient Greek civilization (Greece).
Genetic history of two cultures Aegean – Minoan and Mycenaean – first studied by analyzing ancient DNA. Article with the results of this work published in the journal Nature, the first author Iosif Lazaridis, a co-host among the authors, David Reich (Harvard University), Johannes Krause (Institute of Sciences about the human history of the max Planck Society in Jena) and Georg Stamatoyannopoulos (University of Washington).
Minoan and Mycenaean is the most developed culture of the Aegean bronze age. They have long and well-studied by archaeologists, at the same time, their origin remains a subject of controversy for over a hundred years. The Minoan culture arose in Crete in the middle of the fourth Millennium BC, it is named after the mythical king Minos of Crete. The Minoans built cities and palaces, was engaged in active trade, they belong to the linear a – an early version of the script, which replaced hieroglyphics. The decline of the Minoan civilization leading role give to a volcanic eruption on the island of Santorini in 1645 – 1500 BC Mycenaean culture developed in mainland Greece from the sixteenth century to the XI century BC, it is named after the city of Mycenae in the Peloponnese. The Mycenaeans established with other major policies: Athens, Thebes, Pylos. The writing system of this culture – linear letter became the basis for the formation of the Greek language. The Mycenaeans were active in trade with Crete, and subsequently conquered it.
The authors tried to solve a few specific issues. Can we consider the Minoans and the Mycenaeans separate populations or is it just names an island and mainland population of Greece at that time? As these groups are genetically linked with their geographical neighbours in the Aegean region and Anatolia and other ancient populations of Europe and the Middle East? Is it possible to find out the origin of these cultures? Are genetically the Minoans and the Mycenaeans with the population of modern Greece?
The authors studied 19 ancient genomes, among them 10 genomes of Minoans from Crete, of two graves — Moni Odigitria and Minoan_Lasithi (age 2900-1700 BC), 4 of the genome of the Mycenaeans from the Peloponnese (1700-1200 BC) the genome of britanki of Armenoi, who lived after the spread to Crete Mycenaean civilization (1370-1340 BC) and Neolithic samples from mainland Greece (around 5400 BC) and three of the genome of the bronze age from Anatolia. The location of the studied samples of DNA are presented on the map (the Minoans bonacini green icons, the Mycenaeans blue).
Ancient DNA genetics was studied by SNP capture, analyzing 1.2 million sites of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP). Data for the 19 samples are combined with data on 332 ancient genomes, published in the literature.
Using the principal component analysis method, the researchers placed the genomes of Minoans and Mycenaeans in genetic space ancient and modern populations of Western Eurasia. As the graph shows, the Minoans (green icons) and the Mycenaeans (blue icons) located close to each other, indicating that their genetic similarity. The most close to them are the populations of the European Neolithic and bronze age, Anatolian Neolithic and bronze age, Greek Neolithic and modern populations – Greeks and Cypriots.
The authors conducted an analysis of ancestral components by the method of ADMIXTURE (in the figure it is presented for different specified number of ancestral populations from K=2 to K=17). They draw attention to the fact that the Minoans and Mycenaeans have in common a genetic component (pink), which is also present in populations of the Neolithic/ Chalcolithic/bronze age of Anatolia, and maximum reaches in the Mesolithic/Neolithic samples of Iran and Caucasian hunter-gatherers.
Addressed the modeling of the origin of populations of the Aegean bronze age. The model showed that both the Minoans and the Mycenaeans, the main genetic contribution (62-84%) received from the Neolithic populations of Anatolia, but their genomes and the Eastern component is present (from 9 to 32%), originating from the Caucasus and Iran. Previously it was shown that this component in Europe was brought by the nomads of the Eurasian steppe.
Eastern influence is confirmed by the analysis of the Y-chromosome of the Minoans and Mycenaeans. Four out of five men it belonged to haplogroup J, which is characteristic of Caucasian hunter-gatherers and Mesolithic population of Iran.
According to Iosif Lazaridis, given in a press release on the website Phys.org "Minoans, Mycenaeans and the modern Greeks have genetic contributions of ancestors with the Caucasus, Armenia and Iran. This suggests the existence of migration from the East to the Aegean region and in Anatolia after the appearance of the first farmers".
The Mycenaeans differ from the Minoans to the presence of another genetic component came from the North, it is akin to the hunter-gatherers of Eastern Europe and Siberia (called the component "ancient North Eurasians", ANE).
New findings bring some clarity to the controversial issue of the origin of the Aegean population, although not answer it definitively. Research proves that the Minoans and the Mycenaeans were independent populations, that they are related to each other, and refutes the hypothesis that the latter are foreigners. Confirmed by the origin of the modern Greeks – they rightly can be considered the descendants of the Mycenaeans and ancient Greeks. The authors come to the conclusion that in the Aegean region since the first farmers up until modern times there was relative genetic continuity (though no insulation).
The questions remain for future research. For example, the clarification of the origin of the common ancestors of the Minoans and Mycenaeans; the elucidation of the way in which the Mycenaeans received genetic contribution from the North (whether it was a long slow penetration or fast migration of the population); the details of the formation of the Greek language in the overall picture of the spread of Indo-European languages.
Finally, geneticists were able to learn some features of the appearance of the Minoans and Mycenaeans. DNA analysis confirmed that they had dark eyes and dark hair, and, therefore, is quite consistent with their images on ceramics.
www.nature.com/articles/nature23310?foxtrotcallback=true
