The first civilizations to build monumental palaces and urban centers in Europe are more genetically homogenous than expected, according to the first study to sequence whole genomes gathered from ancient archaeological sites around the Aegean Sea.
Despite marked differences in burial customs, architecture, and art, the Minoan civilization in Crete, the Helladic civilization in mainland Greece and the Cycladic civilization in the Cycladic islands in the middle of the Aegean Sea, were genetically similar during the Early Bronze age (5000 years ago). The findings are important because it suggests that critical innovations such as the development of urban centers, metal use and intensive trade made during the transition from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age were not just due to mass immigration from east of the Aegean as previously thought, but also from the cultural continuity of local Neolithic groups.
The study also finds that by the Middle Bronze Age (4000-4,600 years ago), individuals from the northern Aegean were considerably different compared to those in the Early Bronze Age. These individuals shared half their ancestry with people from the Pontic-Caspian steppe, a large geographic region stretching between the Danube and the Ural rivers and north of the Black Sea, and were highly similar to present-day Greeks.
The findings suggest that migration waves from herders from the Pontic-Caspian steppe, or populations north of the Aegean that bear Pontic-Caspian Steppe like ancestry, shaped present-day Greece. These potential migration waves all predate the appearance of the earliest documented form of Greek, supporting theories explaining the emergence of Proto-Greek and the evolution of Indo-European languages in either Anatolia or the Pontic-Caspian Steppe region.
The team took samples from well-preserved skeletal remains at archaeological sites. They sequenced six whole genomes, four from all three cultures during the Early Bronze Age and two from a Helladic culture during the Middle Bronze Age. The researchers also sequenced the mitochondrial genomes from eleven other individuals from the Early Bronze Age. Sequencing whole genomes provided the researchers with enough data to perform demographic and statistical analyses on population histories.
The Bronze Age in Eurasia was marked by pivotal changes on the social, political, and economic levels, visible in the appearance of the first large urban centers and monumental palaces. The increasing economic and cultural exchange that developed during this time laid the groundwork for modern economic systems—including capitalism, long-distance political treaties, and a world trade economy.
Despite their importance for understanding the rise of European civilisations and the spread of Indo-European languages, the genetic origins of the peoples behind the Neolithic to Bronze Age transition and their contribution to the present-day Greek population remain controversial.
Future studies could investigate whole genomes between the Mesolithic and Bronze Age in the Armenian and Caucasus to help further pinpoint the origins of migration into the Aegean, and to better integrate the genomic data with the existing archaeological and linguistic evidence.
The study has been published in the journal Cell.
https://phys.org/news/2021-05-ancient-dna-reveals-bronze-age.html
ΚΟΥΡΗΤΗΣ: ΔΕΝ ΕΧΕΙ ΣΗΜΑΣΙΑ ΠΟΥ ΑΚΟΜΗ ΑΝΑΠΑΡΑΓΟΥΝ ΤΙΣ ΑΝΟΗΣΙΕΣ ΠΕΡΙ ΙΝΔΟΕΥΡΩΠΑΙΩΝ, ΤΟ ΠΡΩΤΟ ΒΗΜΑ ΕΓΙΝΕ. ΜΕΧΡΙ ΠΡΟΤΙΝΟΣ ΑΜΦΙΣΒΗΤΟΥΣΑΝ ΤΗΝ ΦΥΛΕΤΙΚΗ ΣΥΣΧΕΤΙΚΗ ΑΥΤΩΝ ΤΩΝ ΠΡΩΙΜΩΝ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΩΝ ΠΟΛΙΤΙΣΜΩΝ. ΕΙΝΑΙ ΘΕΤΙΚΟ ΕΠΙΣΗΣ ΠΟΥ ΕΠΙΤΕΛΟΥΣ ΠΑΡΑΔΕΧΟΝΤΑΙ ΠΩΣ ΟΙ ΠΛΗΘΥΣΜΟΙ ΑΥΤΟΙ ΔΕΝ ΗΤΑΝ ΑΣΙΑΤΕΣ ή/και ΑΦΡΙΚΑΝΟΙ ΜΕΤΑΝΑΣΤΕΣ. ΔΥΣΤΥΧΩΣ ΣΥΝΕΧΙΖΟΥΝ ΝΑ ΘΕΩΡΟΥΝ ΤΟΥΣ ΒΟΡΕΙΟ-ΕΛΛΑΔΙΤΕΣ ΚΑΤΙ ΔΙΑΦΟΡΕΤΙΚΟ ΚΑΙ ΔΗΘΕΝ ΦΕΡΤΟ ΑΠΟ ΤΟΝ ΚΑΥΚΑΣΟ, ΑΛΛΑ ΑΚΟΜΗ ΚΑΙ ΑΥΤΟ ΘΑ ΔΙΟΡΘΩΘΕΙ ΣΕ ΜΕΤΕΠΕΙΤΑ ΕΡΕΥΝΕΣ. ΤΟ ΘΕΜΑ ΕΙΝΑΙ ΠΩΣ ΕΚΑΝΑΝ ΕΠΙΤΕΛΟΥΣ ΕΠΙΤΥΧΩΣ ΤΗΝ ΣΥΣΧΕΤΙΣΗ. ΑΠΟ ΕΔΩ, ΑΠΟ ΤΗΝ ΕΛΛΑΔΑ, ΞΕΚΙΝΗΣΕ Η ΔΙΑΣΠΟΡΑ ΤΩΝ ΑΝΘΡΩΠΩΝ, ΑΚΟΛΟΥΘΩΝΤΑΣ ΤΟ ΛΙΩΣΙΜΟ ΤΩΝ ΠΑΓΩΝ. ΑΠΟ ΤΟΝ ΝΟΤΟ ΠΡΟΣ ΤΟΝ ΒΟΡΡΑ ΛΙΩΝΟΥΝ ΟΙ ΠΑΓΟΙ ΣΤΟ ΒΟΡΕΙΟ ΗΜΙΣΦΑΙΡΙΟ ΚΑΙ ΟΧΙ ΤΟ ΑΝΤΙΘΕΤΟ. ΜΕΝΕΙ ΝΑ ΔΟΥΜΕ ΠΟΣΑ ΑΚΟΜΗ ΧΡΟΝΙΑ ΘΑ ΤΟΥΣ ΠΑΡΕΙ ΜΕΧΡΙ ΝΑ ΤΟ ΚΑΤΑΛΑΒΟΥΝ.
Despite marked differences in burial customs, architecture, and art, the Minoan civilization in Crete, the Helladic civilization in mainland Greece and the Cycladic civilization in the Cycladic islands in the middle of the Aegean Sea, were genetically similar during the Early Bronze age (5000 years ago). The findings are important because it suggests that critical innovations such as the development of urban centers, metal use and intensive trade made during the transition from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age were not just due to mass immigration from east of the Aegean as previously thought, but also from the cultural continuity of local Neolithic groups.
The study also finds that by the Middle Bronze Age (4000-4,600 years ago), individuals from the northern Aegean were considerably different compared to those in the Early Bronze Age. These individuals shared half their ancestry with people from the Pontic-Caspian steppe, a large geographic region stretching between the Danube and the Ural rivers and north of the Black Sea, and were highly similar to present-day Greeks.
The findings suggest that migration waves from herders from the Pontic-Caspian steppe, or populations north of the Aegean that bear Pontic-Caspian Steppe like ancestry, shaped present-day Greece. These potential migration waves all predate the appearance of the earliest documented form of Greek, supporting theories explaining the emergence of Proto-Greek and the evolution of Indo-European languages in either Anatolia or the Pontic-Caspian Steppe region.
The team took samples from well-preserved skeletal remains at archaeological sites. They sequenced six whole genomes, four from all three cultures during the Early Bronze Age and two from a Helladic culture during the Middle Bronze Age. The researchers also sequenced the mitochondrial genomes from eleven other individuals from the Early Bronze Age. Sequencing whole genomes provided the researchers with enough data to perform demographic and statistical analyses on population histories.
The Bronze Age in Eurasia was marked by pivotal changes on the social, political, and economic levels, visible in the appearance of the first large urban centers and monumental palaces. The increasing economic and cultural exchange that developed during this time laid the groundwork for modern economic systems—including capitalism, long-distance political treaties, and a world trade economy.
Despite their importance for understanding the rise of European civilisations and the spread of Indo-European languages, the genetic origins of the peoples behind the Neolithic to Bronze Age transition and their contribution to the present-day Greek population remain controversial.
Future studies could investigate whole genomes between the Mesolithic and Bronze Age in the Armenian and Caucasus to help further pinpoint the origins of migration into the Aegean, and to better integrate the genomic data with the existing archaeological and linguistic evidence.
The study has been published in the journal Cell.
https://phys.org/news/2021-05-ancient-dna-reveals-bronze-age.html
ΚΟΥΡΗΤΗΣ: ΔΕΝ ΕΧΕΙ ΣΗΜΑΣΙΑ ΠΟΥ ΑΚΟΜΗ ΑΝΑΠΑΡΑΓΟΥΝ ΤΙΣ ΑΝΟΗΣΙΕΣ ΠΕΡΙ ΙΝΔΟΕΥΡΩΠΑΙΩΝ, ΤΟ ΠΡΩΤΟ ΒΗΜΑ ΕΓΙΝΕ. ΜΕΧΡΙ ΠΡΟΤΙΝΟΣ ΑΜΦΙΣΒΗΤΟΥΣΑΝ ΤΗΝ ΦΥΛΕΤΙΚΗ ΣΥΣΧΕΤΙΚΗ ΑΥΤΩΝ ΤΩΝ ΠΡΩΙΜΩΝ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΩΝ ΠΟΛΙΤΙΣΜΩΝ. ΕΙΝΑΙ ΘΕΤΙΚΟ ΕΠΙΣΗΣ ΠΟΥ ΕΠΙΤΕΛΟΥΣ ΠΑΡΑΔΕΧΟΝΤΑΙ ΠΩΣ ΟΙ ΠΛΗΘΥΣΜΟΙ ΑΥΤΟΙ ΔΕΝ ΗΤΑΝ ΑΣΙΑΤΕΣ ή/και ΑΦΡΙΚΑΝΟΙ ΜΕΤΑΝΑΣΤΕΣ. ΔΥΣΤΥΧΩΣ ΣΥΝΕΧΙΖΟΥΝ ΝΑ ΘΕΩΡΟΥΝ ΤΟΥΣ ΒΟΡΕΙΟ-ΕΛΛΑΔΙΤΕΣ ΚΑΤΙ ΔΙΑΦΟΡΕΤΙΚΟ ΚΑΙ ΔΗΘΕΝ ΦΕΡΤΟ ΑΠΟ ΤΟΝ ΚΑΥΚΑΣΟ, ΑΛΛΑ ΑΚΟΜΗ ΚΑΙ ΑΥΤΟ ΘΑ ΔΙΟΡΘΩΘΕΙ ΣΕ ΜΕΤΕΠΕΙΤΑ ΕΡΕΥΝΕΣ. ΤΟ ΘΕΜΑ ΕΙΝΑΙ ΠΩΣ ΕΚΑΝΑΝ ΕΠΙΤΕΛΟΥΣ ΕΠΙΤΥΧΩΣ ΤΗΝ ΣΥΣΧΕΤΙΣΗ. ΑΠΟ ΕΔΩ, ΑΠΟ ΤΗΝ ΕΛΛΑΔΑ, ΞΕΚΙΝΗΣΕ Η ΔΙΑΣΠΟΡΑ ΤΩΝ ΑΝΘΡΩΠΩΝ, ΑΚΟΛΟΥΘΩΝΤΑΣ ΤΟ ΛΙΩΣΙΜΟ ΤΩΝ ΠΑΓΩΝ. ΑΠΟ ΤΟΝ ΝΟΤΟ ΠΡΟΣ ΤΟΝ ΒΟΡΡΑ ΛΙΩΝΟΥΝ ΟΙ ΠΑΓΟΙ ΣΤΟ ΒΟΡΕΙΟ ΗΜΙΣΦΑΙΡΙΟ ΚΑΙ ΟΧΙ ΤΟ ΑΝΤΙΘΕΤΟ. ΜΕΝΕΙ ΝΑ ΔΟΥΜΕ ΠΟΣΑ ΑΚΟΜΗ ΧΡΟΝΙΑ ΘΑ ΤΟΥΣ ΠΑΡΕΙ ΜΕΧΡΙ ΝΑ ΤΟ ΚΑΤΑΛΑΒΟΥΝ.
https://diodotos-k-t.blogspot.com/2022/03/blog-post_73.html
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