Latest news with #HaraldRingbauer
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
This Culture's Linguistic Fingerprints Are Everywhere—But Scientists Can't Find Their DNA
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." It was previously believed that the Levantine DNA of the Phoenicians spread as far as their famous alphabet, which influenced quite a few languages. DNA analysis of individuals buried in what used to be Phoenician outposts in southern Europe showed Greek and Sicilian DNA instead of Middle Eastern DNA. While the founders of these outposts were probably Phoenician, a constant flow of Sicilians and Greeks created a different DNA profile. If it wasn't for the Phoenician alphabet, you probably wouldn't be reading this right now—but the DNA of these vanished Levantine people didn't reach nearly as far as their cultural and linguistic influence did. The Phoenicians appeared in what is now Lebanon around 3,000 years ago, and were descendants of the Canaanites (of biblical fame). Gold, silver, copper, and tin were exchanged as they traveled trade routes along the Mediterranean and established hundreds of colonies. Until now, they were thought to be genetically related to the Punic people, who emerged from Phoenician outposts along coastal regions of southern Europe. That would have meant Punic people had Middle Eastern ancestry. This was what population geneticist Harald Ringbauer and his research team expected to see when they analyzed ancient DNA from the bones of some 210 individuals that had been unearthed from sites in the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe. However, most Punic genomes showed no Middle Eastern ancestry at all—instead, they were closest in genetic makeup to ancient Greeks and Sicilians. These genomes were also highly diverse, and did not always reflect the genes of other local populations. Even the name 'Phoenician' is derived from the ancient Greek phoinix—a possible reference to purple dye, which was a luxury in ancient times. Phoenicians actually called themselves 'Kena'ani.' '[Punic people] derived most of their ancestry from a genetic profile similar to that of Sicily and the Aegean,' the researchers said in a study recently published in the journal Nature. 'Much of the remaining ancestry originated from North Africa, reflecting the growing influence of Carthage.' Carthage, whose ruins still stand in Tunisia, rose as a trading empire around 500 B.C. Any North African DNA in Punic people from Europe can be explained by Carthaginian migrations through the trade routes, but not much of it was found in samples from the European sites—or even those from Carthage. Individuals from different regions were found to vary highly in their genetic makeup, with similar variations seen in Sicily, North Africa, Sardinia, and Iberia. Ringbauer thinks that the Punic populations in such disparate locations could only be genetically linked because of shared ancestry. Some individuals were actually found to be related despite having died on different continents—for example, one person in Sicily has a second cousin buried in North Africa. Before seafaring Punic traders, there was much higher genetic disparity between the peoples of Sicily and North Africa, but sailing across the Mediterranean and stopping at different outposts made journeying to far-flung regions possible for people with similar genetic profiles. When the researchers studied a tomb in the coastal district of Villaricos, Cuevas de Almanzora, Spain, became a window into Punic culture. DNA extracted from one tomb told the story of a family with Sicilian and Aegean ancestry. Buried with the deceased were painted ostrich eggs—symbolic of resurrection and eternal life. There was also an ivory plaque that appeared to be carved in the Ionian style more associated with Greece, but this did not necessarily mean that its Punic craftsman had adopted Greek culture. Phoenicians were ivory workers in their own right. Ringbauer and his team have a hypothetical answer as to why the culture of the Phoenicians spread without taking their DNA with it. Phoenician settlements might have been founded by Levantine people, but they likely experienced a continuous influx of Greek and Sicilian migrants. Generations later, genes from the original founders would not be detectable, despite the culture staying alive. The DNA of the individuals studied has already degraded for thousands of years. Before 600 B.C., Punic people cremated their dead, so genetic information from before then has been lost to time. Maybe the genetics of Phoenicians did not live on in Europe, but the Phoenician influence on the Greek and Latin alphabets did, and aspects of those two languages have since been incorporated into English. If only they knew their greatest legacy would not be genetic. You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
Scientific American
25-04-2025
- Science
- Scientific American
Ancient DNA Reveals Phoenicians' Surprising Ancestry
An ancient Middle Eastern civilization that developed an early alphabet spread its culture far and wide—but not its DNA, finds a 23 April Nature study of hundreds of ancient human genomes. Phoenician civilization emerged more than 3,000 years ago, centred around what is now Lebanon, before expanding across the Mediterranean Sea. Middle Eastern Phoenician city-states eventually fell to other groups, but the culture thrived farther west—most notably in Carthage, in what is now Tunisia, until its destruction in 146 BC. Phoenician city-states shared languages—recorded with an alphabet that was a precursor to Greek and Latin letters—religious practices and maritime trading economies. Many researchers have presumed that their inhabitants also shared ancestries connected to the culture's Middle Eastern origins. On supporting science journalism If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today. To study this history, population geneticist Harald Ringbauer at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, and his colleagues analysed the DNA from the remains of around 200 people from Phoenician archaeological sites in the Middle East, Europe and North Africa. Ancestry puzzle To Ringbauer's surprise, people from Mediterranean outposts of Phoenician culture—also known as Punic people—shared no ancestry with ancient Middle Easterners, even those from sites linked to Phoenicians and their forebears the Canaanites. But neither did Punic people's genomes always resemble those of people from other local populations, such as those in Sardinia and Ibiza. Instead, Punic people shared an ancestry profile resembling those of ancient inhabitants of Greece and Sicily. Over time, North African ancestry entered the mix—reflecting the rise of Carthage after 500 BC. This unique mixture of ancestries is probably the result of a regular influx of diverse people connected by a 'Mediterranean highway' maintained by trade between Phoenician outposts, says Ringbauer. The study identified related individuals found at distant archaeological sites, including a pair of possible second cousins, one from North Africa and one from Sicily. After the fall of Phoenician city-states in the Middle East, people with ancestry from this region might have been cut off from the Mediterranean highway, says Ringbauer. The absence of Middle Eastern ancestry in Punic people doesn't surprise Pierre Zalloua, a geneticist at Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. 'The Phoenicians were a culture of integration and assimilation,' he says. 'They settled where they sailed.' Ringbauer would like to know why diverse Mediterranean people adopted Phoenician culture, instead of sticking to their existing practices. 'How can there be such a disconnect?' he wonders. 'Does this mean Phoenician culture was like a franchise that others could adopt? That's one for the archaeologists.'
