RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 A Genetic History of Continuity and Mobility in the Iron Age Central Mediterranean
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2022.03.13.483276
DO 10.1101/2022.03.13.483276
A1 Hannah M. Moots
A1 Margaret Antonio
A1 Susanna Sawyer
A1 Jeffrey P. Spence
A1 Victoria Oberreiter
A1 Clemens L. Weiß
A1 Michaela Lucci
A1 Yahia Mehdi Seddik Cherifi
A1 Francesco La Pastina
A1 Francesco Genchi
A1 Elisa Praxmeier
A1 Brina Zagorc
A1 Olivia Cheronot
A1 Kadir T. Özdoğan
A1 Lea Demetz
A1 Selma Amrani
A1 Francesca Candilio
A1 Daniela De Angelis
A1 Gabriella Gasperetti
A1 Daniel Fernandes
A1 Ziyue Gao
A1 Mounir Fantar
A1 Alfredo Coppa
A1 Jonathan K. Pritchard
A1 Ron Pinhasi
YR 2022
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2022/08/23/2022.03.13.483276.abstract
AB The Iron Age saw the expansion of Phoenician and Greek colonies across the Mediterranean and the rise of Carthage as the major maritime power of the region. These events were facilitated by the ease of long-distance travel following major advances in seafaring. We know from the archaeological record that trade goods and materials were moving across great distances in unprecedented quantities, but it is unclear how these patterns correlate with human mobility. To investigate population mobility and interactions directly, we sequenced the genomes of 30 ancient individuals from Carthaginian and Etruscan port cities around the central Mediterranean, in Tunisia, Sardinia, and central Italy. At all three locations, there is a meaningful contribution of autochthonous populations (from Bronze Age North Africa, Sardinia, and Italy, respectively), as well as highly heterogeneous ancestry including many individuals with ancestry from other parts of the Mediterranean region. These results highlight both the role of autochthonous populations and the extreme interconnectedness of populations in the Iron Age Mediterranean. By studying these trans-Mediterranean neighbors together, we explore the complex interplay between local continuity and mobility that shaped the Iron Age societies of the central Mediterranean.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.