Minoans and Mycenaeans

It is great to finally see the first data from the most ancient Greeks (Mycenaeans) and also the Cretan Minoans:

• Ancestrally. both Mycenaeans and Minoans were basically Mediterranean, well outside the variation of most Europeans and Near Easterners and >75% from early European-Anatolian farmers.
• Phenotypically, they were dark-haired/eyed
• They weren't pure Mediterraneans, but also partly "West_Asian". Bronze Age people from S.W. Anatolia were even more "West_Asian".
• Mycenaeans also had some "Ancient North Eurasian" ancestry, which may have come from either the north or east of Greece.
• Two Minoans and a Mycenaean were haplogroup J2, one Minoan was G.
• One high-status Mycenaean female from Messenia was not different from the other three Mycenaeans.

Modern Greeks from Greece are more "northern", more "European", and less "Mediterranean" than the Mycenaeans. Bust, Fst-wise Modern Greeks (and assorted neighbors) are still fairly close to Mycenaeans, more so than other people from Europe and the Middle East:

Nature (2017) doi:10.1038/nature23310

Genetic origins of the Minoans and Mycenaeans

Iosif Lazaridis, Alissa Mittnik, Nick Patterson, Swapan Mallick, Nadin Rohland, Saskia Pfrengle, Anja Furtwängler, Alexander Peltzer, Cosimo Posth, Andonis Vasilakis, P. J. P. McGeorge, Eleni Konsolaki-Yannopoulou, George Korres, Holley Martlew, Manolis Michalodimitrakis, Mehmet Özsait, Nesrin Özsait, Anastasia Papathanasiou, Michael Richards, Songül Alpaslan Roodenberg, Yannis Tzedakis, Robert Arnott, Daniel M. Fernandes, Jeffery R. Hughey, Dimitra M. Lotakis, Patrick A. Navas, Yannis Maniatis, John A. Stamatoyannopoulos, Kristin Stewardson, Philipp Stockhammer, Ron Pinhasi, David Reich, Johannes Krause & George Stamatoyannopoulos

The origins of the Bronze Age Minoan and Mycenaean cultures have puzzled archaeologists for more than a century. We have assembled genome-wide data from 19 ancient individuals, including Minoans from Crete, Mycenaeans from mainland Greece, and their eastern neighbours from southwestern Anatolia. Here we show that Minoans and Mycenaeans were genetically similar, having at least three-quarters of their ancestry from the first Neolithic farmers of western Anatolia and the Aegean1, 2, and most of the remainder from ancient populations related to those of the Caucasus3 and Iran4, 5. However, the Mycenaeans differed from Minoans in deriving additional ancestry from an ultimate source related to the hunter–gatherers of eastern Europe and Siberia6, 7, 8, introduced via a proximal source related to the inhabitants of either the Eurasian steppe1, 6, 9 or Armenia4, 9. Modern Greeks resemble the Mycenaeans, but with some additional dilution of the Early Neolithic ancestry. Our results support the idea of continuity but not isolation in the history of populations of the Aegean, before and after the time of its earliest civilizations.

Link

mtDNA from Minoan Crete (Hughey et al. 2013)

A very exciting (and open access) new paper on Minoan mtDNA adds new ancient DNA data from the southeastern corner of Europe and from a critical period at the beginning of European history.

The authors are able to reject Arthur Evans's idea that Minoan civilization had a North African origin, since North Africans bear the least similarity to the Minoans among the considered populations. Of course it's possible that Bronze Age North Africa had not yet experienced Sub-Saharan African gene flow -which probably accounts for its distinctiveness today (no African L mtDNA was found in the Minoan sample).

On the other hand, the similarities between the Minoans and other ancient European mtDNA samples probably testifies to Minoans being indeed related to the Neolithic population of Europe. This is particularly interesting in the case of Minoan Crete, which may have been visited in pre-Neolithic times, but  was permanently settled only during the Neolithic, thus minimizing the possibility of an inclusion of a Paleolithic substratum as may be the case in parts of continental Europe.

Supplementary Table S2 shows haplogroup designations of the Minoan individuals which seems to encompass a wide variety:

One thing to note is the absence of mtDNA haplogroup N1a that so typifies central European Neolithic, and also the presence of some haplogroup U5a/U which seems typical of Paleolithic Europeans. I'd be interested in hearing any additional observations people might have on this data.

From the paper:

The PCA analysis also highlights the high affinity of the Minoans to the current inhabitants of the Lassithi plateau as well as Greece. Among the top 10 nearest neighbours to our Minoan population sample, four are Greek populations and two of these from Lassithi prefecture (Fig. 5). The close relationship of the Minoans to modern Cretans is also apparent, when analysis is restricted to populations originating from Greece (Fig. 6b). Particularly in respect to the first PCA (capturing 92% of the variance of this particular subset of the data), the Minoans are extremely close to the modern Lassithi population, the populations from the islands of Chios and Euboea, as well as the populations of Argolis and Lakonia (Southern Greece ) (Fig. 6b). Thus, the modern inhabitants of the Lassithi plateau still carry the maternal genetic signatures of their ancient predecessors of the Minoan population.

It seems that there is (at least in terms of mtDNA) continuity in Crete since the Bronze Age, just as there is in Sardinia. And, indeed there appears to be some similarity between Bronze Age Sardinia and Minoan Crete (see Tables S5 and S6 of the supplement).

This is very exciting stuff which was probably made possible -in part- by the preservation of the material in a sealed cave ossuary, but hopefully more ancient DNA is to be had from Greece and surrounding regions.

UPDATE (From Nature News):

It is likely, says Stamatoyannopoulos, that the Minoans descended from Neolithic populations that migrated to Europe from the Middle East and Turkey. Archaeological excavations suggest that early farmers were living in Crete by around 9,000 years ago, so these could be the ancestors of the Minoans. Similarities between Minoan and Egyptian artefacts were probably the result of cultural exchanges across the navigable Mediterranean Sea, rather than wholesale migrations, he adds. 

Wolfgang Haak, a molecular archaeologist at the University of Adelaide in Australia, thinks that Crete’s early history is probably more complicated, with multiple Neolithic populations arriving at different times. “It's nevertheless good to see some data — if authentic — from this region of Europe contributing to the big and complex puzzle,” he says. 

Stamatoyannopoulos notes that his team’s findings are limited, because mitochondrial DNA represents only a single maternal lineage for each individual — a mother’s mother, and so on. With Johannes Krause, a palaeogeneticist at the University of Tubingen in Germany, the team now plans to sequence the nuclear genomes of Minoans and other ancients to learn more about their history. 

“For the last 30, 40 years there’s been a growing sense that Minoan Crete was created by people indigenous to the island,” says Cyprian Broodbank, a Mediterranean archaeologist at University College London. He welcomes the latest line of support for this hypothesis. “It’s good to have some of the old assumptions that Minoans migrated from some other high culture scotched,” he says.

Nature Communications 4, Article number: 1861 doi:10.1038/ncomms2871

A European population in Minoan Bronze Age Crete

Jeffery R. Hughey et al.

The first advanced Bronze Age civilization of Europe was established by the Minoans about 5,000 years before present. Since Sir Arthur Evans exposed the Minoan civic centre of Knossos, archaeologists have speculated on the origin of the founders of the civilization. Evans proposed a North African origin; Cycladic, Balkan, Anatolian and Middle Eastern origins have also been proposed. Here we address the question of the origin of the Minoans by analysing mitochondrial DNA from Minoan osseous remains from a cave ossuary in the Lassithi plateau of Crete dated 4,400–3,700 years before present. Shared haplotypes, principal component and pairwise distance analyses refute the Evans North African hypothesis. Minoans show the strongest relationships with Neolithic and modern European populations and with the modern inhabitants of the Lassithi plateau. Our data are compatible with the hypothesis of an autochthonous development of the Minoan civilization by the descendants of the Neolithic settlers of the island.

Link

Warlike Minoans

War was central to Europe's first civilization, contrary to popular belief

Research from the University of Sheffield has discovered that the ancient civilisation of Crete, known as Minoan, had strong martial traditions, contradicting the commonly held view of Minoans as a peace-loving people.

The research, carried out by Dr Barry Molloy of the University of Sheffield's Department of Archaeology, investigated the Bronze Age people of Crete, known by many as the Minoans, who created the very first complex urban civilisation in Europe.

"Their world was uncovered just over a century ago, and was deemed to be a largely peaceful society," explained Molloy. "In time, many took this to be a paradigm of a society that was devoid of war, where warriors and violence were shunned and played no significant role.

"That utopian view has not survived into modern scholarship, but it remains in the background unchallenged and still crops up in modern texts and popular culture with surprising frequency.

Personally, I'm not very surprised about this re-appraisal of the relationship of Minoans with war. There are multiple lines of evidence for Minoan power (e.g., the Thucydidean thalassocracy, the belief in Minos and Rhadamanthys as judges in Hades, the Theseus/Minotaur/Attican tributes legend) that have always suggested to me that the Bronze Age Cretans did not achieve pre-eminence only due to the attractiveness of their culture and/or their trading acumen, but also because they actually projected power by force.

One of the biggest arguments for Minoan pacifism was the lack of fortifications in Minoan sites. But, I've never found that argument convincing, because this lack might actually signify an excess of power (strong nations having no need of fortifications), and we need not forget that other unfortified city called Sparta, which, hopefully, no one could ever mistake as a champion of pacifism.

The Annual of the British School at Athens, 107, pp 87-142doi:10.1017/S0068245412000044

MARTIAL MINOANS? WAR AS SOCIAL PROCESS,PRACTICE AND EVENT IN BRONZE AGE CRETE 

Barry P.C. Molloy

Together with politics, economics and religion, war is one of the fundamental factors that canshape a society and group identities. In the prehistoric world, the sources for the study of war are disparate and their interpretation can be inconsistent and problematic. In the case of Cretein the Bronze Age, a systematic analysis of the evidence will be undertaken for the first time inthis paper, and this opportunity is used to critically evaluate the most effective ways of employing the widely agreed sets of physical correlates for ancient war in the archaeological record. A further objective in exploring the diachronic roles of war in these societies is to movethe discussion from a niche field to a more integrated, and systematic, social analysis. Theexistence and character of a warrior identity is examined, and it is proposed that it oftenconstituted a conspicuous element of male identity. The varying scales and time spans throughwhich war can influence a society are discussed, and a broad framework for understanding war in social process, practices and events is proposed.

Link

Lack of β thalassemia mutations in Minoan Cretans

Blood Cells, Molecules, and Diseases Volume 48, Issue 1, 15 January 2012, Pages 7–10

A search for β thalassemia mutations in 4000 year old ancient DNAs of Minoan Cretans

Jeffery R. Hughey et al.

Ancient DNA methodologies can be applied in the investigation of the genetics of extinct populations. A search for beta thalassemia mutations was performed on 49 Minoan individuals from the Bronze Age who were living in the island of Crete approximately 4000 Years Before Present (YBP). Standard precautionary measures were employed in the laboratory to ensure authenticity of the DNA extracted from the ancient bones, resulting in the successful analysis of DNA of 24 Minoans. DNA sequencing focused on the Intervening Sequence 1 (IVS-1) of the beta globin gene and its splicing junctions. 63% of the thalassemia mutations observed among modern Cretans reside in beta IVS-1. None of the Minoan individuals carried one of the IVS-1 mutations known to cause beta thalassemia; however, only one was expected to be observed if the average frequency of beta thalassemia heterozygotes in the Minoan population was the same with that of modern day Cretans (7.6%). One individual contained a C to G substitution in position 91 of the IVS-1, located 40 bp 5′ to the intron 1/exon 2 junction. Functional studies indicated that the mutation did not affect mRNA splicing or stability, and most likely represented an innocent single nucleotide polymorphism.

Link

Anthropological Investigation of the S. Greece population’s composition in the Bronze Age

Here is a link to S. K. Manolis's 1991 dissertation which complements the previous one by G. Panagiaris, since it includes data from the Peloponnese and Crete. I might translate parts of it in the space below. The author seems to argue for an environmental cause of brachycephalization during the Bronze Age; personally I think that the more likely explanation is intrusion by mountain-folk from either the Pindos area or Anatolia, associated with metallurgy. In any case, I am hopeful that some of the Ancient Greek osteological material, some of which has been excavated many decades ago may still possess usable DNA that could be exploited in future studies that may overcome the limits of craniometry.

Late Minoan IB destructions not followed by Mycenaean immigration

This is an important contribution which falsifies the theory that the destructions of the Minoan palaces associated with the Late Minoan IB involved the coming of Mycenaean elites to Crete, by using a combination of strontium isotope analysis (which captures first-generation migrants) and biodistance analysis (which reveals no pattern of greater affinity of post-LMIB populations to mainland Greek samples.

However, this is interesting:

Therefore these results suggest a gradual rounding of the cranial shape for the Central Cretan population in the course of the Bronze Age, resulting from the increase of the cranial breadth in relation to cranial length. They further provide negative evidence for a disruption of the biological history of the Knossos population following the LMIB destructions due to an increase in the biodistance between the samples dating immediately prior and following the destructions.  

The gradual rounding of the cranial shape of the Central Cretan population over the course of the Bronze Age and the very similar shape of the Gypsades, Sellopoulo and Mavrospelio crania can be more clearly appreciated by plotting the Cranial Index (100*maximum cranial breadth/glabello – occipital length) data. The Cranial Index describes the cranial shape and higher cranial indices reflect a more rounded cranium. In Figure 7, the Cranial Indices for all the above-mentioned Central Cretan population samples are plotted in chronological order, from the Early to Late Bronze Age. Cranial Indices were calculated separately for males and females from each sample.  

The gradual increase in Cranial Index over the Bronze Age most probably reflects gene-flow from population/s biologically different from the Early Bronze Age Cretan population and from inter-population biological interactions (admixture) in the succeeding periods. An alternative interpretation implicating the thermoregulatory model of Beals et al. (1984) and adaptation to colder climatic conditions carries less weight. 

This might be consistent with J. Lawrence Angel's detection of a "Dinaroid-Alpine central trend" of Bronze Age invaders of Greece, as well as the well-known contemporary physiognomy of the historical Hittites and the physical anthropological evidence for them:

Senyurek (1951d, pp. 614-15) concludes that "the majority of the Chalcolithic and Copper Age inhabitants of Anatolia were dolichocephals of mainly Eurafrican and Mediterranean types, and that the brachycephals, probably representing the invaders, were rare in these periods. This study has further supported the conclusion that the earliest inhabitants of Anatolia were longheaded, and that the brachycephals came in subsequently. "The craniological evidence indicates that an invasion of brachycephals into Anatolia took place during the Chalcolithic period and that it was followed by a second invasion, bringing in the brachycephalic elements to Alaca Huyuk and other Copper Age sites, probably at about the middle of the Copper Age. The next invasion of brachycephals, which was more important and extensive than the previous ones, occurred at about 2000 B.C. This was made by the Hittites who were predominantly of the classical Alpine type."  

While there does not appear to be specific evidence for a new population element arriving in Crete after the LMIB destructions, the pattern during the Bronze Age is probably consistent with an intrusive population.

If we accept that the European Neolithic island-hopped to Greece from the East and thence spread north and east into Europe, it is peculiar that ancient DNA from Neolithic Europeans is dominated by Y-haplogroups I2b and G2a (missing the dominant Anatolian J2 haplogroup) and by a "Mediterranean" autosomal makeup (missing the dominant Anatolian West_Asian component). As I have previously argued, this suggests a sea change in the genetic makeup of Anatolia itself since the early Neolithic, and a Bronze Age migration of J2/West_Asian brachycephals into Anatolia, mainland Greece and Crete would be one possible agent for that development.

Late Minoan IB destructions and cultural upheaval on Crete: A bioarchaeological perspective

Nafplioti, Argyro

This paper discusses representative results from strontium isotope ratio (87Sr/86Sr) and biodistance analyses of archaeological human skeletal material carried out to assess the validity of the theory of a LMIB (ca. 1490/1470 BC) Mycenaean invasion of Crete and imposed political domination of Knossos, and thus shed more light onto the question of the LMIB destructions and the subsequent cultural upheaval on the island. These analyses show that the people buried in post- LMIB tombs at Knossos, traditionally associated with Mycenaeans based on material culture evidence, were in fact born locally and not in the Argolid. Further, the analyses presented reject the possibility that these people may represent the descendants of immigrants from the latter region. Additional negative evidence for the theory tested comes from further cranial and dental morphological analyses presented in the author’s doctoral thesis, as well as the material culture itself, briefly discussed here.

Link

Minoans in Ancient Canaan

While it has been generally accepted that the Philistines originated in the Aegean, new archaeological research from the Levant shows that they were not the first Aegean peoples to influence the area of Canaan. How strange that we've gone from a "legendary" Minos, to the excavation of the Bronze Age Minoan civilization, to a gradual confirmation of its thalassocracy, as described by the ancient authors.

Archaeologists Uncover Evidence of a Minoan Presence Among Ancient Canaanites

A recent and ongoing excavation at the remains of an expansive Middle Bronze Age Canaanite palace in the western Galilee region of present-day Israel is opening a new window on the possible presence of ancient Minoans at an ancient Canaanite palace, revealing what may be the earliest known Western art found in the eastern Mediterranean.

Known as Tel Kabri (located near its namesake kibbutz not far from historic Acco and the resort town of Nahariya on the coast of Israel), the site features an early Middle Bronze Age (MB I) palace dated to the 19th century B.C.E., making it, along with ancient Aphek and possibly Megiddo, the earliest MB palace discovered in present-day Israel. This conclusion was drawn as a result of excavations conducted there as recently as December 20, 2010 to January 10, 2011. But the tell-tale signs of an Aegean presence or influence at the site show up in a later developmental phase of the palace structure some 150 to 200 years later in the overlying MB II palace dated to the 17th century. Reports Dr. Eric Cline of George Washington University and Co-Director of the excavations along with Assaf Yasur-Landau of Haifa University, "Excavations conducted by [Aharon] Kempinski and [Wolf-Dietrich] Niemeier from 1986 to 1993 at the site of Tel Kabri -- now identified as the capital of a Middle Bronze Age Canaanite kingdom located in the western Galilee region of modern Israel -- revealed the remains of a palace dating to the Middle Bronze (MB) II period (ca. 1700 - 1550 B.C.E.). Within the palace, Kempinski and Niemeier discovered an Aegean-style painted plaster floor and several thousand fragments originally from a miniature Aegean-style wall fresco."(1) The new excavations under the direction of Cline and Yasur-Landau have added to the discovery. Reports Cline, et al., "During the 2008 and 2009 excavations at Tel Kabri more than 100 new fragments of wall and floor plaster were uncovered. Approximately 60 are painted, probably belonging to a second Aegean-style wall fresco with figural representations and a second Aegean-style painted floor."(2)

Minoans in Germany

Geo.de interview with Hans Peter Duerr:

Liegen die wirklich spannenden Funde also unter dem spätmittelalterlichen Rungholt?

Zumindest die überraschenderen. Es gab offenbar verschiedene Vorgängersiedlungen aus dem vierten oder dritten Jahrhundert vor Christus. Ein Fund hat uns nachgerade schockiert: Wir sind auf Überreste levantinischer und vor allem minoischer Transport- und Gebrauchskeramik aus dem Kreta des 13. und 14. Jahrhunderts vor Christus gestoßen. Darunter fanden sich auch Scherben zweier Drei-fußkochtöpfe. Das legt die Vermutung nahe, dass es bereits um 1400 vor Christus Schiffe gab, die von Kreta aus die nordfriesische Küste ansteuerten.

Könnte es sich nicht um Antiquitäten handeln, die ein neuzeitliches Schiff an Bord hatte?

Nein. Unsere Funde lagen unter einer bronzezeitlichen Torfschicht, die sich vermutlich schon 1200 vor Christus gebildet hat. Zwar wurden diese Moorböden bei der Besiedlung im Mittelalter vielerorts abgetragen - aber keineswegs dort, wo Warften, also Hauspodeste, aufgeworfen wurden. Und an genau einer solchen Stelle haben wir die antike Keramik entdeckt! Die Gefäße, die wir gefunden haben, waren auch höchstwahrscheinlich kein Handelsgut, das über Zwischenhändler nach Nordfriesland gelangt sein könnte. Die wertlose Gebrauchskeramik gehörte mit großer Sicherheit zu einer Schiffsausstattung.

Was könnte die Minoer aus Kreta im 14. Jahrhundert vor Christus in die Nordseegelockt haben?

Es war das Zinn aus Cornwall, wie anerkanntermaßen 1000 Jahre später zu Zeiten des Pytheas von Massalia. Das brauchten die Mittelmeervölker zur Herstellung von Bronze. Etwa 1700 vor Christus kam aufgrund kriegerischer Auseinandersetzungen im Orient immer weniger Zinn aus Afghanistan nach Kreta. Statt über Zwischenhändler suchten die Minoer offenbar den direkten Weg - und fanden ihn wohl auch. Und waren sie erst einmal auf der britischen Insel, dann war es auch nicht mehr allzu weit zum "Bernsteinland" an der nordfriesischen Küste, aus dem die Mykener den magischen "Sonnenstein", "die Tränen der Götter", bezogen.

A related article in Focus.de:

Nach jahrelangen Forschungen legt Ethnologe Hans Peter Duerr sensationelle Ergebnisse vor: Die Minoer entdeckten Deutschland

...

Bei seinen Ausgrabungen im Watt stießen Duerr und sein Team auf Spuren antiker Seeleute und Händler. In Kreta hergestellte Trink- und Essgefäße entrissen sie dem Schlick. Dazu eine Lanzenspitze, Weihrauch, Kopalharz und Lapislazuli. Den Fang krönte der erstmalige Fund eines minoischen Siegels außerhalb der Ägäis mit eingeritzten Zeichen der Linear-A-Schrift.

Duerr gab die Artefakte zur Auswertung an Experten. Die Ergebnisse untermauern seine These. „Dass die Minoer in die Nordsee fuhren, ist sehr gut möglich – so schwer war das nicht“, bestätigt Walter Burkert, Doyen der Altphilologen von der Universität Zürich.

...

In dieser natürlichen Einbettung sowie dem Umstand, dass neben wenigen Luxusgütern vor allem gewöhnliche Haushalts- und Transportgefäße zu Tage kamen, sieht Duerr „sichere Indizien, dass eine kretische Expedition vor etwa 3300 Jahren in die Nordsee gekommen sein muss“. Während Wertgegenstände durchaus von Hand zu Hand getauscht worden sein können, scheidet diese Möglichkeit für Nutzgeschirr aus – es lohnt die Mühen nicht.

No Mycenaean political domination of Crete following Late Minoan IB destructions

This contradicts the idea of a Mycenaean contribution into Crete following the collapse of the Minoan civilization. From the paper:

The “warrior burials”, “burials with bronzes” and the single-chamber tombs (tombs of Mainland architecture) are not necessarily associated with Mainlanders. In fact, none of the examined individuals from these LMII–IIIA1 and LMIIIA2 tombs was non-local at Knossos that would be expected based upon the tested theory.

Journal of Archaeological Science doi:10.1016/j.jas.2008.03.006

“Mycenaean” political domination of Knossos following the Late Minoan IB destructions on Crete: negative evidence from strontium isotope ratio analysis (87Sr/86Sr)

A. Nafplioti

Strontium isotope ratio analysis of human dental enamel and bone is applied to investigate a highly debated question of population movement and cultural discontinuity in Prehistoric Aegean Archaeology. The Late Minoan IB (ca. 1490/1470 BC) destructions on Crete are succeeded by cultural upheaval. The novel cultural features that appear at Knossos (Crete) in this period have forerunners in the Mainland. In Cretan context, the Linear B writing system, the funerary architecture and burial practices of the Mainland style are interpreted as evidence of an actual “Mycenaean” long-term settlement and political domination of Knossos. Human skeletal material from tombs that are associated with non-locals from the Mainland based upon the material culture is analysed to measure 87Sr/86Sr. The results of the analysis show that all the examined individuals from the Knossos tombs were born locally.

Link

The script of the Philistines

Philistines, but Less and Less Philistine

In recent years, excavations in Israel established that the Philistines had fine pottery, handsome architecture and cosmopolitan tastes. If anything, they were more refined than the shepherds and farmers in the nearby hills, the Israelites, who slandered them in biblical chapter and verse and rendered their name a synonym for boorish, uncultured people.

Archaeologists have now found that not only were Philistines cultured, they were also literate when they arrived, presumably from the region of the Aegean Sea, and settled the coast of ancient Palestine around 1200 B. C.

...

Dr. Cross said in an interview that several signs in the Ashkelon inscriptions “fit in with well-known Cypro-Minoan,” in particular from artifacts recovered at sites in Cyprus and at Ugarit, in Syria. He said the script had some characteristics of Linear A, the writing system used in the Aegean from 1650 B. C. to 1450 B. C. This undeciphered script was supplanted by another, Linear B, which was identified with the Minoan civilization of Crete and was finally decoded in the mid-20th century.

...

The two researchers and other scholars said it was not surprising that the Ashkelon inscriptions were in an Aegean type of writing. The biblical Philistines are assumed to have been a group of the mysterious Sea Peoples who probably originated in the Greek islands and migrated to several places on the far eastern shores of the Mediterranean.

Y chromosomes from Lasithi (Crete)

A new paper has appeared about Y chromosome haplogroups in Crete. I will read it more carefully and comment later on. I would be interested in hearing if there are any traditions about the people from Lasithi, which could be correlated with the genetic evidence. Also, I do not have Poulianos' "Origins of the Cretans" books handy, which covers quite extensively the physical anthropology of Crete, so feel free to leave a comment with any relevant information.

A first comment based on a reading of the abstract would be that the similarity between R1b chromosomes from Lasithi and NE Italy could be a legacy of the Venetian period of Cretan history.

UPDATE 1: Absence of non-Caucasoid influences in Lasithi and Heraklion.

There is an absence of Sub-Saharan Y chromosomes (A, B, or E*(xE3b)) in Lasithi and Herakleio. Mongoloid Y chromosomes are also absent. These would be represented by haplogroups C, N, and O. C was typed directly, and the absence of N and O can be inferred from the absence of K* chromosomes using the markers tested. The only chromosomes that could be of non-Caucasoid origin are 2 Q chromosomes, which are more typical of Siberian and Native American populations, although they have been detected in trace amounts in the Middle East and Europe. It remains to be seen whether or not these Q chromosomes represent prehistoric remnants or more recent arrivals from Asia.

UPDATE 2: Limited occurrence of J1 signifies absence of significant Arab influences in Lasithi and Heraklion.

Arab and other Semitic populations usually possess an excess of J1 Y chromosomes compared to other populations harboring Y-haplogroup J. As I have noted elsewhere the predominance of J2 over J1 is typical of European populations of J. In the Cretan samples there are 65 J2 chromosomes and 3 J1 chromosomes. It should be noted that these may not necessarily be of Arab or Semitic origin, since J1 is also found at some frequency in the northern parts of the Middle East inhabited by Caucasian and Iranic speakers and may have been present in early Neolithic times. In any case, the preponderance of J2 over J1 and low occurrence of J1 suggests that the Arab rule of Crete had little effect in terms of characteristically Arab Y chromosomes.

European Journal of Human Genetics advance online publication 31 January 2007

Paleolithic Y-haplogroup heritage predominates in a Cretan highland plateau

Laisel Martinez1, Peter A Underhill2, Lev A Zhivotovsky3, Tenzin Gayden1, Nicholas K Moschonas4, Cheryl-Emiliane T Chow2, Simon Conti2, Elisabetta Mamolini5, L Luca Cavalli-Sforza2 and Rene J Herrera1

Abstract

The island of Crete, credited by some historical scholars as a central crucible of western civilization, has been under continuous archeological investigation since the second half of the nineteenth century. In the present work, the geographic stratification of the contemporary Cretan Y-chromosome gene pool was assessed by high-resolution haplotyping to investigate the potential imprints of past colonization episodes and the population substructure. In addition to analyzing the possible geographic origins of Y-chromosome lineages in relatively accessible areas of the island, this study includes samples from the isolated interior of the Lasithi Plateau – a mountain plain located in eastern Crete. The potential significance of the results from the latter region is underscored by the possibility that this region was used as a Minoan refugium. Comparisons of Y-haplogroup frequencies among three Cretan populations as well as with published data from additional Mediterranean locations revealed significant differences in the frequency distributions of Y-chromosome haplogroups within the island. The most outstanding differences were observed in haplogroups J2 and R1, with the predominance of haplogroup R lineages in the Lasithi Plateau and of haplogroup J lineages in the more accessible regions of the island. Y-STR-based analyses demonstrated the close affinity that R1a1 chromosomes from the Lasithi Plateau shared with those from the Balkans, but not with those from lowland eastern Crete. In contrast, Cretan R1b microsatellite-defined haplotypes displayed more resemblance to those from Northeast Italy than to those from Turkey and the Balkans.

Link

What 2006 has brought so far

Let's see how my New Year's predictions are holding up, since the year is winding down. I have to say, I'm disappointed with the Genographic project so far; not only did they not publish a research paper yet, but it seems that their National Geographic articles have dried up as well.

• The first study on ancient Mycenaean and Minoan mtDNA.
• A study on haplogroup E-M78 subdivisions.
• A study on Minoan civilization origins.
• Successful extraction of autosomal DNA from prehistoric humans.
• Correlation of recently selected genes with IQ and/or personality.
• Even more debate between demists and acculturationists regarding the spread of the Neolithic.
  
• Even more debate between assimilationists and non-assimilationists about the Neandertals.
  
• At least one paper from the Genographic project in a venue other than National Geographic about some obscure people that no one has heard about but everyone will talk about for days. The paper will have a feel-good message about the unity of mankind.
  
• The French will continue to remain a genetic mystery, but there will be at least three more studies on Jewish population genetics.

Early dates for Thera eruption

New papers in Science reveal early dates for the eruption of the Thera volcano which was responsible for the demise of the Minoan culture. A consequence of this finding is that the Minoan civilization reached its peak much earlier than thought, before the Egyptian New Kingdom (as was previously thought). From related MSNBC coverage:

Overall, the radiocarbon results indicate that the formation and high point of the New Palace period of Crete, the wall paintings of Akrotiri, the Shaft Grave period of the Greek mainland, and the political changes on Cyprus all occurred before approximately 1600 B.C. This is not only about 100 years earlier than thought; it also implies that the overall cultural era involved lasted much longer than researchers had assumed.

Science 28 April 2006:
Vol. 312. no. 5773, p. 548

Santorini Eruption Radiocarbon Dated to 1627-1600 B.C.

Walter L. Friedrich et al.

Precise and direct dating of the Minoan eruption of Santorini (Thera) in Greece, a global Bronze Age time marker, has been made possible by the unique find of an olive tree, buried alive in life position by the tephra (pumice and ashes) on Santorini. We applied so-called radiocarbon wiggle-matching to a carbon-14 sequence of tree-ring segments to constrain the eruption date to the range 1627-1600 B.C. with 95.4% probability. Our result is in the range of previous, less precise, and less direct results of several scientific dating methods, but it is a century earlier than the date derived from traditional Egyptian chronologies.

Link

Science 28 April 2006:
Vol. 312. no. 5773, pp. 565 - 569

Chronology for the Aegean Late Bronze Age 1700-1400 B.C.

Sturt W. Manning et al.

Radiocarbon (carbon-14) data from the Aegean Bronze Age 1700–1400 B.C. show that the Santorini (Thera) eruption must have occurred in the late 17th century B.C. By using carbon-14 dates from the surrounding region, cultural phases, and Bayesian statistical analysis, we established a chronology for the initial Aegean Late Bronze Age cultural phases (Late Minoan IA, IB, and II). This chronology contrasts with conventional archaeological dates and cultural synthesis: stretching out the Late Minoan IA, IB, and II phases by ~100 years and requiring reassessment of standard interpretations of associations between the Egyptian and Near Eastern historical dates and phases and those in the Aegean and Cyprus in the mid–second millennium B.C.

Link

Bronze Age artists from Thera had advanced knowledge of geometry

A group of Greek researchers has studied spiral designs from the Aegean island of Thera which was home to a Bronze Age civilization related to the Minoan civilization of Crete. Spirals are mathematical curves which are described by specific formulas. It is however possible to create a spiral-like design even if someone has no knowledge of geometry. The researchers have shown that the Theran spirals follow very closely the geometrical spiral described by Archimedes, the Greek mathematician of the Hellenistic age, who lived more than 1,000 years after the demise of the Theran civilization. According to the researchers (subscription may be required):

Some spirals, such as the ones found on snail shells, are common in nature. And others can be easily made by unwinding a thread around a central peg. But the Archimedes' spiral is not like either of these. "Seemingly it does not exist in nature," the researchers say.

"This is the earliest time that such advanced geometric figures have been spotted," says Papaodysseus. "The next such figures appear only 1,300 years later." The team report their work in the journal Archaeometry

Such a close match between the mathematically described spirals and the ones found in Thera is not possible by chance alone; someone who drew a spiral by freehand would simply not be able to match the mathematical form so closely. Therefore, it is likely that the Theran artists used a mechanical technique which made use of mathematics to produce these very precise decorative motifs.

Archaeometry, Volume 48, Number 1, February 2006, pp. 97-114(18)

DISTINCT, LATE BRONZE AGE (c. 1650bc) WALL-PAINTINGS FROM AKROTIRI, THERA, COMPRISING ADVANCED GEOMETRICAL PATTERNS

C. Papaodysseus et al.

Abstract:

This paper studies a set of wall-paintings of the Late Bronze Age (c. 1650bc) initially decorating the internal walls of the third floor of the edifice called `Xeste 3', excavated at Akrotiri, Thera, whose restoration is now in progress. It deals with the methods used for the drawing of the geometrical figures appearing in these wall-paintings. It is demonstrated that most of the depicted configurations correspond with accuracy to geometrical prototypes such as linear spirals and canonical polygons. It is pointed out that the steady lines of the figures, their remarkable repeatability, the precision of the geometrical shapes and their even distribution in the wall-paintings indicate a very distinctive use of the `Xeste 3' third floor, which is now investigated.

Link

Looking forward to in 2006

I have already posted some of the highlights of the past year. Here are some of the things that I am looking forward to this year, partly inspired by John Hawks' oracles:

• The first study on ancient Mycenaean and Minoan mtDNA.
• A study on haplogroup E-M78 subdivisions.
• A study on Minoan civilization origins.
• Successful extraction of autosomal DNA from prehistoric humans.
• Correlation of recently selected genes with IQ and/or personality.
• Even more debate between demists and acculturationists regarding the spread of the Neolithic.
  
• Even more debate between assimilationists and non-assimilationists about the Neandertals.
  
• At least one paper from the Genographic project in a venue other than National Geographic about some obscure people that no one has heard about but everyone will talk about for days. The paper will have a feel-good message about the unity of mankind.
  
• The French will continue to remain a genetic mystery, but there will be at least three more studies on Jewish population genetics.

Zoroastrianism from Margiana?

Also of interest Indo-Iranian Origins and Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex.

Archeologist says Central Asia was cradle of ancient Persian religion

ATHENS (AFP) - The mysterious Margianan civilisation which flowered in the desert of what is now Turkmenistan some 4,000 years ago was the cradle of the ancient Persian religion of Zoroastrianism, Greco-Russian archeologist Victor Sarigiannidis claimed here.

He said the theory would provoke controversy amongst his fellow archeologists, but said his excavations around the site of Gonur Tepe have uncovered temples and evidence of sacrifices that would consistent with a Zoroastrian cult.

The religion was founded by Zarathustra, a Persian prophet who was one of the world's first monotheists, and is still practiced today in Iran and India. A team of archeologists in the eastern Turkmenistan region have discovered the foundations of a huge palace, seven temples and a vast mausoleum.

Sarigiannidis believes the civilisation emerged with the arrival in the region of people seeking an escape from drought in Mesopotamia (now Syria).

"Ninety-five percent of the ruins of the mausoleum look similar to those of Mesopatamia," Sarigiannidis, a member of the Russian Science Academy said.

He also pointed out the similarity in the palace gate with the Minoan Palace of Knossos on the Greek Island Crete.

The latest finds from excavations in 2004 are on exhibit in the Turkmen capital and suggest a highly refined civilisation. They feature superb mosaics depicting griffins, wolves and lions, as well a marble statue of a ram and finely highlighted vases in gold and silver.

Sarigiannidis has called on the Greek government to continue to fund his excavations at the site and said the 17,000 euros per year grant he had been accorded until 2007 by the former socialist government had been cut by the current minister of culture.

Why were Minoan palaces abandoned in the Late Minoan period?

Journal of Archaeological Science (In Press)

Abandonment of Minoan palaces on Crete in relation to the earthquake induced changes in groundwater supply

Yuri Gorokhovich

Abstract

Mysterious abandonment of palaces on Crete during the Late Minoan period was always a challenging problem for archeologists and geologists. Various hypotheses explained this event by effects of tsunamis, earthquakes or climatic changes that were caused by the volcanic eruption of the Santorini volcano. While each of them or their possible combination contributed to the abandonment of palaces and following Late Minoan crisis, there is another possible cause that appeared as a result of studies within the last 20–30 years. This cause is depletion of groundwater supply caused by persistent earthquake activity that took place during the Bronze Age. This explanation is supported by field observations and numerous studies of similar phenomena in other locations.

Link

New crack at riddle of Knossos

The Culture Ministry has given the go-ahead for a seismological study that might help provide a scientific answer to one of the most tantalizing questions of Greek archaeology: What caused the collapse of the flourishing Minoan culture on Crete some 3,500 years ago?

Link