A substantial package of new research in paleogenomics or archeogenomics has just appeared in the journal Science. In other words, we are talking about the study of the DNA of ancient populations — in this case, a great dive into the genetic past of some of the most important peoples of the Mediterranean and neighboring regions, from the Balkans to Mesopotamia. The works are so extensive that I will probably need several posts to break them down here on the blog, but what caught my attention right away was the data about the origin of the Greeks.
The information is in this study coordinated by Iosif Lazaridis, from Harvard University (USA). The work is important, among other things, because it compares in detail the two great populations that existed in Greece during the Bronze Age. In the beginning (from 3500 BC to 1500 BC) the so-called Minoans predominated, with palaces in Crete and other islands, while, from 1700 BC onwards, the region began to be infiltrated by the so-called Mycenaeans (with powerful kingdoms in places like Mycenae, Sparta and Pylos).
Mycenaean writing has now been deciphered, revealing that they spoke a very archaic form of Greek. The Minoan one has never been read until now. It so happens that Greek is part of the large family of Indo-European languages (as well as Portuguese, German, Russian and several languages of Iran and India). Everything indicates that this family spread along with nomads from the steppes of present-day Ukraine and neighboring regions.
In the Greek case, this would mean that groups from the steppes invaded the territory of the Minoans and imposed their culture on the ancient inhabitants of the region. OK, makes sense, but what does the DNA say?
First, that the differences between Minoans and Mycenaeans are relatively small. There was nothing like a genocide. In general, Mycenaeans have something like 10% of the DNA from steppe groups, with the rest being from the Minoan population. But this does not necessarily mean that only the newcomers came to wield political power. Burials of members of the Mycenaean elite also house people of 100% Minoan “blood”, such as the so-called Griffin Warrior, whose tomb, found in the ancient city of Pylos, even had a sword with a golden handle.
In other words, everything indicates that the speakers of the ancestral language of Greek, when they arrived in the region, ended up making agreements with the natives, at least in some cases, incorporating them into the ruling class. Political skill seems to have been worth as much as military skill in this case.
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