Editing Canaan (section)

=== Genetic studies ===
{{See also|Genetic history of the Middle East|Phoenicia#Genetic studies|Israelites#Genetics}}
A 2017 study of five Canaanite skeletons found that approximately half of the skeletons' genes originated from agricultural settlers in the Levant around 10,000 years ago. The other half was from a population tied to Iran, which researchers estimate arrived in the Levant approximately 5,000 years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wade |first=Lizzie |date=2017-07-27 |title=Ancient DNA reveals fate of the mysterious Canaanites |url=http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/07/ancient-dna-counters-biblical-account-mysterious-canaanites |journal=Science |doi=10.1126/science.aan7168 |doi-broken-date=6 March 2025 |issn=0036-8075}}</ref>

Hajjej (2018) revealed that when using [[Human leukocyte antigen|HLA genes]], Levantine Arabs, such as [[Palestinians]], [[Syrians]], [[Lebanese people|Lebanese]] and [[Jordanians]], were closely related populations with common Canaanite ancestry. They shared a common geographic territory, which was later disrupted by 19th-century British and French colonization. Their Canaanite ancestors came from North Africa or the Arabian peninsula via Egypt in 3300 BC and settled in the Levant lowlands after the [[Ghassulian]] collapse in 3800-3350 BC. The Levantine Arabs were also related to [[Eastern Mediterranean|East Mediterranean]] populations, such as [[Turkish people|Turks]], [[Greeks]] and [[Crete|Cretans]], [[Egyptians]] and [[Persians|Iranians]], which can be explained by the high migratory flow between Levantine sub-regions. However, Levantine Arabs were genetically distant from Arabian Peninsula populations such as [[Saudis]], [[Kuwaitis]] and [[Yemenis|Yeminis]] before the 7th century [[Islamic conquests]].<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Abdelhafidh |last1=Hajjej |first2=Wassim Y. |last2=Almawi |first3=Antonio |last3=Arnaiz-Villena |first4=Lasmar |last4=Hattab |first5=Slama |last5=Hmida |date=9 March 2018 |title=The Genetic Heterogeneity of Arab Populations as Inferred from HLA Genes |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=13 |issue=3 |pages=e0192269 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0192269 |pmid=29522542 |pmc=5844529 |bibcode=2018PLoSO..1392269H |doi-access=free}} Quote:"Using genetic distances, correspondence analysis and NJ trees, we showed earlier [61, 62] and in this study that Palestinians, Syrians, Lebanese and Jordanians are closely related to each other."</ref>

Agranat-Tamir et al. (2020) stated that Canaanites from the Intermediate Bronze Age (c. 2500–2000 BC) to late Iron Age I (c. 1000 BC) were genetically similar to each other. They lived in modern Israel, Jordan and Lebanon and could be modeled as "a mixture of local earlier [[Neolithic]] populations and populations from the northeastern part of the Near East (i.e. [[Zagros Mountains#History|Zagros Mountains]], [[Ethnic groups in the Caucasus|Caucasians]]/[[Origin of the Armenians|Armenians]] and possibly, [[Hurrians]])". Exceptions include the 2nd millennium BC inhabitants of [[Sidon]], [[Abel-beth-maachah|Abel Beth Maacah]] and [[Ashkelon]], who were relatively heterogenous due to inflow from the eastern [[Mediterranean Basin|Mediterranean basin]]. The inhabitants of Ba'qah in Jordan also have probable admixture from "eastern desert groups". Following the Bronze Age, there was an addition of [[Europeans|European]]-related and [[East Africa]]n-related components, which were represented by [[Neolithic Europe#Genetics|Late Neolithic]] and [[Bronze Age Europe]]ans and [[Somalis]], from a north-south and south-north gradient respectively. The majority of modern Jewish and Levantine Arabic-speaking groups have 50% or more ancestry from peoples who were related to Bronze Age Levantines and Chalcolithic Zagros groups. This does not mean that any of these present-day groups bear direct ancestry from people who lived in the Middle to Late Bronze Age Levant or in Chalcolithic Zagros; rather, it indicates that they have ancestries from populations whose ancient proxy can be related to the Middle East.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Agranat-Tamir|first1=Lily|last2=Waldman|first2=Shamam|last3=Martin|first3=Mario A. S.|last4=Gokhman|first4=David|last5=Mishol|first5=Nadav|last6=Eshel|first6=Tzilla|last7=Cheronet|first7=Olivia|last8=Rohland|first8=Nadin|last9=Mallick|first9=Swapan|last10=Adamski|first10=Nicole|last11=Lawson|first11=Ann Marie|date=2020-05-28|title=The Genomic History of the Bronze Age Southern Levant|journal=Cell|language=en|volume=181|issue=5|pages=1146–1157.e11|doi=10.1016/j.cell.2020.04.024|pmid=32470400|pmc=10212583 |s2cid=219105441|issn=0092-8674|doi-access=free}}</ref>

Almarri et al. (2021) stated that Levantines and Arabians diverged from each other before the Neolithic period, with Levantines adopting a sedentary agricultural lifestyle. In the Bronze Age, immigrants with ancient Iranian-related ancestry replaced about 50% of the local Levantine ancestry. They were believed to introduce haplogroup [[Haplogroup J (Y-DNA)|J1]], which was not found in earlier Levantines. After the Bronze Age, [[Eastern Hunter-Gatherer|Eastern Hunter Gatherer (EHG)]] ancestry was introduced, coinciding with the arrival of peoples with southeast European and Anatolian ancestry. Modern Levantines have significantly higher EHG ancestry than Arabians.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Almarri |first1=Mohamed A. |last2=Haber |first2=Marc |last3=Lootah |first3=Reem A. |last4=Hallast |first4=Pille |display-authors=3 |date=2021 |title=The genomic history of the Middle East |journal=Cell |volume=184 |issue=18 |pages=4612–4625 |doi=10.1016/j.cell.2021.07.013 |pmid=34352227 |pmc=8445022 }}</ref>

Lazaridis et al. (2022) clarified that ancient Levantines and their descendants exhibit a decrease of ~8% local Neolithic ancestry, which is mostly [[Natufian culture|Natufian]], every millennium, starting from the [[Pre-Pottery Neolithic]] to the [[Medieval]] period. It was largely replaced by [[Caucasus hunter-gatherer|Caucasus]]-related and [[Anatolian hunter-gatherers|Anatolian]]-related ancestries, from the north and west respectively. However, despite the decline in the Natufian component, this key ancestry source made an important contribution to peoples of later periods, continuing until the present.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lazaridis |first1=Iosif |last2=Alpaslan-Roodenberg |first2=Songül |last3=Acar |first3=Ayşe |last4=Açıkkol |first4=Ayşen |display-authors=3 |date=2022 |title=Ancient DNA from Mesopotamia suggests distinct Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic migrations into Anatolia |journal=Science |volume=377 |issue=6609 |pages=982–987 |doi=10.1126/science.abq0762 |pmid=36007054 |pmc=9983685 |bibcode=2022Sci...377..982L }}</ref>
[[File:A map of Canaan (8343807206).jpg|thumb|A 1692 map of Canaan, by [[Philip Lea]]]]