Editing Minoan civilization (section)

=={{anchor|Population genetics studies}}Genetic and anthropometric studies==

A [[cephalometric analysis]] by Argyropoulos et al. (1989) published in ''[[The Angle Orthodontist]]'' showed remarkable similarity in craniofacial morphology between Minoans and modern Greeks, suggesting a close affinity, and that the Greek ethnic group remained stable in its cephalic and facial morphology for the last 4,000 years.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Argyropoulos |first1=E. |last2=Sassouni |first2=V. |last3=Xeniotou |first3=A. |date=1989 |title=A comparative cephalometric investigation of the Greek craniofacial pattern through 4,000 years |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2672905/ |journal=The Angle Orthodontist |volume=59 |issue=3 |pages=195–204 |issn=0003-3219 |pmid=2672905}}</ref>

A [[Craniometry|craniofacial morphological]] study by Papagrigorakis et al. (2014) published in ''[[Anthropologischer Anzeiger]]'' also indicated craniological similarities between modern Greeks and Minoans, indicating continuity.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Papagrigorakis |first1=Manolis J. |last2=Kousoulis |first2=Antonis A. |last3=Synodinos |first3=Philippos N. |date=2014-06-01 |title=Craniofacial morphology in ancient and modern Greeks through 4,000 years |url=http://www.schweizerbart.de/papers/anthranz/detail/71/82892/Craniofacial_morphology_in_ancient_and_modern_Gree?af=crossref |journal=Anthropologischer Anzeiger |language=en |volume=71 |issue=3 |pages=237–257 |doi=10.1127/0003-5548/2014/0277 |pmid=25065118 |issn=0003-5548}}</ref>

A 2013 [[archaeogenetics]] study by Hughey at al. published in ''[[Nature Communications]]'' compared skeletal [[mitochondrial DNA|mtDNA]] from ancient Minoan skeletons that were sealed in a cave in the [[Lasithi Plateau]] between 3,700 and 4,400 years ago to 135 samples from Greece, [[Anatolia]], western and northern Europe, North Africa and Egypt.<ref name="Stamatoyannopoulos">{{cite journal |last1=Hughey |first1=Jeffrey |year=2013 |title=A European population in Minoan Bronze Age Crete |journal=Nature Communications |volume=4 |doi=10.1038/ncomms2871 |pmid=23673646 |pmc=3674256 |bibcode = 2013NatCo...4.1861H |page=1861}}</ref><ref name="livescience.com">{{cite web |url=https://www.livescience.com/31983-minoans-were-genetically-european.html |website=LiveScience|title=Mysterious Minoans Were European, DNA Finds|last=Ghose|first=Tia|date=14 May 2013}}</ref> The researchers found that the Minoan skeletons were genetically very similar to modern-day Europeans—and especially close to modern-day Cretans, particularly those from the Lasithi Plateau. They were also genetically similar to [[Early European Farmers|Neolithic Europeans]], but distinct from Egyptian or Libyan populations.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hughey |first1=Jeffery R. |last2=Paschou |first2=Peristera |last3=Drineas |first3=Petros |last4=Mastropaolo |first4=Donald |last5=Lotakis |first5=Dimitra M. |last6=Navas |first6=Patrick A. |last7=Michalodimitrakis |first7=Manolis |last8=Stamatoyannopoulos |first8=John A. |last9=Stamatoyannopoulos |first9=George |date=2013-05-14 |title=A European population in Minoan Bronze Age Crete |journal=Nature Communications |language=en |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=1861 |doi=10.1038/ncomms2871 |pmid=23673646 |pmc=3674256 |bibcode=2013NatCo...4.1861H |issn=2041-1723}}</ref> "We now know that the founders of the first advanced European civilization were European," said study co-author [[George Stamatoyannopoulos]], a human geneticist at the [[University of Washington]]. "They were very similar to Neolithic Europeans and very similar to present day-Cretans."<ref name="livescience.com" />

In their archaeogenetic study published in ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'', Lazaridis et al. (2017) found that Minoans and Mycenaean Greeks were genetically highly similar – but not identical – and that modern Greeks descend from these populations. The [[Fixation index|F{{sub|ST}}]] between the sampled Bronze Age populations and present-day West Eurasians was estimated, finding that Mycenaean Greeks and Minoans were least differentiated from the populations of modern Greece, Cyprus, Albania, and Italy.<ref>{{harvnb|Lazaridis|Mittnik|Patterson|Mallick|2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Ancient DNA analysis reveals Minoan and Mycenaean origins|url=https://phys.org/news/2017-08-civilizations-greece-revealing-stories-science.html|access-date=2021-07-28|website=phys.org|language=en}}</ref> In a subsequent study, Lazaridis et al. (2022) concluded that around ~58.4–65.8% of the DNA of the Mycenaeans and ~70.9–76.7% of the Minoans came from [[Early European Farmers|Early European Farmers (EEF)]], while the remainder came from ancient populations related to the [[Caucasus hunter-gatherer|Caucasus Hunter-Gatherers (CHG)]] (Mycenaeans ~20.1–22.7%, Minoans ~17–19.4%) and the [[Pre-Pottery Neolithic|Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN)]] culture (Mycenaeans ~7–14%, Minoans ~3.9–9.5%). Unlike the Minoans, the Mycenaeans had also inherited ~3.3–5.5% ancestry on average from a source related to the [[Eastern Hunter-Gatherer|Eastern European Hunter-Gatherers (EHG)]], introduced via a proximal source related to the inhabitants of the Pontic–Caspian steppe ([[Western Steppe Herders]]) who are hypothesized to be the [[Proto-Indo-Europeans]], and ~0.9–2.3% from the [[Iron Gates Mesolithic|Iron Gates Hunter-Gatherers]] in the Balkans.<ref name="Lazaridis2022-Supplementary">{{harvnb|Lazaridis|Alpaslan-Roodenberg|Acar|Açıkkol|2022|pp=1–13|loc=Supplementary Materials: {{Plain link|url=https://www.science.org/doi/suppl/10.1126/science.abm4247/suppl_file/science.abm4247_sm.pdf pp. 233–241}}}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|+Admixture proportions (%) of ancestral components for the Mycenaeans and Minoans<ref name="Lazaridis2022-Supplementary" />
!
![[Early European Farmers|EEF]]
![[Caucasus hunter-gatherer|CHG]]
![[Pre-Pottery Neolithic|PPN]]
![[Eastern Hunter-Gatherer|EHG]]
![[Iron Gates Mesolithic|Iron Gates HG]]
|-
!Mycenaeans
|58.4–65.8%
|20.1–22.7%
|7–14%
|3.3–5.5%
|0.9–2.3%
|-
!Minoans
|70.9–76.7%
|17–19.4%
|3.9–9.5%
|0–2.3%
|0–0.7%
|}
In 2023, whole genome-wide data of 102 individuals from Crete, the Greek mainland and Aegean Islands were sequenced, spanning from the Neolithic to Iron Age. It was discovered that the early farmers from Crete shared the same ancestry as other Neolithic Aegeans. It also confirmed previous findings for additional Central/Eastern European ancestry in the Greek mainland by the Middle Bronze Age.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Skourtanioti |first1=Eirini |last2=Ringbauer |first2=Harald |last3=Gnecchi Ruscone |first3=Guido Alberto |last4=Bianco |first4=Raffaela Angelina |last5=Burri |first5=Marta |last6=Freund |first6=Cäcilia |last7=Furtwängler |first7=Anja |last8=Gomes Martins |first8=Nuno Filipe |last9=Knolle |first9=Florian |last10=Neumann |first10=Gunnar U. |last11=Tiliakou |first11=Anthi |last12=Agelarakis |first12=Anagnostis |last13=Andreadaki-Vlazaki |first13=Maria |last14=Betancourt |first14=Philip |last15=Hallager |first15=Birgitta P. |date=2023 |title=Ancient DNA reveals admixture history and endogamy in the prehistoric Aegean |journal=Nature Ecology & Evolution |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=290–303 |doi=10.1038/s41559-022-01952-3 |issn=2397-334X |pmc=9911347 |pmid=36646948|bibcode=2023NatEE...7..290S }}</ref>

A report in 2024 also included a bioarcheological investigation conducted on remains that were found in [[Armeni (archaeological site)|Armenoi]], Crete. The research revealed that the DNA of 23 newly sequenced individuals from Late Minoan tombs, had derived most of their ancestry from an Anatolian Neolithic source. Modern Greeks share this genetic profile, but are more shifted towards the [[Western Steppe Herders|Yamnaya]] on the [[Principal component analysis|PCA]], and differentiated from the Greek populations that lived during the Early Bronze Age. The admixture analysis identified three main reference components: Anatolian Neolithic, Iranian Neolithic, and Western Hunter-Gatherer, with the Minoans also having some Yamnaya-related ancestry. The majority of individuals in the necropolis formed a homogenous population, with the exception of one individual, who was more similar to the populations of Western Europe. Overall, the studied genomes were found to be most similar to the other published genomes of Myceneans from mainland Greece; however, on the PCA analysis they plot exactly in-between both Minoans and Myceneans. The researchers noted that based on their genomic profile and placement, they may have been a mix of both groups.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Foody |first1=M. George B. |last2=Ditchfield |first2=Peter W. |last3=Edwards |first3=Ceiridwen J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A2XEzwEACAAJ |chapter=Bioarchaeological analyses of human and faunal skeletal remains and radiocarbon dating |title=The Late Minoan III Necropolis of Armenoi: Volume II{{snd}}Biomolecular and Epigraphical Investigations |editor-last=Tzedakis |editor-first=Yannis |editor-last2=Martlew |editor-first2=Holley |editor-last3=Tite |editor-first3=Michael |date=2024 |publisher=[[Casemate Publishers|Oxbow Books]] |isbn=979-8-88857-046-3 |pages=43–45 |language=en}}</ref>