EAA2021: Abstract
Abstract is part of session #511:
Title & Content
Title:
Exploring the genetic diversity of Magna Graecia – The case of Campania
Content:
Starting in the 8th century BCE, coastal Campania in Southern Italy became a melting pot of various cultures and peoples when Etruscan and Greek colonizers joined local Italic tribes. By establishing cities and trade posts, the contact networks of Campania were further expanded across the Mediterranean and inland.
We generated ancient genomes from Campania, spanning the 8th to 3rd century BCE, i.e. the Orientalizing, Archaic and Hellenistic-Roman period in this region. While most individuals can be attributed to a genetic ancestry that arose on the Italian mainland, we also discover descendants of migrants from the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean. Most notably, an individual dated to the 8th century at the first Greek settlement, Pithekoussai, a site that also yielded the earliest example of writing in the Euboean alphabet, was genetically of Aegean origin, and we find that this type of ancestry persisted at the site for several centuries. We compare the genetic composition of these descendants of Greek settlers to the local Campanians represented by individuals from the site San Marzano and Etruscan immigrants from Pontecagnano.
We integrate a thorough analysis of the associated material culture and, where available, strontium isotopes to establish temporal and cultural patterns of mobility, ancestry and admixture that shaped the genetic landscape of Campanian Magna Graecia.
We generated ancient genomes from Campania, spanning the 8th to 3rd century BCE, i.e. the Orientalizing, Archaic and Hellenistic-Roman period in this region. While most individuals can be attributed to a genetic ancestry that arose on the Italian mainland, we also discover descendants of migrants from the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean. Most notably, an individual dated to the 8th century at the first Greek settlement, Pithekoussai, a site that also yielded the earliest example of writing in the Euboean alphabet, was genetically of Aegean origin, and we find that this type of ancestry persisted at the site for several centuries. We compare the genetic composition of these descendants of Greek settlers to the local Campanians represented by individuals from the site San Marzano and Etruscan immigrants from Pontecagnano.
We integrate a thorough analysis of the associated material culture and, where available, strontium isotopes to establish temporal and cultural patterns of mobility, ancestry and admixture that shaped the genetic landscape of Campanian Magna Graecia.
Keywords:
mobility, Magna Graecia, ancient DNA, migration, bioarchaeology
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authors
Main authors:
Alissa Mittnik1,2
Co-author:
Alfredo Coppa3,4,5
Alessandra Sperduti6,7
Luca Bondioli6,8
Melania Gigante8
Claudio Cavazzuti9,10
Alessandra Modi11
David Caramelli11
Ron Pinhasi12
David Reich13,2,14,15
Alessandra Sperduti6,7
Luca Bondioli6,8
Melania Gigante8
Claudio Cavazzuti9,10
Alessandra Modi11
David Caramelli11
Ron Pinhasi12
David Reich13,2,14,15
Affiliations:
1 Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
2 Max Planck-Harvard Research Center for the Archaeoscience of the Ancient Mediterranean, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA and 07745 Jena, Germany
3 Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
4 Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
5 Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
6 Bioarchaeology Service, Museum of Civilization, 00144 Rome, Italy
7 Department of Asia, Africa e Mediterraneo, University of Naples “L’Orientale”, 80121 Naples, Italy
8 Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Padua, 35139 Padua, Italy
9 Department of History Cultures Civilizations, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, 40124, Bologna, Italy
10 Durham University – Department of Archaeology, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
11 Department of Biology, University of Florence, 50122, Florence, Italy
12 Department of Anthropology, University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
13 Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard Univeristy, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
14 Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
15 Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
2 Max Planck-Harvard Research Center for the Archaeoscience of the Ancient Mediterranean, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA and 07745 Jena, Germany
3 Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
4 Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
5 Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
6 Bioarchaeology Service, Museum of Civilization, 00144 Rome, Italy
7 Department of Asia, Africa e Mediterraneo, University of Naples “L’Orientale”, 80121 Naples, Italy
8 Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Padua, 35139 Padua, Italy
9 Department of History Cultures Civilizations, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, 40124, Bologna, Italy
10 Durham University – Department of Archaeology, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
11 Department of Biology, University of Florence, 50122, Florence, Italy
12 Department of Anthropology, University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
13 Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard Univeristy, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
14 Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
15 Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA