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Abstract

The Neolithic and Bronze Ages were highly transformative periods for
the genetic history of Europe but for the Aegean—a region fundamental
to Europe’s prehistory—the biological dimensions of cultural transitions
have been elucidated only to a limited extent so far. We have analysed newly
generated genome-wide data from 102 ancient individuals from Crete, the
Greek mainland and the Aegean Islands, spanning from the Neolithic to
the Iron Age. We found that the early farmers from Crete shared the same
ancestry as other contemporaneous Neolithic Aegeans. In contrast, the end
of the Neolithic period and the following Early Bronze Age were marked by
‘eastern’ gene flow, which was predominantly of Anatolian origin in Crete.
Confirming previous findings for additional Central/Eastern European
ancestry in the Greek mainland by the Middle Bronze Age, we additionally
show that such genetic signatures appeared in Crete gradually from the
seventeenth to twelfth centuries bc, a period when the influence of the
mainland over the island intensified. Biological and cultural connectedness
within the Aegean is also supported by the finding of consanguineous
endogamy practiced at high frequencies, unprecedented in the global
ancient DNA record. Our results highlight the potential of archaeogenomic
approaches in the Aegean for unravelling the interplay of genetic admixture,
marital and other cultural practices