Punic people were genetically diverse with almost no Levantine ancestors

DNA study reveals most Phoenicians were not from the Levant

A new DNA study into Phoenician and Punic civilisations has revealed a surprising twist – that most Phoenicians were not actually from the Levant and instead shared genetic similarities with people from Sicily and the Aegean, with a significant influence from North Africa. The study, published in the Nature journal, analysed a large sample of genomes from human remains buried in Phoenician and Punic sites from around north Africa, the Levant, Ib…

The People of Carthage Weren’t Who We Thought They Were

The Punic people had almost no genetic ties to Phoenicians, even though the latter founded the great city of Carthage.

Who were the Carthaginians? Ancient DNA study reveals a stunning answer

Carthage and its empire were established by Phoenicians, but new research finds that the archenemies of Rome had little genetic link to their Levantine founders

Most Phoenicians did not come from the land of Canaan, challenging historical assumptions

Culture with biblical roots spread across the ancient world, but its people did not

Punic people were genetically diverse with almost no Levantine ancestors

The maritime Phoenician civilization from the Levant transformed the entire Mediterranean during the first millennium bce1–3. However, the extent of human movement between the Levantine Phoenician homeland and Phoenician–Punic settlements in the central and western Mediterranean has been unclear in the absence of comprehensive ancient DNA studies. Here, we generated genome-wide data for 210 individuals, including 196 from 14 sites traditionally …

The expansion of this ancient population across the Mediterranean, which reached as far as the Ebro, was the beginning of the first globalization in history, according to unpublished research.