A new study reported in the journal Nature Communications indicates that the Minoans, who 5,000 years ago established the first advanced Bronze Age civilization in present-day Crete, probably were descendents of the first Neolithic humans to reach the island around 7,000 BC and that they have the greatest genetic similarity with modern European populations.

The British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans in the early 1900s named the Minoans after a legendary Greek king, Minos. Based on similarities between Minoan artifacts and those from Egypt and Libya, Sir Evans proposed that the Minoan civilization founders migrated into the area from North Africa. Since then, other researchers have suggested that they may have come from other regions, possibly Anatolia, the Balkans, or the Middle East.

Now, scientists led by Dr John A. Stamatoyannopoulos and Prof George Stamatoyannopoulos, both from the University of Washington, have used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis of Minoan skeletal remains to determine the likely ancestors of these ancient people.

The team analyzed samples from 37 skeletons found in a cave in the Lassithi plateau of Crete and compared them with mtDNA sequences from 135 modern and ancient human populations.

The Minoan samples revealed 21 distinct mtDNA variations, of which six were unique to the Minoans and 15 were shared with modern and ancient populations. None of the Minoans carried mtDNA variations characteristic of African populations.

Further analysis showed that the Minoans were only distantly related to Egyptian, Libyan, and other North African populations.

The Minoans shared the greatest percentage of their mtDNA variation with European populations, especially those in Northern and Western Europe.

When plotted geographically, shared Minoan mtDNA variation was lowest in North Africa and increased progressively across the Middle East, Caucasus, Mediterranean islands, Southern Europe, and mainland Europe. The highest percentage of shared Minoan mitochondrial DNA variation was found with Neolithic populations from Southern Europe.

The analysis also showed a high degree of sharing with the current population of the Lassithi plateau and Greece. In fact, the maternal genetic information passed down through many generations of mitochondria is still present in modern-day residents of the Lassithi plateau.

“About 9,000 years ago, there was an extensive migration of Neolithic humans from the regions of Anatolia that today comprise parts of Turkey and the Middle East. At the same time, the first Neolithic inhabitants reached Crete. Our mitochondrial DNA analysis shows that the Minoan’s strongest genetic relationships are with these Neolithic humans, as well as with ancient and modern Europeans,” Prof George Stamatoyannopoulos said.

“Our data suggest that the Neolithic population that gave rise to the Minoans also migrated into Europe and gave rise to modern European peoples.”

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Bibliographic information: Jeffery R. Hughey et al. A European population in Minoan Bronze Age Crete. Nature Communications 4, article number: 1861; doi: 10.1038/ncomms2871