The island of Sardinia has been of particular interest to geneticists for decades. The current model for Sardinia’s genetic history describes the island as harboring a founder population that was established largely from the Neolithic peoples of southern Europe and remained isolated from later Bronze Age expansions on the mainland. To evaluate this model, we generate genome-wide ancient DNA data for 70 individuals from 21 Sardinian archaeological sites spanning the Middle Neolithic through the Medieval period. The earliest individuals show a strong affinity to western Mediterranean Neolithic populations, followed by an extended period of genetic continuity on the island through the Nuragic period (second millennium BCE). Beginning with individuals from Phoenician/Punic sites (first millennium BCE), we observe spatially-varying signals of admixture with sources principally from the eastern and northern Mediterranean. Overall, our analysis sheds light on the genetic history of Sardinia, revealing how relationships to mainland populations shifted over time.

Genetic history from the Middle Neolithic to present on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia / Marcus, Joseph H.; Posth, Cosimo; Ringbauer, Harald; Lai, Luca; Skeates, Robin; Sidore, Carlo; Beckett, Jessica; Furtwängler, Anja; Olivieri, Anna; Chiang, Charleston W. K.; Al-Asadi, Hussein; Dey, Kushal; Joseph, Tyler A.; Liu, Chi-Chun; Der Sarkissian, Clio; Radzevičiūtė, Rita; Michel, Megan; Gradoli, Maria Giuseppina; Marongiu, Patrizia; Rubino, Salvatore; Mazzarello, Vittorio; Rovina, Daniela; La Fragola, Alessandra; Serra, Rita Maria; Bandiera, Pasquale; Bianucci, Raffaella; Pompianu, Elisa; Murgia, Clizia; Guirguis, Michele; Orquin, Rosana Pla; Tuross, Noreen; van Dommelen, Peter; Haak, Wolfgang; Reich, David; Schlessinger, David; Cucca, Francesco; Krause, Johannes; Novembre, John. - In: NATURE COMMUNICATIONS. - ISSN 2041-1723. - 11:1(2020). [10.1038/s41467-020-14523-6]

Genetic history from the Middle Neolithic to present on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia

Sidore, Carlo;Olivieri, Anna;Marongiu, Patrizia;Rubino, Salvatore;Mazzarello, Vittorio;Bandiera, Pasquale;Bianucci, Raffaella;Pompianu, Elisa;Guirguis, Michele
Membro del Collaboration Group
;
Orquin, Rosana Pla;Cucca, Francesco;
2020-01-01

Abstract

The island of Sardinia has been of particular interest to geneticists for decades. The current model for Sardinia’s genetic history describes the island as harboring a founder population that was established largely from the Neolithic peoples of southern Europe and remained isolated from later Bronze Age expansions on the mainland. To evaluate this model, we generate genome-wide ancient DNA data for 70 individuals from 21 Sardinian archaeological sites spanning the Middle Neolithic through the Medieval period. The earliest individuals show a strong affinity to western Mediterranean Neolithic populations, followed by an extended period of genetic continuity on the island through the Nuragic period (second millennium BCE). Beginning with individuals from Phoenician/Punic sites (first millennium BCE), we observe spatially-varying signals of admixture with sources principally from the eastern and northern Mediterranean. Overall, our analysis sheds light on the genetic history of Sardinia, revealing how relationships to mainland populations shifted over time.
2020
Genetic history from the Middle Neolithic to present on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia / Marcus, Joseph H.; Posth, Cosimo; Ringbauer, Harald; Lai, Luca; Skeates, Robin; Sidore, Carlo; Beckett, Jessica; Furtwängler, Anja; Olivieri, Anna; Chiang, Charleston W. K.; Al-Asadi, Hussein; Dey, Kushal; Joseph, Tyler A.; Liu, Chi-Chun; Der Sarkissian, Clio; Radzevičiūtė, Rita; Michel, Megan; Gradoli, Maria Giuseppina; Marongiu, Patrizia; Rubino, Salvatore; Mazzarello, Vittorio; Rovina, Daniela; La Fragola, Alessandra; Serra, Rita Maria; Bandiera, Pasquale; Bianucci, Raffaella; Pompianu, Elisa; Murgia, Clizia; Guirguis, Michele; Orquin, Rosana Pla; Tuross, Noreen; van Dommelen, Peter; Haak, Wolfgang; Reich, David; Schlessinger, David; Cucca, Francesco; Krause, Johannes; Novembre, John. - In: NATURE COMMUNICATIONS. - ISSN 2041-1723. - 11:1(2020). [10.1038/s41467-020-14523-6]
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11388/232071
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