Ancient Rome: A genetic crossroads of Europe and the Mediterranean

Antonio, Margaret L., Gao, Ziyue, Moots, Hannah M., Lucci, Michaela, Candilio, Francesca, Sawyer, Susanna, Oberreiter, Victoria, Calderon, Diego, Devitofranceschi, Katharina, Aikens, Rachael C., and others. (2019) Ancient Rome: A genetic crossroads of Europe and the Mediterranean. Science, 366 (6466). pp. 708-714. ISSN 0036-8075. E-ISSN 1095-9203. (doi:10.1126/science.aay6826) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:82951)

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Official URL: https://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aay6826

Abstract

Ancient Rome was the capital of an empire of ~70 million inhabitants, but little is known about the genetics of ancient Romans. Here we present 127 genomes from 29 archaeological sites in and around Rome, spanning the past 12,000 years. We observe two major prehistoric ancestry transitions: one with the introduction of farming and another prior to the Iron Age. By the founding of Rome, the genetic composition of the region approximated that of modern Mediterranean populations. During the Imperial period, Rome’s population received net immigration from the Near East, followed by an increase in genetic contributions from Europe. These ancestry shifts mirrored the geopolitical affiliations of Rome and were accompanied by marked interindividual diversity, reflecting gene flow from across the Mediterranean, Europe, and North Africa.

Item Type:	Article
DOI/Identification number:	10.1126/science.aay6826
Uncontrolled keywords:	genetics, Ancient Rome
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > DE The Greco-Roman World G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GN Anthropology
Divisions:	Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Anthropology and Conservation
Depositing User:	Alessia Nava
Date Deposited:	09 Nov 2020 15:03 UTC
Last Modified:	19 Jul 2022 11:42 UTC
Resource URI:	https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/82951 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Nava, Alessia.

Creator's ORCID:	https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6319-0425
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