Sunday, November 02, 2008

A GIRL IN EVERY PORT? It seems that those Phoenician sailors got around:
Phoenicians Left Deep Genetic Mark, Study Shows

By JOHN NOBLE WILFORD (NYT)
Published: October 30, 2008

The Phoenicians, enigmatic people from the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, stamped their mark on maritime history, and now research has revealed that they also left a lasting genetic imprint.

Scientists reported Thursday that as many as 1 in 17 men living today on the coasts of North Africa and southern Europe may have a Phoenician direct male-line ancestor.

[...]
I've noted this story before here, but this much-reported recycling focuses more on how widespread the "Phoenician gene" is. Another report (see bottom of post linked in this paragraph) claimed that Jews share the gene, but this NYT article seems to say otherwise:
From the research emerged a distinctive Phoenician genetic signature, in contrast to genetic traces spread by other migrations, like those of late Stone-Age farmers, Greek colonists and the Jewish Diaspora. The scientists thus concluded that, for example, one boy in each school class from Cyprus to Tunis may be a descendant of Phoenician traders.