Athens: Set among the rugged mountains and dramatic coastlines of the Mani Peninsula, Greece, the Deep Maniot Greeks have been revealed as one of Europe's most genetically distinctive populations, according to a groundbreaking genetic study. The research, published in Communications Biology, indicates that the population of Deep Mani has been shaped by more than a millennium of isolation, with many lineages traceable back to ancient Greece during the Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Roman era.
According to Cyprus News Agency, the study was conducted by a team of scientists from the European University Cyprus, the University of Oxford, Tel Aviv University, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, the Areopolis Health Centre, and FamilyTreeDNA. Their findings indicate that the Deep Maniots largely descend from local Greek-speaking groups predating the Medieval era, contrasting with other mainland Greek populations that absorbed incoming groups like the Slavs, Vlachs, or Arvanites.
The study was spearheaded by Dr. Leonidas-Romanos Davranoglou and is part of the East Mediterranean Population Isolates Study (EMPIS) project led by Dr. Alexandros Heraclides of the European University Cyprus. Dr. Davranoglou highlighted that historical isolation has left a clear genetic signature, preserving a snapshot of southern Greece's genetic landscape before the Middle Ages' demographic changes.
The research also uncovered diversity in maternal lineages, indicating sporadic contacts with populations from the eastern Mediterranean, the Caucasus, western Europe, and North Africa. Dr. Heraclides noted that these patterns align with a patriarchal society where male lineages remained local while some women from external communities were integrated. This study sheds light on the untold histories of Deep Maniot women, whose origins were obscured by male-centered oral traditions.
Co-author Athanasios Kofinakos confirmed that many oral traditions of shared descent have now been verified through genetics. Dr. Anargyros Mariolis, Director of the Areopolis Health Centre, emphasized the community's involvement at every stage of the research. The findings give a voice to the stories of their ancestors.
Looking forward, Professor Theodoros Mariolis-Sapsakos and Dr. Heraclides expressed the team's commitment to further investigating genetic and clinical markers pertinent to public health research. They aim to explore genetic predispositions to diseases and gene-environment interactions within this unique population, collaborating with researchers in Israel, England, and Greece.