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Ancient Minoan civilisation built by Anatolians, study finds

Apr 3, 2008, 14:00 GMT

Athens - The southern Mediterranean Minoan civilisation was built by people from Anatolia, reports said Thursday - disputing an earlier theory that the Minoan's forefathers had come from Africa. The study, which was published in the Greek daily Kathimerini, drew its conclusions from DNA analysis of 193 men from Crete and another 171 from former Neolithic colonies in central and northern Greece. The results, compiled by experts in Greece, the United States, Canada, Russia and Turkey, show that the country's Neolithic population came from Anatolia - the region of modern day Iran, Iraq and Syria and not from Africa as earlier studies suggested. Constantinos Triantafyllidis of Thessaloniki's Aristotle University said DNA analysis indicated that the arrival of Neolithic man in Greece from Anatolia coincided with the social and cultural upsurge that led to the birth of the Minoan civilisation. 'Until now we only had the archaeological evidence - now we have genetic data too and we can date the DNA,' he said.

Science News

Ancient Minoan civilisation built by Anatolians, study finds

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