A new study published in the journal Nature analyzes DNA from Phoenician burials dating from 600 BC to the second century BC and concludes that the Phoenicians were a mixture of Mediterranean populations, with minimal Levantine DNA. During the early Iron Age, the Phoenicians cremated their dead, which destroyed potential DNA evidence, but in later periods, they shifted to burial practices. The DNA sequences obtained demonstrate that these later Phoenicians had genetic roots primarily in Sicily, Greece, the Aegean Islands, and North Africa. This is not surprising, as the Phoenicians were a seafaring people who established trading colonies throughout the Mediterranean and likely intermarried with local populations. The Bible frequently mentions the Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon, and it also depicts their inhabitants as seafaring people (ie. 2 Chr 8:17–18).
Sources:
- https://archaeology.org/news/2025/04/25/new-evidence-of-phoenician-origins-emerges/
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08913-3 (behind a paywall)
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