- Archaeology
- Human Evolution
A genetic analysis of the Deep Maniots living in Greece's southern Peloponnese region has revealed a close-knit, patriarchal community with roots in the Bronze Age.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
The 11th-to-12th-century church of Agios Georgios in the ancient settlement of Ano Poula. The structure showcases the megalithic building tradition of Deep Mani, which is characterized by the use of exceptionally large stone blocks that are laid without mortar.
(Image credit: Leonidas-Romanos Davranoglou)
- Copy link
- X
Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.
Become a Member in Seconds
Unlock instant access to exclusive member features.
Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
Delivered Daily
Daily Newsletter
Sign up for the latest discoveries, groundbreaking research and fascinating breakthroughs that impact you and the wider world direct to your inbox.
Signup +
Once a week
Life's Little Mysteries
Feed your curiosity with an exclusive mystery every week, solved with science and delivered direct to your inbox before it's seen anywhere else.
Signup +
Once a week
How It Works
Sign up to our free science & technology newsletter for your weekly fix of fascinating articles, quick quizzes, amazing images, and more
Signup +
Delivered daily
Space.com Newsletter
Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!
Signup +
Once a month
Watch This Space
Sign up to our monthly entertainment newsletter to keep up with all our coverage of the latest sci-fi and space movies, tv shows, games and books.
Signup +
Once a week
Night Sky This Week
Discover this week's must-see night sky events, moon phases, and stunning astrophotos. Sign up for our skywatching newsletter and explore the universe with us!
Signup +Join the club
Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.
Explore An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletterA group of people living in the far southern reaches of Greece's Peloponnesian Peninsula have been genetically isolated for over a millennium and can trace their roots back to the Bronze Age, an analysis of their DNA reveals.
A new genetic study shows that this group, known as the Deep Maniot Greeks, are paternally descended from ancient Greeks and Byzantine-era Romans. Long-term genetic isolation and strict patriarchal clans likely contributed to the unique genetics of the Deep Maniot Greeks over the past 1,400 years, according to the study authors.
You may like-
'An extreme end of human genetic variation': Ancient humans were isolated in southern Africa for nearly 100,000 years, and their genetics are stunningly different
-
Ancient DNA reveals mysterious Indigenous lineage that lived in Argentina for nearly 8,500 years — but rarely interacted with others
-
Prehistoric Jomon people in Japan had 'little to no' DNA from the mysterious Denisovans, study finds
In a study published Wednesday (Feb. 4) in the journal Communications Biology, researchers analyzed the DNA of more than 100 living Deep Maniots and discovered that they represent a "genetic island" due to long-standing isolation.
"Our results show that historical isolation left a clear genetic signature," study lead author Leonidas-Romanos Davranoglou, a zoologist at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, said in a statement. "Deep Maniots preserve a snapshot of the genetic landscape of southern Greece before the demographic upheavals of the early Middle Ages."
During Europe's Migration Period (circa A.D. 300 to 700), which is sometimes called the "Barbarian Invasions," various groups of people — including Germanic tribes, the Visigoths, the Huns and early Slavs — moved throughout the continent. This resulted in numerous waves of migration, only some of which were historically documented. Ancient DNA research has begun to tease out these Migration Period population waves.
But these Migration Period movements did not seem to affect the Deep Maniots, according to historical, linguistic and archaeological evidence. So Davranoglou and colleagues turned to DNA analysis of modern Maniots to investigate why.
Sign up for the Live Science daily newsletter nowContact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.The researchers looked at genetic markers on the Y chromosomes (which are passed down from father to son) of 102 people with Deep Maniot ancestry on their paternal side, as well as mitochondrial DNA (passed down from mother to child) sequence data from 50 people with maternal Deep Maniot ancestry.
The DNA analysis revealed that Deep Maniots have an extremely high frequency of a rare paternal lineage that originated in the Caucasus region around 28,000 years ago, the researchers wrote in the study. And when compared with the DNA of present-day mainland Greeks, the DNA of Deep Maniots lacked evidence of common lineages that came from Germanic and Slavic peoples during the Migration Period.
Taken together, these results suggest that genetic drift (a reduction in genetic variation due to a small population size) played an important role in shaping the paternal lineage of Deep Maniots, the researchers wrote, forming a kind of "genetic island." This island of paternal ancestry is rooted in the ancient Balkans and West Asia and is strongly linked to Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman-period Greek-speaking populations, they noted.
You may like-
Ancient DNA reveals mysterious Indigenous lineage that lived in Argentina for nearly 8,500 years — but rarely interacted with others
-
Prehistoric Jomon people in Japan had 'little to no' DNA from the mysterious Denisovans, study finds
-
Ancient 'hanging coffin' people in China finally identified — and their descendants still live there today
Analysis of the maternal Deep Maniot lineages through mitochondrial DNA revealed a more complex genetic picture, however. The researchers identified 30 distinct maternal lineages in their population sample of 50 Deep Maniots. Most of those lineages have connections to Bronze Age and Iron Age people from Western Eurasia, but several appear to be Deep Maniot-specific, showing no close matches to other present-day European populations.
"These patterns are consistent with a strongly patriarchal society, in which male lineages remained locally rooted, while a small number of women from outside communities were integrated," study co-author Alexandros Heraclides, an epidemiologist at European University Cyprus, said in the statement.
Both the paternal and maternal DNA markers also show evidence of a founder effect, which happens when a new population is established by a very small subset of a larger population. The new population includes only the genes of its small number of founders and, over time, becomes distinct from the larger population.
The genes of present-day Deep Maniots reveal that there was a founder effect among their paternal ancestors around A.D. 380 to 670. As a result, over 50% of Maniot men today descend from a single male ancestor from the seventh century. There was also a founder effect among their maternal ancestors around 540 to 866, the team found, suggesting the number of both maternal and paternal lineages shrank around the same time.
RELATED STORIES—Ancient DNA reveals mysterious origins of the Huns who sacked Rome
—9 of the most 'genetically isolated' human populations in the world
—'An extreme end of human genetic variation': Ancient humans were isolated in southern Africa for nearly 100,000 years, and their genetics are stunningly different
The DNA study suggests that the Deep Maniot population "represents a snapshot of the genetic landscape of the Greek-speaking world prior to the demographic turmoil of the Migration Period," the researchers wrote.
"Many oral traditions of shared descent, some dating back hundreds of years, are now verified through genetics," study co-author and independent researcher Athanasios Kofinakos said in the statement.
Article SourcesDavranoglou, L., Kofinakos, A. P., Mariolis, A. D., Runfeldt, G., Maier, P. A., Sager, M., Soulioti, P., Mariolis-Sapsakos, T., & Heraclides, A. (2026). Uniparental analysis of Deep Maniot Greeks reveals genetic continuity from the pre-Medieval era. Communications Biology. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-026-09597-9
Kristina KillgroveSocial Links NavigationStaff writerKristina Killgrove is a staff writer at Live Science with a focus on archaeology and paleoanthropology news. Her articles have also appeared in venues such as Forbes, Smithsonian, and Mental Floss. Kristina holds a Ph.D. in biological anthropology and an M.A. in classical archaeology from the University of North Carolina, as well as a B.A. in Latin from the University of Virginia, and she was formerly a university professor and researcher. She has received awards from the Society for American Archaeology and the American Anthropological Association for her science writing.
View MoreYou must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
Logout Read more
Ancient DNA reveals mysterious Indigenous lineage that lived in Argentina for nearly 8,500 years — but rarely interacted with others
Prehistoric Jomon people in Japan had 'little to no' DNA from the mysterious Denisovans, study finds
Ancient 'hanging coffin' people in China finally identified — and their descendants still live there today
Oldest known evidence of father-daughter incest found in 3,700-year-old bones in Italy
'Biological time capsules': How DNA from cave dirt is revealing clues about early humans and Neanderthals
Modern humans arrived in Australia 60,000 years ago and may have interbred with archaic humans such as 'hobbits'
Latest in Human Evolution
More than 43,000 years ago, Neanderthals spent centuries collecting animal skulls in a cave; but archaeologists aren't sure why
430,000-year-old wooden handheld tools from Greece are the oldest on record — and they predate modern humans
160,000-year-old sophisticated stone tools discovered in China may not have been made by Homo sapiens
2.6 million-year-old jaw from extinct 'Nutcracker Man' is found where we didn't expect it
Most complete Homo habilis skeleton ever found dates to more than 2 million years ago and retains 'Lucy'-like features
Human origins quiz: How well do you know the story of humanity?
Latest in News
Remote region in Greece has one of the most genetically distinct populations in Europe
Life-friendly molecules are leaking out of Jupiter's giant moon Europa
New map shows weird magnetic anomaly lurking beneath Australia's Northern Territory
'Behemoth star,' previously thought to be dying, is 'rising from the ashes' like a pheonix
'Textbooks will need to be updated': Jupiter is smaller and flatter than we thought
Men develop cardiovascular disease 7 years before women
LATEST ARTICLES- 1Life-friendly molecules are leaking out of Jupiter's giant moon Europa
- 2'Behemoth star,' previously thought to be dying, is 'rising from the ashes' like a pheonix
- 3New map shows weird magnetic anomaly lurking beneath Australia's Northern Territory
- 4'Nitrogen fixing' trees could help tropical forests bounce back, research suggests
- 5Swarovski NL Pure 8x32 binoculars review
