Very interesting news from Greece.

 Very interesting news from Greece. A new paper discussing the transition to Bronze Age. Also new samples from North Greece. 

Only two y dna (J2 and G2) . MBA samples with high Steppe are females so no R1b this time but in most likelihood the Steppe was introduced by them. And some other yet unknown HG.

There was also a Caucasus Iran shift at EBA.

Here are the proportions

https://marlin-prod.literatumonline.com/cms/attachment/89a8a928-53f0-4ca1-a218-a1efaa5c836a/fx1_lrg.jpg

The dates of Steppe arrival ~2300bc (2600-2000bc) fits into Catacomb period rather than later KMK (Multi Cordoned ware). So it seems KMK was Thracian related rather than Greek .

The authors don't give definitive answers for the LBA Myceneans origin. Keeping open the door for Near Eastern ( Armenian theory) origin. 

Anyway this data strongly boosts the Steppic origins of Greeks.

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Highlights

• Bronze Age (BA) Helladic, Cycladic, and Minoan genomes from the Aegean were sequenced

• 3,000 BCE Aegeans are homogeneous and derive ancestry mainly from Neolithic farmers

• Neolithic Caucasus-like and BA Pontic-Caspian Steppe-like gene flow shaped the Aegean

• Present-day Greeks are genetically similar to 2,000 BCE Aegeans from Northern Greece

Summary

The Cycladic, the Minoan, and the Helladic (Mycenaean) cultures define the Bronze Age (BA) of Greece. Urbanism, complex social structures, craft and agricultural specialization, and the earliest forms of writing characterize this iconic period. We sequenced six Early to Middle BA whole genomes, along with 11 mitochondrial genomes, sampled from the three BA cultures of the Aegean Sea. The Early BA (EBA) genomes are homogeneous and derive most of their ancestry from Neolithic Aegeans, contrary to earlier hypotheses that the Neolithic-EBA cultural transition was due to massive population turnover. EBA Aegeans were shaped by relatively small-scale migration from East of the Aegean, as evidenced by the Caucasus-related ancestry also detected in Anatolians. In contrast, Middle BA (MBA) individuals of northern Greece differ from EBA populations in showing ∼50% Pontic-Caspian Steppe-related ancestry, dated at ca. 2,600-2,000 BCE. Such gene flow events during the MBA contributed toward shaping present-day Greek genomes

https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(21)00370-6?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0092867421003706%3Fshowall%3Dtrue

And here a quote from another book not this paper.

"Middle Helladic period between 2200 and 2000 BC a wave of Greek tribes, later self-styled Hellenes, poured into the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula. They were coming to Aegeida from the north. During the excavations of many settlements, the Early Helladic cultural layer is separated from the subsequent ones by a layer of ash. Other Early Helladic settlements were abandoned altogether. The conquerors were called Minias. "

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