The Sea Peoples, raiders and traders (how can you be both?), terrorized the Mediterranean area for centuries from 600 BCE and later. Also known as the Punic People by Romans, their origins have been only hazily in view. Were they Canaanites and allies from the ancient Levant?
A very interesting twist is seen in the work of Harold Ringbauer and 69 colleagues in the US, Germany, Israel, Spain, Italy, and Austria. They sequenced key parts of the genomes in skeletons of 210 individuals from ancient sites of Punic settlements and possible source areas – the Levant, Sicily, Greece.
I note that sequencing ancient DNA now seems common, but it is a great deal of work; hence, all those 70 colleagues. Back to te story: The group applied equally high-tech statistics to group the genomes into major geographic areas: the Levant, the Aegean area, Iberia (Spain, mostly), and northwest Africa, They determined strong signatures of mixed origins.
The surprise is that most of the Punic People were actually from Sicily and the Aegean, with some North Africans. Apparently the Phoenicians set the culture and the others carried the boat, weapons, and trade skills.
This has been an outreach activity of the Las Cruces Academy, viewable at GreatSchools.org.
Source: Nature 3 July 2025, pp. 139 ff.
