New paleogenomic research conducted by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology has sequenced the DNA of 12,000-year-old remains found at the Atalanti site in central Greece. The study reveals a specific genetic signature related to the metabolism of high-density marine proteins and polyunsaturated fatty acids, marking the earliest known genetic adaptation to a specialized deep-sea diet in the Mediterranean region. This suggests that Late Pleistocene hunter-gatherers in the Aegean were already heavily reliant on sophisticated fishing techniques far from the coastline.
The analysis also identified a ghost lineage that diverged from Anatolian hunter-gatherers during the Last Glacial Maximum, indicating that the Aegean islands served as a unique refugium where distinct genetic traits evolved in isolation. These findings reshape our understanding of early maritime dispersal and the biological impact of the transition from terrestrial foraging to maritime exploitation in the early Holocene.