The Sea Peoples: The Ancient Mystery That Stumped Historians For Centuries — And What Modern Science Finally Revealed About Who They Really Were
One of the most important recent developments has been the expansion of ancient DNA research to populations across the broader Bronze Age Mediterranean — not just the Sea Peoples-associated populations, but the full range of cultures that existed in the region during the period of the collapse.
Research on Bronze Age Cyprus has been particularly important.
Cyprus occupied a unique position in the Bronze Age world — closely connected genetically and culturally to both the Aegean and the Levant, and apparently a way station for many of the population movements associated with the Sea Peoples phenomenon.
Ancient DNA from Cypriot sites shows a complex genetic history that reflects the island’s position at the intersection of multiple cultural streams.
The broader picture of Bronze Age genetic connectivity in the Mediterranean is also increasingly well-characterized.