Related posts to read (click to open):
- Ancient Greek ancestry in Greeks and Italians through G25 and qpAdm Analysis
- Phenotypes of Turkey according to Carleton S. Coon.
I will keep updating this post based on new information i learn about. I will also add more context and details.
This post will be less scientific than the other ones because the skull studies are old and i didn't compare the actual measurements my self, i'm just basing this on their conclusions. In the future i will gather all the skull measurements and compare them with some algorithm.
Summary:
According to many studies, the skulls of modern Southern Greeks, South Italians, and Greek islanders including Cypriot Greeks, show a striking resemblance to the ancient Southern Greeks. The ancient Greeks were characterized by a variety of phenotypes, which over time "homogenized", resulting in a spectrum of intermediate phenotypes observed in the modern Greek population.
Ancient Ionians such as the Athenians (Attica) and Mycenaeans from Attica seem to look most similar to Cretans, Aegean islanders and Cypriots because Coon says that the Mediterranid types are most similar to Cretan types while the Dinarid/Dinaric-Mediterranean types which consist of 20% of the Mycenaean skulls from Attica are most similar to Cypriots. This makes sense DNA wise because Greek islanders received less Slavic admix than mainland Greeks.
Basic Whites (East-Mediterranean/Pontid) and Gracile Mediterraneans dominate the ancient Greek series as a whole. Dinaric-Mediterranean, Nordic-Iranian, and Basic White types are nearest to the average metrically, with the small-headed Mediterraneans (Gracile-Med) particularly close in proportions.
Ancient Ionian Greeks not only had phenotypes typical of modern Greeks and South Italians but also shared similarities with other Mediterranean populations, such as the Iberians and the Lebanese. This reflects a broader trend of shared physical characteristics among various groups along the Mediterranean basin.
Chart comparing ancient Greek vs modern population skull results:
Pay attention to the explanations on top to see how the phenotypes formed.
