An international team from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History and the Leon Levy Expedition Ashkelon announced this we
Analyzing genome-wide data retrieved, for the first time, from people who lived in Ashkelon during the Bronze and Iron Age, the team found that a substantial proportion of their ancestry was derived from a European population. This European-derived ancestry was introduced in Ashkelon around the time of the Philistines’ estimated arrival in the 12th century B.C.
“This genetic distinction is due to European-related gene flow introduced in Ashkelon during either the end of the Bronze Age or the beginning of the Iron Age. This timing is in accord with estimates of the Philistines’ arrival to the coast of the Levant, based on archaeological and textual records,” said Michal Feldman of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, leading author of the study.
My primary takeaway is that Goliath was a big lad because he was well fed on nonna’s psari plaki.
