Ancient_genomes_from_Eastern_Arabia

During the last decade, ancient DNA (aDNA) has become a powerful tool for the study of human migrations throughout prehistory. Strikingly, until now, no prehistoric genetic data has been generated from the Arabian Peninsula and therefore the admixture processes which have contributed to the populations which have inhabited the region are still unknown. Bahrain, in particular, has a unique prehistory and unbroken occupation for approximately 4500 years. Throughout time, the island has been marked by many different cultural shifts: it has been hypothesised as the centre of the Dilmun culture (~2400-600 BC), with connections with Oman, Mesopotamia and Indus Valley Civilization, it was invaded by Persian Achaemenids during the Iron Age (600-300 BC), and later, the Greek, forming the culture known as Tylos (300 BC-600 AD). In addition, the Island's geographic positioning made it a privileged location for the establishment of trading routes, and it has been of vital importance for commerce since prehistoric times. The primary motivation of this study is to generate and analyse ancient human DNA from bones of the Island's prehistoric samples ranging from ~3000 BC to 600 AD (Early, Middle, Late Dilmun and Tylos periods). We aim to characterize the genetic ancestry of these ancient samples from Bahrain and estimate the genetic impact of past demographic events in the Island of Bahrain at different points in time to determine if the extensive networks of commerce with surrounding civilisations in Iraq, India and Oman were accompanied by extensive migration or if these existed without substantial gene flow.