Ancient Carthaginians Were Not Mostly of Phoenician Origin, DNA Study Finds

For years, historians believed that the ancient Carthaginians were largely of Phoenician origin, having descended from settlers who migrated from the Levant. However, new genetic research challenges that view, revealing that ancient Carthage, located in present-day Tunisia, had a far more diverse population and was not primarily rooted in Phoenician ancestry.

A study conducted by an international team of scientists from the Max Planck-Harvard Research Center for the Archaeoscience of the Ancient Mediterranean analyzed ancient human remains from 14 archaeological sites. These sites span the Levant, North Africa, the Iberian Peninsula, and the Mediterranean islands of Sicily, Sardinia, and Ibiza.

Using DNA extracted from these remains, researchers found that the populations identified with Phoenician or Punic culture were genetically diverse. While they shared language and customs, their ancestry showed limited connection to the original Phoenician homeland in the Levant.

Cultural exchange over migration

Harald Ringbauer, lead author of the study and group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, explained that researchers discovered a surprisingly minor genetic contribution from Levantine Phoenicians in the western and central Mediterranean Punic populations.

Instead of spreading through large-scale migration, the Phoenician culture appears to have expanded through trade and cultural interaction networks. Local communities adopted Phoenician traditions as merchants and settlers traveled across the sea.

One of the more stunning aDNA results from recent times. The Punics, despite linguistic and cultural evidence, hardly have any Levantine Phoenician ancestry! Instead, they seem to be an Aegean and Sicilian derived population in a cline with North Africans (their Carthaginian… pic.twitter.com/tkerHLc3Fa

— manasataramgini (@blog_supplement) April 24, 2025

This finding offers a major shift in how historians view the growth of one of the ancient world’s most influential civilizations. The Phoenicians, originally from the Levantine coast, are credited with creating the first alphabet and establishing vast maritime trade routes during the early first millennium BCE.

Their influence extended westward as far as Iberia. By the sixth century BCE, the colony of Carthage in present-day Tunisia had become a dominant power. Under Roman classification, communities tied to Carthage became known as Punic.

A genetic mosaic of the Punic world

Based on the study, Punic populations carried ancestry from various regions, particularly North Africa, Sicily, and the Aegean.

David Reich, a professor of genetics at Harvard University and co-author of the study, explained that researchers observe extraordinary genetic diversity in the Punic world.

One notable discovery involved two individuals buried in distant regions—one in North Africa and the other in Sicily—who appear to have been close relatives. This suggests strong personal and familial connections across the Mediterranean.

“These results underscore the cosmopolitan nature of the Punic world,” said Ilan Gronau, a study co-author and professor at Reichman University in Israel. “People of different backgrounds lived together, traded, intermingled, and formed families.”

The site of Puig des Molins, a Punic burial ground on the island of Ibiza, underscores these findings. DNA from this site confirms the ancient Carthaginians were not mostly of Phoenician origin.

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