Paleogenomic analyses of the Southern Italian Bronze Age stronghold of Rocavecchia

The focus of this work is the study of ancient DNA from human remains, excavated in Rocavecchia (Lecce, Apulia), a stronghold dated back to Middle Bronze Age III (1500 – 1365 BCE). The samples set is constituted by seven individuals, who died during a fire at the end of a siege. The main purpose of this thesis is to study the genetic origin of these individuals: since archaeologists found Minoan-related pottery and tools in Rocavecchia, knowing the genetic origin of the seven individuals might be relevant to help the reconstruction of the communication and the relationships between Southern Italians and Aegean people and, in particular, to assess whether Rocavecchia was “just” a trading centre or an Aegean colony, where Minoan would lead their people. The extraction of aDNA, amplification and sequencing of DNA libraries with PCA and F-statistics allowed to define an affinity between two samples from Rocavecchia set (ROC001 and ROC006) and Minoan samples, rather than with Southern Italian samples from the same region, Apulia, from the work of Aneli et al., 2022: together with the archaeological record, the presence of two Minoan individuals in Rocavecchia proves that the stronghold might have been an Aegean colony, during the Bronze Age.