New Harvard ancient DNA data includes Albanian samples from Kamenice dated to 1325 BCE — that’s Late Bronze Age Illyrian territory. The R1b haplogroups found? Still common in modern Albanians today. Genetic continuity spanning 3,000+ years.

References

Ancient DNA Reveals the Origins of the Albanians. bioRxiv preprint, June 5, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.06.05.543790.

Fregel, Rafael, et al. “Ancient Genomes from the Balkans Reveal Patterns of Genetic Continuity and Migration in the Bronze Age.” Nature Communications 12, no. 1 (2021): 5678. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-25843-7.

Matisoo-Smith, Elizabeth, and Ron Pinhasi. The Origins and Spread of the Albanian Population: Archaeogenetic Perspectives. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2022.