Another study carried out by geneticists Spencer Wells and Pierre Zalloua of the American University of Beirut showed that more than 50 % of Y-chromosomes from Maltese men could have Phoenician origins .
Some recent studies carried out by geneticists Spencer Wells and Pierre Zalloua of the American University of Beirut collected samples of Y-chromosomes from men living in the Middle East , North Africa , southern Spain , and Malta , places the Phoenicians are known to have settled and traded .