Ancient genomes from North Africa evidence prehistoric migrations to the Maghreb from both the Levant and Europe
| Autor: | María C. Ávila-Arcos, Carlos Bustamante, André E. R. Soares, Fernando L. Mendez, Jonathan Santana, Aioze Trujillo-Mederos, Morten Rasmussen, Joshua D. Kapp, Maria D. Camalich-Massieu, Genevieve L. Wojcik, Francisco J. Rodriguez-Santos, Alexandra Sockell, Abdeslam Mikdad, Rosa Fregel, Dimas Martín-Socas, Beth Shapiro, Jacob Morales, Youssef Bokbot, Peter A. Underhill |
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| Rok vydání: | 2018 |
| Předmět: |
Mediterranean climate
0301 basic medicine History North africa 030105 genetics & heredity 01 natural sciences Africa Northern Demic diffusion Ethnicity Northern History Ancient 2. Zero hunger 0303 health sciences education.field_of_study Genome Multidisciplinary Middle East Epipaleolithic Agriculture Biological Sciences Mitochondrial Europe Morocco Geography Ethnology Sequence Analysis Genetic composition Human Gene Flow 010506 paleontology Later Stone Age Human Migration Population DNA Mitochondrial Chromosomes Ancient Prehistory 03 medical and health sciences Genetics Humans education ancient DNA Mesolithic Gene Library 030304 developmental biology 0105 earth and related environmental sciences Chromosomes Human Y Genome Human Correction DNA Sequence Analysis DNA North Africa Neolithic transition Eastern mediterranean paleogenomics Genetics Population 030104 developmental biology Ancient DNA Spain Africa |
| Zdroj: | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol 115, iss 26 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |
| ISSN: | 1091-6490 0027-8424 |
| DOI: | 10.1073/pnas.1800851115 |
| Popis: | The extent to which prehistoric migrations of farmers influenced the genetic pool of western North Africans remains unclear. Archaeological evidence suggests the Neolithization process may have happened through the adoption of innovations by local Epipaleolithic communities, or by demic diffusion from the Eastern Mediterranean shores or Iberia. Here, we present the first analysis of individuals’ genome sequences from early and late Neolithic sites in Morocco, as well as Early Neolithic individuals from southern Iberia. We show that Early Neolithic Moroccans are distinct from any other reported ancient individuals and possess an endemic element retained in present-day Maghrebi populations, confirming a long-term genetic continuity in the region. Among ancient populations, Early Neolithic Moroccans are distantly related to Levantine Natufian hunter-gatherers (∼9,000 BCE) and Pre-Pottery Neolithic farmers (∼6,500 BCE). Although an expansion in Early Neolithic times is also plausible, the high divergence observed in Early Neolithic Moroccans suggests a long-term isolation and an early arrival in North Africa for this population. This scenario is consistent with early Neolithic traditions in North Africa deriving from Epipaleolithic communities who adopted certain innovations from neighbouring populations. Late Neolithic (∼3,000 BCE) Moroccans, in contrast, share an Iberian component, supporting theories of trans-Gibraltar gene flow. Finally, the southern Iberian Early Neolithic samples share the same genetic composition as the Cardial Mediterranean Neolithic culture that reached Iberia ∼5,500 BCE. The cultural and genetic similarities of the Iberian Neolithic cultures with that of North African Neolithic sites further reinforce the model of an Iberian migration into the Maghreb.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTThe acquisition of agricultural techniques during the so-called Neolithic revolution has been one of the major steps forward in human history. Using next-generation sequencing and ancient DNA techniques, we directly test if Neolithization in North Africa occurred through the transmission of ideas or by demic diffusion. We show that Early Neolithic Moroccans are composed of an endemic Maghrebi element still retained in present-day North African populations and distantly related to Epipaleolithic communities from the Levant. However, late Neolithic individuals from North Africa are admixed, with a North African and a European component. Our results support the idea that the Neolithization of North Africa might have involved both the development of Epipaleolithic communities and the migration of people from Europe. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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