by The Neolithic period began around 12,000 years ago in Southwest Asia. It was a big change in human history when the societies switched from hunting and gathering to agriculture. This triggered migrations throughout Europe and dramatically deformed the continent’s gene pool.
North Africa was long seen as a passive participant in this transformation. The dominant story suggested that agriculture never fully rooted there.
Some studies suggested that the North African communities actively resist agriculture, except perhaps in the Nildelta and in Western Maghreb (modern Morocco). They continued to rely on land snails, wild plants and on survival. It was only later that they started to guard domesticated sheep, goats and cattle from Southwest Asia.
Genetic studies have recently tested this reconstruction in North Africa. This has never been done in Eastern Maghreb (modern Tunisia and Eastern Algeria).
As an African archaeologist, I specialize in studying old companies in Mediterranean Africa and Sahara. My focus is on how people have adapted to their environments and the rise of food production in these regions. I recently carried out research together with an international team of archaeologists, genetics and physical anthropologists in the eastern Maghreb to pursue old population movements.
Our new study has just been published in Nature. We analyzed the old genome (complete DNA sequences) of nine people who lived in the eastern Maghreb 15,000 and 6,000 years ago.
This may seem like a small rehearsal. But in the area of old DNA research, even some well-preserved genome can provide significant knowledge. They serve as reference points for the persecution of genetic lines and the identification of connections of the tribes.
By adding genetic evidence to broader archaeological findings, we reconstructed over thousands of years.
Our results were striking. These genomes show that an influence of farmers from the Mediterranean North Africa has achieved. But a large part of the genetic make -up of the eastern Maghreb populations remained rooted in her old food heir.
This questions the long -term story about migration in and from North Africa in front of and during the Neolithic. It deepens our understanding of the past and shows the incredible complexity of human movement and cultural exchange.
While we continue to dissolve the genetic heritage of our ancestors, such studies remind us of the complexity of human history. They show that the history of agriculture in the Mediterranean was not just one of the replacement population. Rather, it was a story about the cultural exchange, adaptation and continuity.
And researching these old human movements is more than just a question of understanding of history. It also offers insights into the migration and adaptation patterns that can help us understand similar processes today.
Extraction and analysis
We have worked with old genomes, which were housed from human skeletal residues in the Museum or Heritage Collections. They came from excavations at four locations Afalou Bou Rhummel, Djebba, Doukanet El Khoutifa and SHM-1 (Hergla), all in the eastern Maghreb.
We selected the copies because they were well preserved, which is not always the case with the old DNA.
The analysis showed that some of the people examined had European farmers about 7,000 years ago. The Europeans contributed some genes to the region – but no more than 20% per individual.
This is a modest genetic influence compared to old western Maghreb populations, in which European farmers’ cestry can achieve up to 80%at some locations.
Our results indicate that food-producing economies were not introduced to the eastern Maghreb by a large-scale replacement of the population (as in Europe). Change occurred through sporadic migrations, the mixture of cultures and the spread of knowledge.
About the sea and land
One of the most fascinating discoveries was the genetic trace of European hunters and collectors who were found in a person from Djebba, Tunisia, around 8,000 years ago. This indicates that early European and North African population groups could interact across the road of Sicily via seafaring roads.
Researchers have long known that the cultural exchange took place throughout the Mediterranean. We see this from the spread of technologies such as the so-called printing technique-one method for designing stone tools by carefully using the strength with a pointed implementation instead of meeting the stone directly.
The discovery in Tunisia of Obsidian (Vulkanglas) from Pantelleria, a small island in Sicily’s street, strengthens the connection between the northern and southern bank of the Mediterranean.
Prehistorical wood artifacts are rarely preserved over time. This could explain the lack of boat residues from this period in North Africa. However, subway from similar periods in central Italy (Bracciano Lake) suggest that the marine actors were well established in the Mediterranean. While there are no direct evidence that combine these specific canoes with connections between Europe and North Africa, they support the idea that navigation was in the technological skills of time.
Our study is the first time that the connections that have been proposed in these existing evidence were genetically justified.
Read more: Discovery of the 5,000-year-old farming society in Morocco closes a large gap in history-north-west Africa was a central player in retail and culture
Another exciting aspect of our study is the identification of the early Levantine (modern Southwest Asia) connected in the Ostmaghreb. This was found in human remains around 6,800 years ago. It is a genetic signature that dates up the arrival of the European farmers by several centuries. It probably reflects the movement of people associated with early pastoralism that introduced domesticated animals such as sheep and goats into the region.
Support archaeological evidence
It is particularly worthwhile to see that the genetic evidence matches the archaeological records. This underlines the value of multidisciplinary research in the detection of the human dynamics of the past.
Overall, overall, a region of strong genetic and cultural resilience is created, which coincides with archaeological evidence.
This article will be released from the conversation, a non -profit, independent news organization that brings you facts and trustworthy analyzes to help you understand our complex world. It was written by: Giulio Lucarini, National Research Council (CNR)
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Giulio Lucarini receives funds for this study from the National Research Council of Italy (CNR) and ISMEO – International Association for Mediterranean and Oriental Studies, Italy. He is connected to the National Research Council of Italy, Institute of Heritage Science (CNR-ISPC). This study resulted from a collaboration between the following institutions: Harvard University, USA; The Max Planck Institute, Germany; the National Research Council of Italy (CNR); The Institute National Du Patrimoine (Inp), Tunisia; The Center National de Research Préhistorique, Anthropologique et Historique (CNRPAH), Algeria; The Institute de Paléontology Humaine (IPH), France; The University of Vienna, Austria; Sapienza University of Rome, Italy; and ISMEO – International Association for Mediterranean and Oriental Studies, Italy.
