Maghreb/Berber Genetics! ✅

Hi friends, so here is the first official post in the archive. It will be dealing with all the relevant material on the ancient and modern peoples of the Maghreb, enjoy this great collection of compiled data, and happy reading!

List of Ancient DNA Findings (and Anthropometrics):

Iberomaurusian (Taforalt/Afalou) (~15,000 KYA) (🧬N=68)

During 1999, in studying three Northern African samples from the Pleistocene/Holocene, the morphology of Taforalt was described as Caucasoid and resembled late Pleistocene Europeans, while Afalou was Intermediate. In contrast, the Sudanese remains from Jebel Sahaba included was described as Negroid.
🔗Open Research: The terminal Pleistocence and early Holocene populations of northern Africa (anu.edu.au)
Based on dental traits in 2000, Joel D. Irish found a relationship between the Iberomaurusians, particularly those from Taforalt, and later Maghreb and other North African samples. Thus, some measure of long-term population continuity in the Maghreb and surrounding region is supported, whereas greater North African population heterogeneity during the Late Pleistocene is implied with strong differences with Jebel Sahaba, but similarities between Taforalt and Afalou. 
🔗(PDF) The Iberomaurusian Enigma: North African Progenitor or Dead End? (researchgate.net)
In 2005, an older study extracted mtDNA from 23 remains from Taforalt, derived from various skeletal material. Mitochondrial diversity in the analyzed samples shows the absence of Sub-Saharan African haplogroups suggesting that Iberomaurusian individuals had not originated in the Sub-Saharan region. The results had speculated a probable local origin and evolution of this population, and confirmed genetic continuity in North Africa based on the continued presence of these markers. It revealed 13 haplotype subclades from the main, H, U, JT, V, U6. 
🔗Diversité mitochondriale de la population de taforalt (12.000 ans BP - Maroc): Une approche génétique à l'étude du peuplement de l'Afriquedu nord - Kefi - 2005 - ANTHROPOLOGIE (mzm.cz) 
In 2013, 38 Iberomarusian skeletons from the prehistoric sites of Taforalt (Morocco) and Afalou (Algeria) in the Maghreb region were analyzed for ancient DNA. All of the specimens belonged to maternal clades associated with either North Africa or the Northern and Southern Mediterranean littoral shores, indicating gene flow between these areas since the Epipaleolithic. The ancient Taforalt individuals likewise carried the mtDNA haplogroups U6, H, JT and V, which points to population continuity in the region dating from the Iberomaurusian period.
🔗The history of the North African mitochondrial DNA haplogroup U6 gene flow into the African, Eurasian and American continents - PMC (nih.gov)
Kefi, Rym et al. (2018), found most of the mtDNA genetic structure of TAF and AFA specimens to contain only North African and Eurasian maternal lineages. These finding demonstrate the presence of these haplotypes in North Africa from at least 20,000 YBP. The very low contribution of a Sub-Saharan African haplotype in the Iberomaurusian samples was also confirmed.
🔗On the origin of Iberomaurusians: new data based on ancient mitochondrial DNA and phylogenetic analysis of Afalou and Taforalt populations - PubMed (nih.gov)
According to a study in 2018, which whole-genome-sequenced 7 Ancient North African samples from the Paleolithic Taforalt site, the geneticists found them to be composed of two major components, a Holocene Levantine component, and another from an indigenous Hadza/West African-like component. The Taforalt individuals show closest genetic affinity to ancient Epipaleolithic Natufian individuals, with slightly greater affinity for the Natufians than later Neolithic Levantines. A two-way admixture scenario using Levantine samples and modern West/East African samples as reference populations inferred that the Taforalt individuals bore 63.5% Western Eurasian ancestry and 36.5% Sub Saharan African-related ancestries, with no evidence for additional gene flow from the Epigravettian culture of Upper Paleolithic Europe. The Taforalt individuals also showed evidence of limited Neanderthal ancestry. Lastly, by uniparental markers, all 6 males belonged to E1b1b (E-M78), and the mtDNA distribution was U6a1b, U616b, U6a7b (2), U6a7 (2), and M1b. When characterizing the Sub-Saharan African component in Iberomaurusians, the study found the Yoruba and Mende samples most strongly pulled out the SSA-like ancestry in Taforalt, but Aizpurua-Iraola, Julen et al. (2023) later discovered that none of the present day (Hadza/East/West) or ancient Holocene African groups were found to be a good proxy for the source of the component.
PCS Calculations from Present-Day Populations of Africa, Near-East and Southern Europe
*credit:🔗Ancestral Whispers
Presented here are the Epipaleolithic Iberomaurusian phenotype predictions based on multiple SNPs, according to geneticist blogger Genetiker.
🔗Pigmentation of Iberomaurusians | Genetiker (wordpress.com)

A 2019 study seeking to determine if North Africans descend from strictly Palaeolithic groups (Taforalt), or subsequent migrations, discovered that most of the genetic variation in the region was shaped during the Neolithic phases. While the ancient samples had more of the Taforalt component, it is most frequent today in Western North Africans (Saharawi, Moroccans, Algerians) and Berbers, and suggested a continuity of this autochthonous North African component. The consideration of Berber-speaking groups as the autochthonous peoples of North Africa was reinforced by these results, and the ~5th Century BCE Canary Guanches, also clustered with current North Africans (in agreement with their Berber origins). Medieval geneflow events, such as the Arab expansions also left traces in various African populations, but with Neolithization having a much larger demographic impact than the Arab expansions. The results using PCA, Admixture, and internal f3 tests, ultimately showed that the North African genetic landscape was shaped during prehistory. A review by Prendergast et al. (2022), similarly concluded that: “Genome-wide aDNA data from sites in Morocco highlight genetic transformations associated with Neolithization, demonstrating an influx of Eurasian ancestry attributed to trans-Gibraltar population movements between the Early and Late Neolithic periods (~7 ka to ~5 ka). Combining ancient and present-day DNA data, this Neolithic demographic transformation was shown to have a greater genetic impact on present-day North Africans than later processes such as Arabization.”

🔴Ifri n' Amaar (~7000 KYA) (🧬N=7)
According to Fregel et al. (2018), the 2 samples of Y-DNA extracted from the Moroccan site of Ifri n' Amaar ou Moussa belonged to the paternal haplogroup E-L19*, while the 5 samples of mtDNA extracted belonged to the maternal haplogroups M1b1*, U6a1b (2), U6a7b2 and U6a3. Collective DNA analysis of the later Stone Age individuals from the site of Taforalt (Iberomarusian), and these Early Neolithic Moroccans from Ifri n' Amaar revealed that they were related to the modern North Africans, and carried Y-DNA haplotypes E-M35, E-M215*, E-L19* and E-M78. These studies confirmed a long-term genetic continuity in the region showing that Mesolithic Moroccans are similar to the later Stone Age individuals from the same region and possess an endemic component retained in present-day Maghrebi populations (representing 20% to 50% of their total ancestry). Both the Taforalt and Ifri n' Amaar ou Moussa people were found to be related to people of the Natufian culture and Pre-Pottery Neolithic of the Levant. Genetic continuity with the Taforalt suggested that the ancestors of the Ifri n'Amr ou Moussa people had adopted a Neolithic lifestyle without substantial migration, however a recent paper from Simoes, Luciana G et al. (2023) dealing with ancient genomes in Morocco, found that a change from foraging to food production occurred 7,400 years ago, and farming practices were actually introduced by Neolithic European groups, being adopted by locals. Among modern populations, the examined individuals were determined to be most closely related to the Mozabite people. The Ifri n 'Amaarr ou Moussa were determined by phenotypic alleles to have had dark skin and dark eye colour, and the Guanches of the Canary Islands were modeled as a mixture of ancestry from Ifri n' Amaar and the later individuals from Khef el Boroud.
🔗pnas.org/doi/pdf/10.1073/pnas.1800851115
Northwest African Neolithic initiated by migrants from Iberia and Levant | Nature

🔴Khef el Baroud (~5000 KYA) (🧬N=8)
In 2018, a group of Neolithic populations from the Maghreb were studied, and the 1 sample of Y-DNA extracted belonged to the paternal haplogroup T-M184, while the 6 samples of mtDNA extracted belonged to the maternal haplogroups X2b (2), K1a1b1 (2), K1a4a1 and T2b3, with the other remainder being undeterminable to an exact sub-marker. The examined individuals were found to share genetic affinities with individuals buried at both the Early Neolithic sites of Ifri n' Amaar in Morocco and the Early Neolithic Cave of El Toro in Spain. They were modelled as being of about 50% Early European Farmer (EEF) ancestry and 50% North African (Iberomarusian) ancestry, suggesting substantial migration from Iberia into North Africa during the Neolithic transitions to agriculture. They had a lower amount of Sub-Saharan African admixture than both the earlier and modern North Africans. The phenotypic data, and SNPs showed they were much lighter than previous Northern Africans, and carried alleles associated with light skin and light eye color (SLC24A5 & OCA2). They were found to be closely related to the Guanches of the Canary Islands, and ancestral to todays North African population. The study concludes: "We show that Early Neolithic Moroccans (∼5,000 BCE) are similar to Later Stone Age individuals from the same region and possess an endemic element retained in present-day Maghrebi populations, confirming a long-term genetic continuity in the region."
🔗Ancient genomes from North Africa evidence prehistoric migrations to the Maghreb from both the Levant and Europe - PMC (nih.gov)
*credit:🔗Expansions of Anatolian Farmers into Europe and the Maghreb
 
A summary of the evidence in 2020 was presented by Mario Vicente, who's team noted: “In North Africa, modern-day groups are largely related to Eurasian and Middle Eastern populations, with very low levels of genetic contributions from sub-Saharan Africa. A debate existed whether this was the result of Paleolithic back-to-Africa migrations, or migrations connected to the introduction of farming practices to North Africa during the Neolithic. A study on 15 kya [15,000 years old] remains from Morocco demonstrated that Northern Africa received significant amounts of gene-flow from Eurasia predating the Holocene and development of farming practices. aDNA studies further found that Early Neolithic North Africans (7 kya) trace their ancestry to these Paleolithic North African groups, while Late Neolithic groups (5 kya) contained an Iberian component, indicating trans-Gibraltar gene-flow. These two different signals in Early and Late Neolithic individuals, indicate that the spread of farming practices in North Africa involved both the movement of ideas and people.”
🔗https://uu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1456257/FULLTEXT01.pdf

🔴Guanches (~2000 KYA) (🧬N=246)
In 1925, based on previous anthropological work an his own studies, that the settlement of the Canary Islands archipelago involved migrants in the late Neolithic, of the Mediterranean race with some Negroid admixture. The Guanche proper were migrants from the mainland closely related to the Berbers of North Africa, who also brought with them sheep and goats.
🔗The Ancient Inhabitants of the Canary Islands - Earnest Albert Hooton - Google Books
The distribution of hair color (from 43 samples), showed no significant difference from today's Canary Island population, while the eye colors of six individuals that could be determined were dark. Dietary analysis indicated a 50-70% reliance on meat and dairy. Overall, the remains had marked sexual dimorphism, tall stature, facial robusticity, which all implied the Guanches were well adapted to the island's environment.
https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/mummies-disease-and-ancient-cultures/mummies-from-italy-north-africa-and-the-canary-islands/A9CE0C6F118A74CE9B6D95F8EC602669
Maca-Meyer et al. (2003) extracted 71 samples of mtDNA from Guanches buried at numerous Canary Islands sites. The examined Guanches were found to have closest genetic affinities to modern Moroccan Berbers, Canary Islanders and Spaniards. They carried a significantly high amount of the maternal haplogroup U6b1 which is found at very moderate to low frequencies in North Africa today, and it was suggested that later developments have altered the Berber gene pool (via an increase in Sub-Saharan African and Eurasian maternal chromosomes). The authors of the study suggested that the Guanches were descended from migrants from mainland North Africa related to the Libyan Berbers, and that the Guanches contributed around 42-73% to the maternal gene pool of modern Canary Islanders.
🔗Ancient mtDNA analysis and the origin of the Guanches | European Journal of Human Genetics (nature.com)
In 2009, Rosa Fregel and co. extracted 30 samples of Y-DNA from Guanches of the Canary Islands. These belonged to the paternal haplogroups E1b1b1a*/E-V68 (23.33%), E1b1b1b*/E-Z827 (26.67%) I* (6.67%), J1* (16.67%), K* (10.00%), P*(3.33%), R1b1b2 (10.00%) and E1a* (3.33%). E1b1b1a* and E1b1b1b* are common lineages among Berbers, and their high frequency among the Guanches were considered evidence that they were migrants from North Africa. R1b1b2 and I* are very common in lineages in Europe, and their moderate frequency among the examined Guanche males was suggested to have been a result of prehistoric gene flow from Europe into the region across the Mediterranean. It was found that Guanche males contributed less to the gene pool of modern Canary Islanders than Guanche females. Haplogroups typical among the Guanche have been found at high frequencies in Latin America, suggesting that descendants of the Guanches may have played a role in the Spanish Colonization of the Americas. Also in another 2009 study, Rosa Fregel sequenced 30 mtDNA samples, and discovered that the majority of lineages (93%) were from West Eurasian origin, being the rest (7%) from sub-Saharan African ascription. The bulk of the aboriginal haplotypes had exact matches in North Africa (70%).
🔗Demographic history of Canary Islands male gene-pool: replacement of native lineages by European - PMC (nih.gov)
🔗The maternal aborigine colonization of La Palma (Canary Islands) | European Journal of Human Genetics (nature.com)
Fregel et al. (2015) examined the mtDNA of Guanches of La Gomera, the results showed that 65% of the examined Gomeros were found to be carriers of the maternal haplogroup U6b1a. The Gomero appeared to be descended from the earliest wave of settlers to the Canary Islands. The maternal haplogroups T2c1 and U6c1 may have been introduced in a second wave of colonization affecting the other islands. It was noted that 44% of modern La Gomerans carry U6b1a, and the La Gomerans have the highest amount of Guanche ancestry among all modern Canary Islanders.
🔗Isolation and prominent aboriginal maternal legacy in the present-day population of La Gomera (Canary Islands) - PMC (nih.gov)
An examination by Ordonez et al. (2017) studied the remains of a large number of Guanches of El Hierro buried at Punta Azul. The 16 samples of Y-DNA extracted belonged to the paternal haplogroups E1a (1), E1b1b1a1 (7) and R1b1a2 (7). All the extracted samples of mtDNA belonged to the maternal haplogroup H1-1626. The Bimbache were identified as descendants of the first wave of Guanche settlers on the Canary Islands, as they lacked the paternal and maternal lineages identified with the hypothetical second wave. In the same year, Rodrigues-Varela et al. (2017) sampled the Y-DNA, mtDNA, auDNA of 11 Guanches buried at Grand Canaria and Tenerife. The 3 samples of Y-DNA extracted all belonged to the paternal haplogroup E1b1b1b1a1 (E-M183), while the 11 samples of mtDNA extracted belonged to the maternal haplogroups H1cf, H2a, L3b1a (3) T2c12, U6b1a (3), J1c3 and U6b. It was determined that the examined Guanches were genetically similar between the 7th and 11th centuries AD, and that they displayed closest genetic affinity to modern North Africans. The evidence supported the notion that the Guanches were descended from a Berber-like population who had migrated from mainland North Africa. Among modern populations, Guanches were also found to be genetically similar to modern Sardinians, as they were determined to be carriers of Anatolian Farmer (EEF) ancestry like contemporary Maghrebis, which probably spread into North Africa from Iberia during the Neolithic. One Guanche was also found to have ancestry related to European Hunter-Gatherers, providing further evidence of prehistoric gene flow from Europe starting 7,000 years ago. In all studies, these aboriginal inhabitants of the Canary Islands were genetically most similar to modern North Africans (Maghrebis) and Berbers. Phenotypically, their Guanche samples with enough SNP coverage were shown to have light and medium skin, dark hair and brown eyes.
🔗Genetic studies on the prehispanic population buried in Punta Azul cave (El Hierro, Canary Islands) - ScienceDirect
🔗Genomic Analyses of Pre-European Conquest Human Remains from the Canary Islands Reveal Close Affinity to Modern North Africans: Current Biology (cell.com)
🔗https://www.sci.news/genetics/north-african-origin-guanches-05369.html
Fregel et al. (2019) examined the mtDNA of 48 Guanches buried on all the islands of the Canaries. They were found to be carrying maternal lineages characteristic of both North Africa, Europe and the Near East, with Eurasian lineages centered around the Mediterranean being the most common. It was suggested that some of these Eurasian haplogroups had arrived in the region through Chalcolithic and Bronze Age migrations from Europe. Genetic diversity was found to be the highest at Gran Canaria, Tenerife, and La Palma, while Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and particularly La Gomera and El Hierro had low diversity. Significant genetic differences were detected between Guanches of western and eastern islands, which supported the notion that Guanches were descended from two distinct migration waves. It was considered significant that 40% of all examined Guanches so far belonged to the maternal haplogroup H. They also found some samples belonging to Sub-Saharan macrohaplogroup L, specifically L1b1a and L3b1a12. This study also pushes back the dates of first habitation of the island to ~1,000 BCE.
🔗Mitogenomes illuminate the origin and migration patterns of the indigenous people of the Canary Islands | PLOS ONE
In a 2020 review, Rosa Fregel identified European Bronze Age ancestry in the Guanches, which could be explained by "the presence of Bell-Beaker pottery in the North African archaeological record" and "the expansion of European Bronze Age populations in North Africa." In 2021, she would also summarize the overall archaeogenetic findings from aDNA (Ancient DNA) collected in the Maghreb, and confirmed much of what is already known from all previous reports summarizing the Neolithic transitions in the region. The paleogenomic findings conclude that there was Eurasian origin for Upper Paleolithic groups in the region, and a subsequent migration of Near-Eastern and Early European Farmers into Northern Africa. Overall, she indicated maternal continuity in present North Africans since the Paleolithic with U6 and M1 being present in contemporary Maghrebis, paternal continuity since the early Neolithic with an autochthonous, and North African origin for E-M81, subclade of E-L19. Lastly, autosomal continuity, with Berbers/Maghrebis showing strong similarities in genetic profile with the Late Neolithic Moroccans and the Canary Island Guanches.
Serrano, Javier G et al. (2023) studied genome wide data from 40 new individuals from seven of the Islands, and 9 individuals from previous reports. The majority of males in the burials were classified within the Y-Chromosome E-M81 (E-M183) clade, while the remaining others bore E-M33, T-M184, R-M269, and E-M78. As suggested by prior analysis, they had strong similarities to Late Neolithic Moroccans and modern North Africans in the main PCA analysis. The indigenous Canary Island samples were also placed in an intermediate position between ancient North Africans (Taforalt) and Sardinians. Moreover, mtDNA results indicated that there may have been mitogenome differences between the islands, as the islands closer to the continent had a greater affinity with prehistorical populations from Europe, while the western islands are more akin to prehistorical individuals from North Africa. Overall, the ancient Canary Islands population according to this study "can be explained as the admixture of Morocco Late Neolithic (73.3%), Morocco Early Neolithic (6.9%), Germany Bell Breaker (13.4%) and Mota (6.4%).
In 1950, 3 skulls from the Upper Capsian of the Maghreb (Capsian Industry, ~8,000-3,000 BCE) were measured, and based on indicators of the craniofacial form, considered to have been mixed. The overall anthropological investigation highlighted that their dominant characteristics were conforming to a Mediterranean type, while the minority characteristics conformed to Negroid and Mechta-Afalou (Iberomarusian) type. It was suggested that this population was the product of Pre-Neolithic Mectha-Afalous, "White" immigrants from the east, and Negroid migrants from the south. 
🔗On three skulls from Mechta‐el‐Arbi, Algeria. A reexamination of Cole's adult series - Briggs - 1950 - American Journal of Physical Anthropology - Wiley Online Library
Olalde, Inigo et al. (2019) conducted research on the genetic history of the Iberian Peninsular, and they included data from some of the Islamic burial sites during the period of when the Moors and Almoravids had a strong presence in the region. Something of worthy note, is that there were two outlier individuals from Southeastern Iberia that had a local Iberian component, as well as a large portion coming from Sub-Saharan Africa (37% and 48% respectively). The male individual carried the Y-Chromosome E1b-M291 (E1b1a), and had a typical mtDNA profile associated with Europe, being H. The female had mtDNA haplogroup L2e1 (which is West/Central African), and they had both inherited a partial North African admixture as well. Overall, the majority of ancestry, especially in older periods is largely reflective of indigenous Spaniard and Northern African sources, and a bit from the Levant (Arabs of the Ummayad Caliphate).
🔗The genomic history of the Iberian Peninsula over the past 8000 years - PubMed (nih.gov)
Genome Wide Admixture Analysis for Islamic Period Iberians
*Note: On the issue of the racial makeup of the Moorish movement in general, majority were not West Africans whatsoever, but there were some clearly present, especially later on during the Almoravids as shown in the depictions as well as genetic data. You can look at the artworks for yourselves, in which some individuals are depicted dark with stereotypic black features, and others more light like any typical Maghrebi. There are also clear instances where Europeans were exoticizing the Muslims because of being foreign in comparison to Christian Europe, like the phenomenon and artistic tradition/license of "Blackamoors." I will link the museum websites, coming from the documents from this historic period directly such as the Cantigas de Santa Maria from the reign of Alphonso X, Libro de los Juegos (the Book of Games), Hadith Bayad wa Riyad (Tale of Bayad and Riyad illustrated by the Moors themselves), the Byzantium Skylitzes Chronicle and a few others. 👉🏿https://racialreality.blogspot.com/2020/08/phoenicians-moors-caucasoid.html
https://archive.org/details/alf_20231212/page/n27/mode/2up
In 2024, mtDNA and Y-DNA of Islamic burials in Portugal supported a North African origin.
🔗https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0299958
A study in 2021 analyzed the genome for an individual who was buried in the Islamic necropolis of Plaza del Almudín in the city of Segorbe (province of Castellón, Comunidad Valenciana, Spain). He was referred to as “the Giant” by the archaeologists responsible for the excavation, due to his unusual height (184-190 cm) compared with the other individuals found in the site. He was discovered to be of Berber origin, and his uniparental lineages pointed to North African ancestry, but at the autosomal level he displays both North African and European-related ancestries. The individual harbored the Y-chromosome haplogroup E-M81 and mtDNA U6a1a1a.
🔗Biomolecular insights into North African-related ancestry, mobility and diet in eleventh-century Al-Andalus | Scientific Reports (nature.com)
In 2023, a study examined 9 new sequenced genomes from ancient Moroccan sites, while incorporating older sampled material from the region, in order to fill in archeological and chronological gaps within the Maghreb. The newer autosomal DNA analysis involved; 1 Late Epipaleolithic from Ifri Oberrid (OUB), 5 Early Neolithic from IAM (1) and KTG (4) (Kaf Taht el-Ghar), and 3 Middle Neolithic. The 3 genomes from the Middle Neolithic site in Morocco of Shirat Rouazi (SKH), were modelled as 76.4% Levant Neolithic and 23.6% local Taforalt related ancestry. These SKH migrants from the Near-East were also associated as being the exact same ancestral population that spread goat/sheep pastoralism and contributed to the West Asian influence in the modern populations of East Africa (Savannah Pastoral Neolithic). The KTG populations on the other hand were overwhelmingly of Anatolian Farmer ancestry (EEF). The intensive sequencing of these genomes proved that the Neolithic transitions in North Africa were initiated by migrants. It also showed distinct groups existed in the region initially without demic diffusion, until inter-group admixture occurred later, which is seen in the KEB population. The autochthonous North Africans would transition from hunter-gatherer strategies to adopting farming from these EEF migrants, and herding from the Levantine Neolithic shepards.
🔗Northwest African Neolithic initiated by migrants from Iberia and Levant - PubMed (nih.gov)
Location of Sampled Genomes & PCA Clustering Diagram

Contemporary DNA Studies:
Y-Chromosome Data
An older study by Nebel, Almut et al. (2002) concluded that the J-M267 chromosome pool in the Maghreb is derived not only from early Neolithic dispersions, but also from recent expansions of Arab tribes to the Maghreb.
🔗Genetic Evidence for the Expansion of Arabian Tribes into the Southern Levant and North Africa - PMC (nih.gov)
A more thorough study by Arredi et al. (2004), which analyzed populations from Algeria, Tunisia, and Egypt, concludes that the North African pattern of Y-chromosomal variation (including both J1 and E1b1b main haplogroups) is largely of Neolithic origin, which suggests that the Neolithic transition in this part of the world was accompanied by demic diffusion of Proto-Afro-Asiatic or Berber-speaking pastoralists from the Middle East according to Semino, Orella et al. (2004). Although later papers such as Myles, Sean et al. (2005) have suggested that this date could have been as long as ten thousand years ago, with the transition from the Oranian to the Capsian culture in North Africa.
🔗A Predominantly Neolithic Origin for Y-Chromosomal DNA Variation in North Africa - PMC (nih.gov)
🔗Origin, Diffusion, and Differentiation of Y-Chromosome Haplogroups E and J: Inferences on the Neolithization of Europe and Later Migratory Events in the Mediterranean Area - PMC (nih.gov)
🔗Genetic evidence in support of a shared Eurasian-North African dairying origin - PubMed (nih.gov)
In 2009, 514 samples of various Berber tribes were collected. The results revealed that Mzab Berbers from Algeria had 89.6% E-M215, 1.5% G, 1.5% J and 3.0% R1b. Siwa Oasis Berbers had 28% B, 12% E-M215, 3.2% G, 14% J, 28% R1b. Asni Berbers in Morocco had 85.2% E-M215, Bouhria Berbers 79.1% E-M215, and Middle Atlas Berbers having 81.1% E-M215.  
🔗Genetic and linguistic diversities: The Berber and the Berbers (benjamins.com)
Gérard, Nathalie et al. (2009) discovered that there was evidence for the influence of Berber and Arabian DNA from the Moorish occupation found in Southern Iberia. Found again in 2015, associated with E-M81 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378111915001900
🔗Project MUSE - North African Berber and Arab Influences in the Western Mediterranean Revealed by Y-Chromosome DNA Haplotypes (jhu.edu)

*credit:🔗Geographic Distribution of Y-Chromosome Haplotypes of Select Africam, Middle Eastern, and European Populations 
A study in 2013 used genome-wide and uniparental diversity markers, to discover the evolutionary history of North African populations. The results showed that the genome-wide evidence showed North Africans are related to both African and Eurasian populations, but with more affinity towards the Out-of-Africa (OOA) groups, than with recent Sub-Saharan Africans. The evidence from the paternal lineages, indicated that most North Africans emerged ~15,000 years ago, with North Africans sharing a similar admixture history. Geneflow from the Middle-East made Egyptians more similar to Eurasians, than to neighboring North African groups. Overall, the genetic diversity patterns, points to it resulting from migrations that occurred after the last glacial maximum. They therefore conclude that analysis of ancient DNA would better reconstruct the population history in the region.
Kaoutar Bentayebi and Dr. Amin Hajitou, in their 2018 entry noted that: "The haplogroup E-M81, formally, E1b1b1b, E3b1b and E3b2 was the major Y chromosome haplogroup abundantly and respectively found in Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. This haplogroupis the most common Y chromosome haplogroup in the Maghreb, dominated by its sub-clade E-M183. It is thought to have originated in the area of North Africa 5,600 years ago."
🔗A revised root for the human Y chromosome differentiation and diversity landscape among North African populations - MedCrave online
https://spiral.imperial.ac.uk/bitstream/10044/1/64507/2/JIG-05-00075.pdf
According to Elkamel, Sarra et al. (2021): "Previous works with Y-chromosome markers have shown that in North Africa the most widespread and common Y lineages are E-M81 and J-M267. E-M81 reaches an average frequency of 45% across the regions (from the countries of Morocco to Egypt) and is thought to have a very recent origin possibly in Northwest Africa. J-M267 is the second most-frequent haplogroup, accounting for around 30% of North Africans and assumed to have spread out of the Arabian Peninsula into North Africa, as is shown by, for instance, its east–west decreasing prevalence. There is wide agreement about the sources of J-M267 in North Africa, which imply multiple and temporarily different expansions of Middle-Eastern and Arabic populations through the Mediterranean. In fact, although this haplogroup is considered to be one of the signatures of the spread of Islam from the Arabian Peninsula, it also retains clues on a much earlier expansion during Neolithic times as part of the previously mentioned Capsian cultural complex that was introduced in North Africa along with agriculture." The researchers also noted that, "considering Tunisian populations as a whole, the majority part of their paternal haplogroups are of autochthonous Berber origin (71.67%), which co-exists with others assumedly from the Middle East (18.35%) and to a lesser extent from Sub-Saharan Africa (5.2%), Europe (3.45%) and Asia (1.33%)."
🔗Insights into the Middle Eastern paternal genetic pool in Tunisia: high prevalence of T-M70 haplogroup in an Arab population - PMC (nih.gov)

Mitochondrial Data
According to the most recent and thorough study on Berber mtDNA from Coudray et al. (2008), which analysed 614 individuals from 10 different regions (Morocco (Asni, Bouhria, Figuig, Souss), Algeria (Mozabites), Tunisia (Chenini-Douiret, Sened, Matmata, Jerba) and Egypt (Siwa)), the results may be summarized as follows: Total West Eurasian lineages (H, HV, R0, J, M, T, U, K, N1, N2, X) at 80% and the total African lineages (L0, L1, L2, L3, L4, L5) at 20%. The Berber mitochondrial pool is characterized by an overall high frequency of Western Eurasian haplogroups, a markedly lower frequency of Sub-Saharan L lineages, and a significant (but differential) presence of North African haplogroups U6 and M1.
🔗The Complex and Diversified Mitochondrial Gene Pool of Berber Populations - Coudray - 2009 - Annals of Human Genetics - Wiley Online Library
There is a degree of dispute about when and how the Sub-Saharan African derived L haplogroups entered the North African gene pool. Some papers suggest that the distribution of the main L haplogroups in North Africa was mainly due to the Islamic era Trans Saharan Slave Trade, as espoused by Harich et al. (2010). Sub-Saharan people did not leave traces in the North African maternal gene pool for the time of its settlement, some 40,000 years ago.
🔗The trans-Saharan slave trade - clues from interpolation analyses and high-resolution characterization of mitochondrial DNA lineages - PMC (nih.gov)
However, in the same year, a study of Berber mtDNA in Tunisia by Sabeh Frigi concluded that some of the L haplogroups were much older and likely introduced from ancient African gene flow around 20,000 years ago. Similarly, El Moncer, Wifak et al. (2010) stated: "All these data considered together suggest that the sub-Saharan component found in Tunisia is rather ancient and could be traced back to the first stage of Neolithic Age (around 9000 YBP), characterized by an ethnic contribution from present-day Sudan." These finding were restated in 2016, with this uniparental evidence pointing to events as far back as 30,000 YBP for certain Sub-Saharan maternal clades. They also noted that: "The Tunisian samples cluster together with the Berber groups from Morocco and Algeria, in agreement with recent works based on other genetic data. The close genetic relationship of the two Arab-speaking populations with the Berber-speaking samples could be explained assuming a small number of Arabs coming from the Arabian Peninsula, as compared with that of the autochthonous Berbers, resulting in a weak Arab genetic influence in the current mixed North Africans." & "In conclusion, the results discussed here allow us to postulate that the general ancient genetic profile of the native North Africans-the Berbers-is not very different from that of the present-day North African populations, despite some admixture with other peoples, particularly Arabs, during successive historical periods. The populations of the Maghreb seem to share a substantial genetic background, regardless of culture and geography."
🔗Ancient local evolution of African mtDNA haplogroups in Tunisian Berber populations - PubMed (nih.gov)
🔗Mixed origin of the current Tunisian population from the analysis of Alu and Alu/STR compound systems | Journal of Human Genetics (nature.com)
🔗Genetic variation in Tunisia in the context of human diversity worldwide - PMC (nih.gov)

🔗https://www.academia.edu/4137738/Mitochondrial_DNA_and_Y_chromosome_microstructure_in_Tunisia
In 2013, the haplogroup L3e5 in North African populations was considered to have possibly arrived during the Green Sahara, dated to ~10 kya. They also referenced contact between Northern and Sub-Saharan Africa by the craniofacial data from Niger, Mali and Mauritania, of ancient populations who had Mechtoid affinities like the Iberomarusians and Capsians of the Maghreb. It was taken as evidence for early trans-saharan contact between the two regions.
🔗The genetic impact of the lake chad basin population in North Africa as documented by mitochondrial diversity and internal variation of the L3e5 haplogroup - PubMed (nih.gov)
A study in 2023 that sampled modern haplogroups from 264 Algerian Berbers (Chaoui), found many to be linked to the Neolithization of North Africa from Iberia. The times of coalescence for these clades were ~6,000 ybp for H1cb1, U3a1c, and U5b1b1e. The other European origin lineages like H1e1a, were given a time of ~3000 ybp, as they were also found in the Canary Islands. Middle Eastern origin lineages like J2a2d were dated to ~9,000 ybp, and was said to represent potential pre-agricultural contact between the Near-East and North Africa. T1a7 was associated with Arabization and Bedouin expansion from 1,000 ybp. Sub-Saharan lineages like L3e5, L3b1a9a were dated to ~ 10,000–5000 ybp, and may be from trans-Saharan migration during the Green Sahara period with a prehistoric origin. However, the great majority of sub-Saharan sequences in North Africa do not form phylogenetic clades, and therefore, show no signals of having evolved in North Africa. This is in accordance with a recent arrival for the majority to the region as suggested by the genome wide evidence. 
🔗Whole mitogenomes reveal that NW Africa has acted both as a source and a destination for multiple human movements | Scientific Reports (nature.com)

Autosomal Data
According to Barbujani, G et al. (1994): “Historical data on three comparatively recent episodes of language replacement (the spread of Indo European languages in Asia, of the Turkic subgroup of Altaic languages in Western Asia, and of Arabic in North Africa) suggest that they did not entail major changes in the biological buildup of the populations involved. These were not cases of demic diffusion, but of elite dominance, associated with gene flow only to a very limited extent.”
🔗Genetic variation in North Africa and Eurasia: neolithic demic diffusion vs. Paleolithic colonisation - PubMed (nih.gov)
Based on classical genetic markers, according to Cavalli-Sforza LL, Menozzi P, Piazza A. (1994), the Tuareg have genetic affinities with the Beja people. The inferred ethnogenesis of the Tuareg people happened within a time period of 9,000 to 3,000 years ago, and most likely took place somewhere in Northern Africa. These older findings were loosely referenced in another study from 2010 which also tied the ethnogenesis of the Tuareg with the Garamantes, but said the mtDNA diversity did not indicate an affiliation with the Beja, but instead more ties to Iberian Peninsular. Though they noted future studies on the mitochondrial profile of the Beja tribes of Eastern Sudan will help further clarify these disreprancies.
🔗The History and Geography of Human Genes - Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza, Paolo Menozzi, Alberto Piazza - Google Books
🔗Linking the sub-Saharan and West Eurasian gene pools: maternal and paternal heritage of the Tuareg nomads from the African Sahel - PMC (nih.gov)
From the years of 2005 to 2019, the National Geographic Genographic Project collected samples from populations from around the world into a large genetic database and used various clustering analysis to measure ancestral links. According to the second autosomal runs by National Geographic, the Geno 2.0 Next Generations, the Tunisian population was 88% Northern African, 5% Southern European, 4% Southwest Asia & Persian Gulf, and 2% Central & Western African. In the first Geno 2.0 which instead matched collective ancestry based on regions instead of Biogeographic ancestry like the second which was the final project, the results revealed Tunisians were 62% Mediterranean, 6% Northern European, 10% South West Asian, 19% Sub-Saharan African, and 2% South East Asian - Based on 9 ancestral regions: East Asian, Mediterranean, Southern African, Southwest Asian, Oceanian, Southeast Asian, Northern European, Sub-Saharan African, and Native American.
🔗Step Feed
🔗National Geographic - 404
In 2012, a genetic study focused on North Africa's human populations was conducted. The study highlights the complex genetic makeup of North Africa which showed a genetic composition of harboring a significant local component that became more distinct around 12,000 years ago, possibly influenced by migrations, population expansions, or other demographic events. According to David Comas, coordinator of the study and researcher at the Institute for Evolutionary Biology, "some of the questions we wanted to answer were whether today's inhabitants are direct descendants of the populations with the oldest archaeological remains in the region, dating back fifty thousand years, or whether they are descendants of the Neolithic populations in the Middle East, which introduced agriculture to the region around nine thousand years ago. We also wondered if there had been any genetic exchange between the North African populations and the neighbouring regions and if so, when these took place". The findings reveal a distinct native genetic component in North Africans, setting them apart from Sub-Saharan Africans and aligning them more closely with West-Eurasians, primarily Middle Easterners and Europeans. Though the study emphasizes a dominant genetic lineage in contemporary North Africans tracing back to around 12,000 years ago, it doesn't dismiss the likelihood of genetic continuity from ancient human groups present in North Africa over 60,000 years ago.
🔗Genomic Ancestry of North Africans Supports Back-to-Africa Migrations - PMC (nih.gov)
Another study from 2012 found that unlike sub-Saharan Africans, North Africans have a similar level of Neanderthal DNA to South Europeans and West Asians, which is pre-Neolithic in origin, rather than via any later admixture with peoples from outside of North Africa during the historical period. It was found that modern North Africans derive mainly from a "back to Africa" population from Eurasia "from before 12,000 years ago (ya) (i.e., prior to the Neolithic migrations)" but more recent than 40,000 years ago which seems to "represent a genetic discontinuity with the earliest modern human settlers of North Africa (those with the Aterian industry).
A 2013 population genetics analysis of 17 Y-STR markers in West Libya (Tripoli region) of 176 unrelated males, found that Libyans have geneflow from migratory movements at least since the Neolithic period, leading to an admixture between the original Berber inhabitants and neighboring and more distant populations. Though overall, a strong Berber genetic substratum remains in the general population. Haplotype diversity showed a close genetic relationship between Tripoli and North African populations.
🔗Population genetics of 17 Y-STR markers in West Libya (Tripoli region) - PubMed (nih.gov)
According to Halima, Abir Ben et al. (2014): "The current general Libyan population is homogeneous and shows considerable genetic diversity compared with other North Mediterranean and North African populations. It shows intermediate genetic distances between Moroccans, Algerians and Tunisians on one side and Egyptian Siwa Berbers on the other. No particular affinities with Middle Eastern groups were detected."
🔗Ethnic composition and genetic differentiation of the Libyan population: insights on Alu polymorphisms - PubMed (nih.gov)
Research from 2014, using 15 STR to examine population genetic structure showed that the gradient of Northern African ancestry accounts for previous observations of low levels of sharing with the Near East, but a geneflow from Morocco and Spain. A decrease in autochthonous North African ancestry (Berber) when going West to East (from the Maghreb to Egypt) as described by other investigators (Henn et al. 2012) was also observed.
🔗Genetic ancestry of a Moroccan population as inferred from autosomal STRs - PMC (nih.gov)
A study was released in 2015 seeking to determine the ethnic origin of today's Tunisian population using 376 unrelated Tunisian individuals. The results revealed that Tunisians appear to be genetically related to Western Mediterranean population, in particular North Africans and Berbers. It was shown that Tunisians are related to present-day North Africans, Berbers and to Iberians, but not to Eastern Arabs (Palestinians, Jordanians and Lebanese). This suggests that the genetic contribution of Arab invasion of 7th-11th century A.D. had little impact on the North African gene pool.
🔗HLA Class I and Class II Alleles and Haplotypes Confirm the Berber Origin of the Present Day Tunisian Population - PMC (nih.gov)
According to a paper published in 2017, most of the genetic studies on North African populations agree with a limited correlation between genetics and geography, showing a high population heterogeneity in the region (without strong differences between Arabs and Berbers).
The analyses performed showed that current North Africans are closely related to Tunisian (Zrawa and Matmata) and Moroccan (Sousse-Agadir and Eljadida) Berbers, suggesting that North Africans have a genetic Berber profile. On the contrary, North Africans displayed a greater distance from the Arabs of Levant (Palestinians, Syrians, Lebanese, and Jordanians), indicating low genetic contribution of Phoenician and Levant Arab invasion of North Africa. These observations based on HLA markers prompted the conclusion that all Berbers of North Africa constitute a homogeneous genetic unit, except for small isolates, such as the Berbers of Djerba, who display a Berber genetic profile.
🔗https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0192269
A genetic study published in the European Journal of Human Genetics in Nature (2019) showed that Northern Africans are closely related to West Asians as well as Europeans, and Northern Africans can be distinguished from West Africans and other African populations dwelling south of the Sahara.
Research from 2020 on 80 individuals from Southern Tunisia, discovered that Berbers exhibit a mostly indigenous Northwest African genetic make up, characterized by a high amount of native autochthonous North African ancestry. In contrast, the self identified Arab groups had higher Middle Eastern input than the populations in Algeria or Morocco, with some Arab tribes being made-up of assimilated Berbers, or admixed with them.
🔗Berbers and Arabs: Tracing the genetic diversity and history of Southern Tunisia through genome wide analysis - Anagnostou - 2020 - American Journal of Physical Anthropology - Wiley Online Library
*credit:🔗Map of Genetic Admixture of Tunisians from Different Regions by Reddit User CarthageBrigadier
In 2020, in a stock overview of the knowledge obtained from the genetic history of Algerians in relation to North African populations, recorded that their was a strong genetic affinity and relation with Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. The autosomal markers agree with the historic data of all North Africans having a similar origin. An HLA allele analysis, indicated a genetic link between North Africans and Southern Europeans (Basques and Spaniards). The researcher said it reflects a Neolithic relationship between Iberians and Berbers. Other samples have also shown genetic distinctions between North Africans and the Middle-Eastern (Arabs, Palestinians, Lebanese and Jordaians) populations. trans-Gibraltar genes.
However, North African populations are not genetically close to the Arab populations of the Near East. It confirmed that despite the expansion of Arabs in the East and Arabization, gene flow from the Arab Peninsula and its impact on North African populations was not really significant.
🔗https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342778101_Review_on_the_genetic_history_of_Algerians_within_North_African_populations_from_the_HLA_point_of_view
According to Lucas-Sánchez, Marcel et al. (2021) despite the geneflow from the Middle-East, Europe and sub-Saharan Africa, an autochthonous genetic component that dates back to pre-Holocene times is still present in North African groups. The analysis also showed as a whole no genetic pattern of differentiation between Tamazight (i.e. Berber) and Arabs.
🔗Population history of North Africa based on modern and ancient genomes - PubMed (nih.gov)

Map Showing the Major Population Movements in Northern Africa
In 2022, Lucas-Sánchez conducted another study focused on the effects of the trans-Saharan slave trade, and characterizing the Sub-Saharan component in North African populations today. They discovered the bulk of admixture was acquired in recent historical times, with one from the 13-14th century CE from a West African source, and another from the 17th century CE from an Eastern African source. Both the time and location were said to coincide with the peak of Trans-Saharan Slave-Trade activity between Western African empires and North African powers. The simulation results reject a major contribution from any older trans-Saharan migrations.
🔗The genomic analysis of current-day North African populations reveals the existence of trans-Saharan migrations with different origins and dates - PubMed (nih.gov)
Pfennig, Aaron et al. (2023), confirmed many previous results, that show many studies are revealing a lack of differentiation between Maghrebi Arabs and Berbers (Imazighen), and that most Arab and Imazighen populations are weakly genetically differentiated.
🔗https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10118306/
A 2024, restated many previous findings such as Amazigh having a high Taforalt component, with this Epipaleolithic ancestry showing genetic continuity that is present in all present North African populations. There were subsequently Neolithic movements from the Middle East and Europe, that diluted the autochthonous Paleolithic component. They also found that there was some differentiation between the Arabs and Amazigh, with the former having a higher Middle-Eastern component. 
🔗https://genomebiology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13059-024-03341-4

Other Relevant Data!
*credit: 🔗Morocco Autosomal & Y-DNA by Twitter User @NekorMauri

Archive Last Edited: 28/10/2024

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