scholarly journals Ancient genomes from North Africa evidence prehistoric migrations to the Maghreb from both the Levant and Europe

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (26) ◽  
pp. 6774-6779 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosa Fregel ◽  
Fernando L. Méndez ◽  
Youssef Bokbot ◽  
Dimas Martín-Socas ◽  
María D. Camalich-Massieu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Africa ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Early Neolithic ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
Adoption Of Innovations ◽  
Neolithic Culture ◽  
Southern Iberia ◽  
Genetic Continuity ◽  
Genetic Pool

The extent to which prehistoric migrations of farmers influenced the genetic pool of western North Africans remains unclear. Archaeological evidence suggests that 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 an analysis of individuals’ genome sequences from Early and Late Neolithic sites in Morocco and from Early Neolithic individuals from southern Iberia. 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. This scenario is consistent with Early Neolithic traditions in North Africa deriving from Epipaleolithic communities that adopted certain agricultural techniques from neighboring populations. Among Eurasian ancient populations, Early Neolithic Moroccans are distantly related to Levantine Natufian hunter-gatherers (∼9,000 BCE) and Pre-Pottery Neolithic farmers (∼6,500 BCE). Late Neolithic (∼3,000 BCE) Moroccans, in contrast, share an Iberian component, supporting theories of trans-Gibraltar gene flow and indicating that Neolithization of North Africa involved both the movement of ideas and people. Lastly, 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 between Iberian and North African Neolithic traditions further reinforce the model of an Iberian migration into the Maghreb.

scholarly journals Ancient genomes from North Africa evidence prehistoric migrations to the Maghreb from both the Levant and Europe

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosa Fregel ◽  
Fernando L. Méndez ◽  
Youssef Bokbot ◽  
Dimas Martín-Socas ◽  
María D. Camalich-Massieu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Africa ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
North African ◽  
Early Neolithic ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Neolithic Culture ◽  
Early Arrival ◽  
Genetic Pool ◽  
Demic Diffusion

ABSTRACTThe 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.

scholarly journals Effect of population structure and migration when investigating genetic continuity using ancient DNA

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
NM Silva ◽  
S Kreutzer ◽  
C Papageorgopoulou ◽  
M Currat
Keyword(s):  
Population Structure ◽  
Ancient Dna ◽  
Isolated Populations ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
History Of ◽  
Genetic Continuity ◽  
Population Continuity ◽  
Local Hunter ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Genetic Pool

AbstractRecent advances in sequencing techniques provide means to access direct genetic snapshots from the past with ancient DNA data (aDNA) from diverse periods of human prehistory. Comparing samples taken in the same region but at different time periods may indicate if there is continuity in the peopling history of that area or if a large genetic input, such as an immigration wave, has occurred. Here we propose a new modeling approach for investigating population continuity using aDNA, including two fundamental elements in human evolution that were absent from previous methods: population structure and migration. The method also considers the extensive temporal and geographic heterogeneity commonly found in aDNA datasets. We compare our spatially-explicit approach to the previous non-spatial method and show that it is more conservative and thus suitable for testing population continuity, especially when small, isolated populations, such as prehistoric ones, are considered. Moreover, our approach also allows investigating partial population continuity and we apply it to a real dataset of ancient mitochondrial DNA. We estimate that 91% of the current genetic pool in central Europe entered the area with immigrant Neolithic farmers, but a genetic contribution of local hunter-gatherers as large as 83% cannot be entirely ruled out.

scholarly journals The genomic history of the Iberian Peninsula over the past 8000 years

Science ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 363 (6432) ◽  
pp. 1230-1234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iñigo Olalde ◽  
Swapan Mallick ◽  
Nick Patterson ◽  
Nadin Rohland ◽  
Vanessa Villalba-Mouco ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Iberian Peninsula ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
Y Chromosomes ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Genome Wide Data ◽  
History Of ◽  
Genetic Substructure

We assembled genome-wide data from 271 ancient Iberians, of whom 176 are from the largely unsampled period after 2000 BCE, thereby providing a high-resolution time transect of the Iberian Peninsula. We document high genetic substructure between northwestern and southeastern hunter-gatherers before the spread of farming. We reveal sporadic contacts between Iberia and North Africa by ~2500 BCE and, by ~2000 BCE, the replacement of 40% of Iberia’s ancestry and nearly 100% of its Y-chromosomes by people with Steppe ancestry. We show that, in the Iron Age, Steppe ancestry had spread not only into Indo-European–speaking regions but also into non-Indo-European–speaking ones, and we reveal that present-day Basques are best described as a typical Iron Age population without the admixture events that later affected the rest of Iberia. Additionally, we document how, beginning at least in the Roman period, the ancestry of the peninsula was transformed by gene flow from North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean.

scholarly journals The ratio of the Neolithic and Eneolithic complexes of the forest-steppe Volga region according to radiocarbon dating

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-239
Author(s):  
Anatoly Vladimirovich Somov ◽  
Anton Aleksandrovich Shalapinin
Keyword(s):  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Volga Region ◽  
Forest Steppe ◽  
Internal Edge ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Neolithic Culture ◽  
Genetic Continuity ◽  
The Absolute

The following paper provides a database of radiocarbon dating, which was obtained from the Srednevolzhskaya archaeological culture of the developed and late Neolithic, as well as on the Eneolithic materials of the forest-steppe Volga region. The key issue is the chronological ratio of the melon complexes, which is considered through the construction of graphs of the sums of calibrated radiocarbon dates. Verification of previously obtained definitions was carried out with the ratio of the absolute chronology of adjacent regions. As a result of definitions study for C14, the range of the Srednevolzhskaya Neolithic culture and the Eneolithic complexes coexistence was revealed, which begins with 5050 BC with a probability of 68,2% or 5250 BC with a probability of 95,4% and ends with 3900 BC (68,2%) or 4000 BC (95,4%). The results of radiocarbon dating confirm the genetic continuity between the Neolithic and Eneolithic complexes of the forest-steppe Volga region. In the light of data on the absolute chronology, the assumption of continuity between the Neolithic and Eneolithic can be extended to the basin of the Sok River, where there is a closure of a chronological range of comb Neolithic complexes and aneolithic materials of the Chekalinskiy type. The chronological interval of the late Neolithic ceramics partially coincides with the time of the existence of Tokskiy materials, as well as with the Gundorovskiy type and with an internal edge ceramics.

scholarly journals Dwellings of the Elshan Early Neolithic culture

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 189-193
Author(s):  
Konstantin M. Andreev
Keyword(s):  
Life Support ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Systematic Change ◽  
Forest Steppe ◽  
Early Neolithic ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Neolithic Culture ◽  
Short Time ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Late Stages

Dwelling is the most important source, revealing the details of social structure, economy, technical traditions and is of key importance for understanding society. Only a limited number of dwelling complexes which can be reliably interpreted as early Neolithic and classified as the Elshan culture have been identified. Moreover, the cultural and chronological attribution of some interpreted as early Neolithic dwellings, in our opinion, is not sufficiently reasoned. In this paper data on all Elshan residential buildings is combined and a brief interpretation is given, as well as some of the previously mentioned provisions are disclosed in more detail. To the early Neolithic in the forest-steppe Volga region, with a high degree of probability, only dwellings identified on the sites of Vyunovo ozero I, Imerka VII and Utyuzh I, with certain reservations, the dwelling of the Lugovoe III site, with the same reservations, the residential structure investigated at the Lebyazhinka IV site, can be classified with a high probability. Most likely, it belongs to the developed and late Neolithic of the region. In general, the dwellings of the Elshan culture were light frame structures, slightly deepened into the mainland, such as a hut, without a visible system in the location of pillar holes. Probably, but not doubtfully, the area of residential buildings of the Elshan culture increased from early to late stages of its development. In connection with the specific life support model of the Elshan population, which implied a systematic change of place of residence, they functioned for a short time. Judging by the available data, the use of a limited number of dishes (13 vessels) is associated with a period of Elshan population residence in one place, and, therefore, settlements with relatively large collections of ceramics were most likely visited many times by the Neolithic population.

Social organization in the Orcadian Neolithic: identification of elite domestic structures and settlements through analysis of excavation data

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
David MacInnes
Keyword(s):  
Social Organization ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Social Hierarchy ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Early Neolithic ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Qualitative Evidence ◽  
Methods Of Analysis ◽  
The Subject

The nature of social organization during the Orcadian Neolithic has been the subject of discussion for several decades with much of the debate focused on answering an insightful question posed by Colin Renfrew in 1979. He asked, how was society organised to construct the larger, innovative monuments of the Orcadian Late Neolithic that were centralised in the western Mainland? There are many possible answers to the question but little evidence pointing to a probable solution, so the discussion has continued for many years. This paper takes a new approach by asking a different question: what can be learned about Orcadian Neolithic social organization from the quantitative and qualitative evidence accumulating from excavated domestic structures and settlements?In an attempt to answer this question, quantitative and qualitative data about domestic structures and about settlements was collected from published reports on 15 Orcadian Neolithic excavated sites. The published data is less extensive than hoped but is sufficient to support a provisional answer: a social hierarchy probably did not develop in the Early Neolithic but almost certainly did in the Late Neolithic, for which the data is more comprehensive.While this is only one approach of several possible ways to consider the question, it is by exploring different methods of analysis and comparing them that an understanding of the Orcadian Neolithic can move forward.

scholarly journals New Book Chronicle

Antiquity ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 91 (359) ◽  
pp. 1401-1411
Author(s):  
Robert Witcher
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Technology Change ◽  
Belt And Road Initiative ◽  
The Past ◽  
Transfer Of Technology ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
New Phase

Is the era of globalisation on the wane or on the cusp of a new phase of extraordinary expansion? US president Trump's abandonment of trade agreements and the rise of protectionism coincide with China's ‘Belt and Road Initiative’, an unprecedented investment in infrastructure across Asia, Europe and North Africa to improve the connectivity of China with its markets by both land and sea. The future is therefore anyone's guess, but what about the past? There has been much discussion by archaeologists about ancient globalisations (most recently, Hodos 2017), but archaeological studies have often typically been set within the looser framework of ‘connectivity’—the interconnectedness of people and places and the movement of material culture and ideas. The books reviewed here are concerned with various aspects of connectivity, focusing on the Eastern Mediterranean and its European hinterland. All of the volumes are edited collections, each adopting a different unifying theme—the influence of Braudel, a single country as microcosm, the transfer of technology, changevstradition, and the effects of boundaries and frontiers. Do any wider insights into connectivity in the past emerge? And where might archaeological studies of connectivity go next?

scholarly journals Genome diversity in the Neolithic Globular Amphorae culture and the spread of Indo-European languages

2017 ◽  
Vol 284 (1867) ◽  
pp. 20171540 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesca Tassi ◽  
Stefania Vai ◽  
Silvia Ghirotto ◽  
Martina Lari ◽  
Alessandra Modi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Approximate Bayesian Computation ◽  
Cultural Influences ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Genome Diversity ◽  
Early Neolithic ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Demographic Models ◽  
European Languages ◽  
Complete Sequences ◽  
Approximate Bayesian

It is unclear whether Indo-European languages in Europe spread from the Pontic steppes in the late Neolithic, or from Anatolia in the Early Neolithic. Under the former hypothesis, people of the Globular Amphorae culture (GAC) would be descended from Eastern ancestors, likely representing the Yamnaya culture. However, nuclear (six individuals typed for 597 573 SNPs) and mitochondrial (11 complete sequences) DNA from the GAC appear closer to those of earlier Neolithic groups than to the DNA of all other populations related to the Pontic steppe migration. Explicit comparisons of alternative demographic models via approximate Bayesian computation confirmed this pattern. These results are not in contrast to Late Neolithic gene flow from the Pontic steppes into Central Europe. However, they add nuance to this model, showing that the eastern affinities of the GAC in the archaeological record reflect cultural influences from other groups from the East, rather than the movement of people.

scholarly journals Obsidian from the Neolithic Layers of “Grotta di San Michele Arcangelo di Saracena” (Cosenza), Italy. A Preliminary Report

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 615-630
Author(s):  
Vincenza Forgia ◽  
Robert H. Tykot ◽  
Andrea Vianello ◽  
Elena Natali
Keyword(s):  
Preliminary Report ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Early Neolithic ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Resources Management ◽  
Lithic Assemblage ◽  
Wear Analysis ◽  
Selection Of ◽  
Preliminary Selection

Abstract The paper presents the results obtained by techno-typological analysis of a lithic assemblage from the Neolithic layers of Grotta San Michele Arcangelo di Saracena (Cosenza) together with the results of micro-wear analysis obtained from a preliminary selection of obsidian artifacts with different provenances distinguished by pXRF analysis. The site provides one of the best preserved Neolithic sequences in the area, from the earliest Impressed Wares (or Impresse Arcaiche) (early sixth millennium BC) to the Spatarella pottery style (end fifth – early fourth millennium BC). Along the Neolithic sequence, it is possible to observe some major changes within lithic resources management. In particular, it is possible to notice some techno-typological breakages between the Early Neolithic and the further stages, until the second phase of the Late Neolithic, when another rupture, corresponding to the Spatarella facies, is evident.

scholarly journals SOME ASPECTS OF LOWER AND MIDDLE VOLGA POPULATION INTERACTION IN NEOLITHIC AGE

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 13-18
Author(s):  
Konstantin Mihailovich Andreev
Keyword(s):  
Forest Steppe ◽  
Early Neolithic ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Lower Volga ◽  
Neolithic Age ◽  
Middle Volga ◽  
Population Interaction

The article analyses the problem of different Neolitization origins in specified regions. In early Neolithic Age the contacts had a small coverage. Wide-ranging penetration of Lower Volga pin- scratched pottery ornamentation tradition carriers into forest steppe refers to VI and V centuries BC. It was caused by natural and climatic reasons. Up to the late Neolithic Age the influence was one-way - from south to north.

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