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 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 Les interprètes japonais en Algérie

2002 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-93
Author(s):  
Michihiro Nohara
Keyword(s):  
North Africa ◽  
North African ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Heavy Industry ◽  
Long Term Stability ◽  
The Sixties ◽  
Short And Long Term ◽  
Japanese Companies ◽  
North African Countries

Summary Since the end of the sixties, numerous Japanese contractors have been active in heavy industry work in Algeria and other North African countries. This has opened a large market for Japanese-French liaison interpreters. Such interpreters are hired by specialized agencies in Europe and Japan. With one or two exceptions, they are Japanese nationals. Most of them are young and have no previous experience as interpreters. Neither are they properly briefed before they are sent to the site, but they become proficient in their work with experience. Their tasks range from interpreting at various levels to translation and even participation in negotiations and report drafting. Material working conditions are comparatively good, but the duration of contracts is short and long-term stability of employment is uncertain. The precariousness of interpreting jobs and the temporary nature of the Japanese companies' contracting work in North Africa make this activity a provisional and highly volatile one. Japanese liaison interpreters in North Africa do not feel like professional interpreters and do not aspire to become professionals.

Ismaili and Fatimid North Africa

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine D. Baker
Keyword(s):  
North Africa ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean Region ◽  
North African ◽  
12Th Century ◽  
Missionary Movement ◽  
Imperial Capital ◽  
The Indian Ocean ◽  
The City ◽  
Modern Era

The Fatimid dynasty ruled North Africa from 909 to 1171 CE. The Fatimids identified as Isma’ili Shi’is and they declared a Shi’i countercaliphate in Qayrawan to rival the Sunni ‘Abbasids in Baghdad. Their dynasty rose to power from an underground missionary movement, but eventually conquered most of North Africa, the Levant, the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina, and Yemen. Their first capital was in Qayrawan, but they are best known for founding the city of Cairo as their imperial capital in 969. The Fatimids linked North African and Mediterranean trade with the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea, creating an era of unprecedented economic growth. Further, Fatimid sponsorship of Isma’ili Shi’i ritual and scholarship allowed for the development of several Isma’ili movements that have persisted into the modern era. The Fatimid era ended in the 12th century during the rise of Turkic dynasties and the influx of Crusader forces into the eastern Mediterranean region.

scholarly journals Cross-species hybridization and the origin of North African date palms

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (5) ◽  
pp. 1651-1658 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan M. Flowers ◽  
Khaled M. Hazzouri ◽  
Muriel Gros-Balthazard ◽  
Ziyi Mo ◽  
Konstantina Koutroumpa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Date Palm ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Introgressive Hybridization ◽  
Nucleotide Polymorphisms ◽  
North African ◽  
Mixed Ancestry ◽  
History Of

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is a major fruit crop of arid regions that were domesticated ∼7,000 y ago in the Near or Middle East. This species is cultivated widely in the Middle East and North Africa, and previous population genetic studies have shown genetic differentiation between these regions. We investigated the evolutionary history of P. dactylifera and its wild relatives by resequencing the genomes of date palm varieties and five of its closest relatives. Our results indicate that the North African population has mixed ancestry with components from Middle Eastern P. dactylifera and Phoenix theophrasti, a wild relative endemic to the Eastern Mediterranean. Introgressive hybridization is supported by tests of admixture, reduced subdivision between North African date palm and P. theophrasti, sharing of haplotypes in introgressed regions, and a population model that incorporates gene flow between these populations. Analysis of ancestry proportions indicates that as much as 18% of the genome of North African varieties can be traced to P. theophrasti and a large percentage of loci in this population are segregating for single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that are fixed in P. theophrasti and absent from date palm in the Middle East. We present a survey of Phoenix remains in the archaeobotanical record which supports a late arrival of date palm to North Africa. Our results suggest that hybridization with P. theophrasti was of central importance in the diversification history of the cultivated date palm.

China’s Policy in North African and Eastern Mediterranean Countries

2018 ◽  
pp. 95-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatiana Deych
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
North African ◽  
African Countries ◽  
The North ◽  
Mediterranean Countries ◽  
China’S Foreign Policy ◽  
Internal Affairs

The object of this paper is North Africa and Mediterranean. The subject of research is China’s policy towards North African countries during “Arab spring” and at the present historical stage. This article is devoted to the role of the North African and Mediterranean countries in contemporary China’s foreign policy and in new Chinese initiative “One Belt–One Road”(BRI). The methodological basis of research is comparative political approach. The fundamental China’s foreign policy principle is non – interference in internal affairs of other countries. The study shows, that “Arab awakening” has become a test for Beijings’ traditional commitment to this principle, composing it by measures for protection of Chinese citizens, business and financial investments abroad. At the same time, Beijing drew conclusions from the Libyan events. Together with Russia it has prevented the escalating of Syrian conflict under the Libyan scenario. In Beijing foreign policy strategy the new initiative BRI takes the leading place. The aim of this research is to show that the North African and Mediterranean countries, located at the crossroads of the land and sea Silk roads, play an important role in new Chinese project. Egypt, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia are in focus of China’s interests. The implementation of Chinese initiative envisages infrastructure projects, which should cover all expanse of the Belt. These projects include the construction of railways and highways, aviation, energy, industrial parks, construction of ports in Turkey, Greece, Israel and other coastal countries. The author makes the conclusion: although China adheres to doctrine of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries and avoids participation in armed confrontation, it aspires to play the role of influential player in North Africa and Mediterranean and to strengthen its economic, political and military influence in this important region.

Abrupt change in North African hydroclimate and landscape evolution 3.2 million years ago

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharine Grant ◽  
Udara Amarathunga ◽  
Jessica Amies ◽  
Pengxiang Hu ◽  
Yao Qian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
North African ◽  
Hominin Evolution ◽  
Carbon Burial ◽  
Run Off ◽  
Landscape Response ◽  
Major Increase ◽  
And Migration

Abstract Dark organic-rich layers (sapropels) have accumulated in Mediterranean sediments since the Miocene due to deep-sea dysoxia and enhanced carbon burial at times of intensified North African run-off during ‘Green’ Sahara Periods (GSPs). The existence of orbital precession-dominated Saharan aridity/humidity cycles is well known, but lack of long-term, high-resolution records hinders understanding of their precise relationships with environmental and hominin evolution. Here we present continuous, high-resolution geochemical and environmental magnetic records for the Eastern Mediterranean that span the past 5.2 million years, which reveal that organic burial in sapropels intensified 3.2 Myr ago. We deduce that fluvial terrigenous sediment inputs during GSPs doubled abruptly at this time, whereas monsoon run-off intensity remained relatively constant. We attribute the increase in sediment mobilisation to an abrupt non-linear North African landscape response associated with a major increase in arid:humid contrasts between GSPs and intervening dry periods. This likely limited hominin (and other animal) inhabitation of, and migration through, the Sahara region to GSPs only.

scholarly journals The Saharo-Canarian Circle: The forgotten Prehistory of Euro African Atlantic façade and its lack of eastern demic diffusion evidences

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (16) ◽  
pp. 586-600
Author(s):  
Antonio Arnaiz-Villena ◽  
Marcial Medina ◽  
Valentín Ruíz-del-Valle ◽  
José Palacio-Gruber ◽  
Adrian Lopez-Nares ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Canary Islands ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Genetic Relatedness ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Sahara Desert ◽  
North African ◽  
Mediterranean Europe ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
African Atlantic ◽  
Demic Diffusion

Canarians, North Africans and Iberians show a close genetic relatedness. Greeks have a Sub-Saharan gene input according to HLA and other autosomic markers. Also, there is a genetic kinship between both Atlantic Euro Africans and North African/Arabic people. This is concordant with a drying humid Sahara Desert, which may have occurred about 6,000 years BC, and the subsequent northwards emigration of Saharan people may have also happened in Pharaonic times. This genetic input into Atlantic and Mediterranean Europe/Africa is also supported with Lineal Megalithic Scripts in Canary Islands (as well as in Iberia) together with simple Iberian semi-syllabary rock inscriptions both at Canary Islands and Ti-m Missaou (Algeria, Central southern Sahara). Lineal African/European scripts are found in certain languages scripts like Berber/Tuareg, Iberian, Runes, Etruscan, Bulgarian (Sitovo and Gradeshnitza, 6,000 years BP), Italian Old Scripts (Lepontic, Venetic, Raetic), Minoan Lineal A and Vinca scripts (Romania, Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria, about 4,000 years BP). The possibility that Megalithic Lineal Scripts have given rise to these languages lineal writing is feasible because admixture of languages rock scripts and Megalithic Lineal Scripts have been found. Thus, resistance of Canarian aborigines (Guanches) to Carthage, Rome and Arabs left a bulk of Canarian-Saharan information which is used to study both Saharan and Canarian Prehistory, and also Atlantic and Mediterranean beginning of European and other civilizations: this preserved prehistoric inheritance may be named the “Saharo-Canarian Circle” of prehistoric knowledge. Also, linguistics-epigraphy, physical anthropology, archaeology, and domesticated cattle shows a close North Africa-Iberia Mesolithic/Neolithic relationship and demonstrates that the demic diffusion model does not exist in Iberia. Also, Tassili Sahara paintings of domesticated cattle appear 1,000 years before those agricultural practices started at Middle East. Finally, it is also inferred that circum-Mediterranean contacts during thousand years between ice and desert constructed Mediterranean cultures from Canary Islands to Ancient Great Persia and this is the origin of Classical Mediterranean cultures that was later exclusively attributed to Rome and Greece.

scholarly journals Modulation of Saharan dust export by the North African dipole

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (13) ◽  
pp. 7471-7486 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Rodríguez ◽  
E. Cuevas ◽  
J. M. Prospero ◽  
A. Alastuey ◽  
X. Querol ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Interannual Variability ◽  
North Africa ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Saharan Dust ◽  
North African ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
The Tropics

Abstract. We have studied the relationship between the long-term interannual variability in large-scale meteorology in western North Africa – the largest and most active dust source worldwide – and Saharan dust export in summer, when enhanced dust mobilization in the hyper-arid Sahara results in maximum dust impacts throughout the North Atlantic. We address this issue by analyzing 28 years (1987–2014) of summer averaged dust concentrations at the high-altitude Izaña observatory (~ 2400 m a.s.l.) on Tenerife, and satellite and meteorological reanalysis data. The summer meteorological scenario in North Africa (aloft 850 hPa) is characterized by a high over the the subtropical Sahara and a low over the tropics linked to the monsoon. We measured the variability of this high–low dipole-like pattern in terms of the North African dipole intensity (NAFDI): the difference of geopotential height anomalies averaged over the subtropics (30–32° N, Morocco) and the tropics (10–13° N, Bamako region) close to the Atlantic coast (at 5–8° W). We focused on the 700 hPa standard level due to dust export off the coast of North Africa tending to occur between 1 and 5 km a.s.l. Variability in the NAFDI is associated with displacements of the North African anticyclone over the Sahara and this has implications for wind and dust export. The correlations we found between the 1987–2014 summer mean of NAFDI with dust at Izaña, satellite dust observations and meteorological re-analysis data indicate that increases in the NAFDI (i) result in higher wind speeds at the north of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone that are associated with enhanced dust export over the subtropical North Atlantic, (ii) influence the long-term variability of the size distribution of exported dust particles (increasing the load of coarse dust) and (iii) are associated with enhanced rains in the tropical and northern shifts of the tropical rain band that may affect the southern Sahel. Interannual variability in NAFDI is also connected to spatial distribution of dust over the North Atlantic; high NAFDI summers are associated with major dust export (linked to winds) in the subtropics and minor dust loads in the tropics (linked to higher rainfall), and vice versa. The evolution of the summer NAFDI values since 1950 to the present day shows connections to climatic variability (through the Sahelian drought, ENSO (El Niño–Southern Oscillation) and winds) that have implications for dust export paths. Efforts to anticipate how dust export may evolve in future decades will require a better understanding of how the large-scale meteorological systems represented by the NAFD will evolve.

scholarly journals Insights into the Middle Eastern paternal genetic pool in Tunisia: high prevalence of T-M70 haplogroup in an Arab population

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarra Elkamel ◽  
Sofia L. Marques ◽  
Luis Alvarez ◽  
Veronica Gomes ◽  
Sami Boussetta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Africa ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
North African ◽  
Arab Population ◽  
The North ◽  
High Prevalence ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Genetic Pool ◽  
Spread Of Agriculture ◽  
Two Populations

AbstractTo obtain refreshed insights into the paternal lineages of Tunisian populations, Y-chromosome diversity was assessed in two populations belonging to an Arab genealogical lineage, Kairouan and Wesletia, as well as in four Tunisian Andalusian populations, Testour, Slouguia, Qalaat-El-Andalous and El Alia. The Arabs from Kairouan revealed 73.47% of E-M81 and close affinities with Berber groups, indicating they are likely arabized Berbers, clearly differentiated from the Arabs from Wesletia, who harbored the highest frequency (71.8%) of the Middle Eastern component ever observed in North Africa. In the Tunisian Andalusians, the North African component largely prevailed, followed by the Middle Eastern contribution. Global comparative analysis highlighted the heterogeneity of Tunisian populations, among which, as a whole, dominated a set of lineages ascribed to be of autochthonous Berber origin (71.67%), beside a component of essentially Middle Eastern extraction (18.35%), and signatures of Sub-Saharan (5.2%), European (3.45%) and Asiatic (1.33%) contributions. The remarkable frequency of T-M70 in Wesletia (17.4%) prompted to refine its phylogeographic analysis, allowing to confirm its Middle Eastern origin, though signs of local evolution in Northern Africa were also detected. Evidence was clear on the ancient introduction of T lineages into the region, probably since Neolithic times associated to spread of agriculture.

Aeolian Processes and Landforms

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Goudie
Keyword(s):  
North Africa ◽  
Wind Erosion ◽  
Arid Zone ◽  
Sand Transport ◽  
North African ◽  
Aeolian Processes ◽  
The North ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
The Mediterranean

Certain parts of the Mediterranean lands are drylands— notably south-east Spain, the North African littoral, and parts of the Levant. This means that there is potential for aeolian processes to operate locally, especially where the vegetation cover has been depleted by human activities. Although water erosion is probably the most pervasive cause of land degradation in the Mediterranean lands (Chapter 20), susceptible soils in the drier portions of the region have been subject to accelerated wind erosion. This forms part of the phenomenon of desertification. Deforestation, high stocking levels of domestic animals, cultivation, and miscellaneous recreational pressures, have all helped to create this problem in North Africa (Sghaier and Seiwert 1993), the Levant (Massri et al. 2002) and in the semi-arid lands of Spain (Lopez et al. 2001). However, the GLASOD (Global Assessment of Soil Degradation) survey of wind erosion severity (Middleton and Thomas 1997: 32–3) suggests that at present, with the exception of parts of North Africa, the Levant, and Sicily, wind erosion severity is generally low in the Mediterranean region. In addition, the Mediterranean lands are in close proximity to the world’s greatest arid zone— the Sahara-Arabian belt—and so are subject to dust incursions from winds from that region: the ‘ghibli’ of Tripolitania, the ‘chili’ of Tunisia, the ‘khamsin’ of Egypt, and the ‘sirocco’ and ‘leveche’ of southern Europe. This has important geochemical implications (Kocak et al. 2004a, b). Knowledge of the dynamics of aeolian dust and sand transport comes from two main sources. The first of these is contemporary process monitoring, including data from dust traps, climatological stations, and remote sensing. The second is the long-term sedimentary record from such environments as caves, the sea-floor, lakes, bogs, and loess deposits. There are, however, problems with gaps in the stratigraphic record, and uncertainties and limitations with respect to developing accurate geochronologies. Atmospheric dust comprised of mineral aerosol derived by deflation of desert surfaces, much of it from the Sahara (Middleton and Goudie 2001; Goudie and Middleton, 2006), is a feature of the Mediterranean basin, and it impacts upon the environment in a number of ways (Goudie and Middleton 2001).

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