Pleistocene North African genomes link Near Eastern and sub-Saharan African human populations

Science. 2018 May 4;360(6388):548-552. doi: 10.1126/science.aar8380. Epub 2018 Mar 15.

Abstract

North Africa is a key region for understanding human history, but the genetic history of its people is largely unknown. We present genomic data from seven 15,000-year-old modern humans, attributed to the Iberomaurusian culture, from Morocco. We find a genetic affinity with early Holocene Near Easterners, best represented by Levantine Natufians, suggesting a pre-agricultural connection between Africa and the Near East. We do not find evidence for gene flow from Paleolithic Europeans to Late Pleistocene North Africans. The Taforalt individuals derive one-third of their ancestry from sub-Saharan Africans, best approximated by a mixture of genetic components preserved in present-day West and East Africans. Thus, we provide direct evidence for genetic interactions between modern humans across Africa and Eurasia in the Pleistocene.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Africa South of the Sahara
  • Africa, Northern
  • Animals
  • Black People / genetics*
  • DNA, Ancient
  • Evolution, Molecular*
  • Female
  • Gene Flow
  • Genome, Human*
  • Genome, Mitochondrial*
  • Genome-Wide Association Study
  • Humans
  • Mice
  • Middle East
  • Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
  • White People

Substances

  • DNA, Ancient