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African admixture in Europe
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African admixture in Europe
African admixture in Europe refers to the presence of genetic admixture from African populations within present-day and historical European populations.
More recent African admixture, primarily by Punic, Berber and Arab admixture from North Africa, is associated with historic migrations through the Mediterranean Sea associated with the Carthaginian Empire, the Roman Empire, and the Muslim conquests of the Early Middle Ages. This admixture, though minor, is found primarily in the Iberian Peninsula (with higher levels in the West and the South), the Italian Peninsula (with higher levels in Southern Italy, Sardinia, and Sicily), Greece (with higher levels in the Aegean Islands), and Malta.
The change from hunting and gathering to agriculture during the Neolithic Revolution was a watershed in world history. The societies that first made the change to agriculture are believed to have lived in Western Asia around 10,000 BCE. Agriculture was introduced into Europe c. 7000 BCE by migrating farmers from Anatolia, known as Anatolian Neolithic Farmers in the genetics literature. These farmers either replaced or interbred with local European hunter-gather populations that had been living in Europe since the Paleolithic. Early Neolithic farmers in Anatolia and Europe were similar genetically to modern-day southern European populations. European Neolithic farmers later introduced agriculture to Northwest Africa c. 5400 BC from southwestern Europe, contributing significantly to the genetic formation of the ancient (and modern) population of North Africa. A later expansion from Europe into North Africa by the Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age Bell Beaker culture further contributed to the North African genepool.
It has been suggested that the first farmers in West Asia, descended from Natufian hunter-gatherers, reflected some North African influences or vice versa. There have been suggestions that some genetic lineages found in the Middle East arrived there during this period or earlier. The first agricultural societies in the Middle East are generally thought to have emerged from the Natufian culture between 12,000 and 10,000 BCE. The Natufians were widely semi-sedentary even before the introduction of agriculture.
In historical times, there has been a period of north African influence in southern Europe, especially in Iberia and parts of southern Italy (namely Sicily), during various Muslim conquests. The genetic effect of this period on modern European populations is the subject of discussion (see below). In more recent history, the peoples of Europe and Africa came into contact during the exploration and colonization of Africa and as a consequence of the Atlantic slave trade.
Generally, markers and lineages used to characterize African admixture are those that are believed to be specific to Africa. There are also DNA polymorphisms that are shared between populations native to Europe, West Asia, North Africa and the Horn of Africa, such as the Y-chromosomal haplogroup E1b1b and the mitochondrial haplogroup M1.
With regard to the paternal haplogroup E1b1b and maternal haplogroup M1, derivatives of these clades have been observed in prehistoric human fossils excavated at the Ifri n'Amr or Moussa site in Morocco, which have been radiocarbon-dated to the Early Neolithic period (ca. 5,000 BC). Ancient DNA analysis of these specimens indicates that they carried paternal haplotypes related to the E1b1b1b1a (E-M81) subclade and the maternal haplogroups U6a and M1, all of which are frequent among present-day communities in the Maghreb. These ancient individuals also bore an autochthonous Maghrebi genomic component that peaks among modern Berbers, indicating that they were ancestral to populations in the area. Additionally, fossils excavated at the Kelif el Boroud site near Rabat, were found to carry the broadly-distributed paternal haplogroup T-M184 as well as the maternal haplogroups K1, T2 and X2, the latter of which were common mtDNA lineages in Neolithic Europe and Anatolia. These ancient individuals likewise bore the Berber-associated Maghrebi genomic component, as well as Early European Farmer ancestry. This altogether indicates that the Late Neolithic Kelif el Boroud inhabitants were ancestral to contemporary populations in the area, but also experienced substantial gene flow from Europe.
Other lineages that are now found in Africa and Europe may have a common origin in Asia (e.g. Y haplogroups R1, and some paternal haplogroup T and U subclades). One subclade of haplogroup U, namely U6a1, is known to have expanded from northern and eastern Africa back into Europe even though haplogroup U6 is considered to have originated in the Middle East. Other lineages are known to have moved from Europe directly into Africa, for example mitochondrial haplogroups H1 and H3. Such bidirectional migrations between Africa and Eurasia complicate the task of defining admixture.
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African admixture in Europe
African admixture in Europe refers to the presence of genetic admixture from African populations within present-day and historical European populations.
More recent African admixture, primarily by Punic, Berber and Arab admixture from North Africa, is associated with historic migrations through the Mediterranean Sea associated with the Carthaginian Empire, the Roman Empire, and the Muslim conquests of the Early Middle Ages. This admixture, though minor, is found primarily in the Iberian Peninsula (with higher levels in the West and the South), the Italian Peninsula (with higher levels in Southern Italy, Sardinia, and Sicily), Greece (with higher levels in the Aegean Islands), and Malta.
The change from hunting and gathering to agriculture during the Neolithic Revolution was a watershed in world history. The societies that first made the change to agriculture are believed to have lived in Western Asia around 10,000 BCE. Agriculture was introduced into Europe c. 7000 BCE by migrating farmers from Anatolia, known as Anatolian Neolithic Farmers in the genetics literature. These farmers either replaced or interbred with local European hunter-gather populations that had been living in Europe since the Paleolithic. Early Neolithic farmers in Anatolia and Europe were similar genetically to modern-day southern European populations. European Neolithic farmers later introduced agriculture to Northwest Africa c. 5400 BC from southwestern Europe, contributing significantly to the genetic formation of the ancient (and modern) population of North Africa. A later expansion from Europe into North Africa by the Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age Bell Beaker culture further contributed to the North African genepool.
It has been suggested that the first farmers in West Asia, descended from Natufian hunter-gatherers, reflected some North African influences or vice versa. There have been suggestions that some genetic lineages found in the Middle East arrived there during this period or earlier. The first agricultural societies in the Middle East are generally thought to have emerged from the Natufian culture between 12,000 and 10,000 BCE. The Natufians were widely semi-sedentary even before the introduction of agriculture.
In historical times, there has been a period of north African influence in southern Europe, especially in Iberia and parts of southern Italy (namely Sicily), during various Muslim conquests. The genetic effect of this period on modern European populations is the subject of discussion (see below). In more recent history, the peoples of Europe and Africa came into contact during the exploration and colonization of Africa and as a consequence of the Atlantic slave trade.
Generally, markers and lineages used to characterize African admixture are those that are believed to be specific to Africa. There are also DNA polymorphisms that are shared between populations native to Europe, West Asia, North Africa and the Horn of Africa, such as the Y-chromosomal haplogroup E1b1b and the mitochondrial haplogroup M1.
With regard to the paternal haplogroup E1b1b and maternal haplogroup M1, derivatives of these clades have been observed in prehistoric human fossils excavated at the Ifri n'Amr or Moussa site in Morocco, which have been radiocarbon-dated to the Early Neolithic period (ca. 5,000 BC). Ancient DNA analysis of these specimens indicates that they carried paternal haplotypes related to the E1b1b1b1a (E-M81) subclade and the maternal haplogroups U6a and M1, all of which are frequent among present-day communities in the Maghreb. These ancient individuals also bore an autochthonous Maghrebi genomic component that peaks among modern Berbers, indicating that they were ancestral to populations in the area. Additionally, fossils excavated at the Kelif el Boroud site near Rabat, were found to carry the broadly-distributed paternal haplogroup T-M184 as well as the maternal haplogroups K1, T2 and X2, the latter of which were common mtDNA lineages in Neolithic Europe and Anatolia. These ancient individuals likewise bore the Berber-associated Maghrebi genomic component, as well as Early European Farmer ancestry. This altogether indicates that the Late Neolithic Kelif el Boroud inhabitants were ancestral to contemporary populations in the area, but also experienced substantial gene flow from Europe.
Other lineages that are now found in Africa and Europe may have a common origin in Asia (e.g. Y haplogroups R1, and some paternal haplogroup T and U subclades). One subclade of haplogroup U, namely U6a1, is known to have expanded from northern and eastern Africa back into Europe even though haplogroup U6 is considered to have originated in the Middle East. Other lineages are known to have moved from Europe directly into Africa, for example mitochondrial haplogroups H1 and H3. Such bidirectional migrations between Africa and Eurasia complicate the task of defining admixture.