For at least 7,000 years, starting around 15,000 years ago, there was clear population continuity in the North African region. There was a group of Hunter-Gathers living there with no gene flow across the Mediterranean Sea. Then, a group of European Farmers came in and brought with them many innovations.
Scientists found that around 7,4000 years ago, another gene pool became present. This group consisted of European farmers who likely migrated from Anatolia and the Mediterranean to northwestern Africa. Scientists also find the earliest examples of pottery and domestic crops and animals from this time period. This leads them to believe that the European farmers brought these new technologies and introduced them to the native population (Uppsala University, 2023).
These introductions had huge ramifications for North African society. For example, the predominant form of gathering food turned from foraging to agriculture.
Interestingly at the site Ifri n’Amr o’Moussa (IAM) located in central Morocco there is no genetic trace of European Farmers coming into the region. Yet, they still adopted things from the European Farmers. For example, researchers have found evidence of Cardial-like ceramics and domestic cereals. This suggests that while there was a diffusion of some cultural aspects, the genetic makeup of the local populations remained relatively stable (Simões, 2023).
By piecing together genetics and archeology, these researchers have revealed a key component in the development of humans in the North African region.
Simões, L.G., Günther, T., Martínez-Sánchez, R.M. et al. Northwest African Neolithic initiated by migrants from Iberia and Levant. Nature 618, 550–556 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06166-6
Uppsala University. (2023, June 7). Ancient genomes show that the farming lifestyle in northwestern Africa was ignited by oversea-migrants from Iberia 7,400 years ago. ScienceDaily. Retrieved July 24, 2023 from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/06/230607215828.htm
Evolutionary Anthropology 