Ancient DNA reveals Maghreb communities preserved their culture and genes, even in a time of human migration

The Neolithic period began in southwest Asia around 12,000 years ago. It marked a major shift in human history as societies transitioned from hunting and gathering to farming. This sparked migrations across Europe and dramatically reshaped the continent’s gene pool.

For a long time, North Africa was seen as a passive participant in this transformation. The dominant narrative suggested that farming economies never fully took root there.

Some studies proposed that North African communities actively resisted agriculture, except perhaps in the Nile Delta and the western Maghreb (modern-day Morocco). They continued to rely on land snails, wild plants, and hunting for survival. Only later, they also began herding domesticated sheep, goats, and cattle, introduced from southwest Asia.

Genetic studies have only recently tested this reconstruction in North Africa. This has never been done in the eastern Maghreb (modern-day Tunisia and eastern Algeria) – until now.

As an Africanist archaeologist, I specialise in the study of ancient societies across Mediterranean Africa and the Sahara. My focus is on how humans adapted to their environments and the rise of food production in these regions. I recently conducted research in the eastern Maghreb alongside an international team of archaeologists, geneticists, and physical anthropologists to trace ancient population movements.

Our new study has just been published in Nature. We analysed the ancient genomes (complete DNA sequences) of nine individuals who lived in the eastern Maghreb between 15,000 and 6,000 years ago.

This may seem like a small sample. But, in the field of ancient DNA research, even a few well-preserved genomes can provide significant insights. They serve as reference points for tracing genetic lineages and identifying ancestral connections.

By adding genetic evidence to broader archaeological findings, we reconstructed patterns of population continuity, interaction and change over thousands of years.

Our results were striking. It’s clear from these genomes that some influence from farmers did reach north Africa from across the Mediterranean. But much of the genetic makeup of the eastern Maghreb populations remained rooted in their ancient foraging heritage.

This challenges the long-held narrative about migration into and out of north Africa before and during the Neolithic. It deepens our understanding of the past and highlights the incredible complexity of human movement and cultural exchange.

As we continue to unravel the genetic legacy of our ancestors, studies like this remind us of the complexity of human history. They show that the history of agriculture in the Mediterranean was not merely one of population replacement. Rather, it was a tale of cultural exchange, adaptation and continuity.

And researching these ancient human movements is more than just a matter of understanding history. It also provides insights into the patterns of migration and adaptation that can help us understand similar processes today.

Extraction and analysis

We worked with ancient genomes extracted from human skeletal remains housed in museum or heritage institution collections. They came from excavations at four sites Afalou Bou Rhummel, Djebba, Doukanet el Khoutifa and SHM-1 (Hergla), all in the eastern Maghreb.

We chose the specimens because they were well-preserved, which is not always the case with ancient DNA.

The analysis found that some of the sampled individuals possessed European farmer ancestry around 7,000 years ago. Europeans contributed some genes to the region – but no more than 20% per individual.

This is a modest genetic influence compared to ancient western Maghreb populations where, at some sites, European farmer ancestry can reach as high as 80%.

Our findings suggest that food-producing economies were introduced to the eastern Maghreb not by a large-scale replacement of the population (as seen in Europe) but more gradually. Change happened through sporadic migrations, mixing of cultures, and the spread of knowledge.

Across sea and land

One of the most intriguing discoveries was the genetic trace of European hunter-gatherers found in one individual from Djebba, Tunisia, dating to around 8,000 years ago. This suggests that early European and north African populations could interact via seafaring routes across the Strait of Sicily.

Researchers have long known that cultural exchange took place across the Mediterranean. We see this from the spread of technologies such as the so-called pressure technique – a method of shaping stone tools by carefully applying force with a pointed implement rather than striking the stone directly.

The discovery in Tunisia of obsidian (volcano glass) from Pantelleria, a small island in the Strait of Sicily, strengthens the link between the Mediterranean’s northern and southern shores.

Prehistoric wooden artefacts are seldom preserved over time. This may explain the absence of boat remains from this period in North Africa. However, dugout canoes from similar periods found in central Italy (Bracciano Lake) suggest that seafaring skills were well established around the Mediterranean. While there is no direct evidence linking these specific canoes to connections between Europe and North Africa, they support the idea that navigation was within the technological capabilities of the time.

Our study is the first time the connections suggested by this existing evidence have been substantiated genetically.

Read more: Discovery of 5,000-year-old farming society in Morocco fills a major gap in history – north-west Africa was a central player in trade and culture

Another exciting aspect of our study is the identification of early Levantine (modern southwest Asia)-related ancestry in the eastern Maghreb. This was detected in human remains dated to around 6,800 years ago. It’s a genetic signature that postdates the arrival of European farmer ancestry by several centuries. It likely reflects the movement of people associated with early pastoralism, who introduced domesticated animals, such as sheep and goats, to the region.

Backing up archaeological evidence

It is especially rewarding to see the genetic evidence aligning with the archaeological record. This underscores the value of multidisciplinary research in uncovering past human dynamics.

What emerges overall is a region of strong genetic and cultural resilience, consistent with archaeological evidence.

Giulio Lucarini receives funding for this study from the National Research Council of Italy (CNR) and ISMEO – International Association for Mediterranean and Oriental Studies, Italy. He is affiliated with the National Research Council of Italy, Institute of Heritage Science (CNR-ISPC). This study resulted from a collaboration between the following institutions: Harvard University, USA; the Max Planck Institute, Germany; the National Research Council of Italy (CNR); the Institut National du Patrimoine (INP), Tunisia; the Centre National de Recherche Préhistorique, Anthropologique et Historique (CNRPAH), Algeria; the Institut de Paléontologie Humaine (IPH), France; the University of Vienna, Austria; Sapienza University of Rome, Italy; and ISMEO – International Association for Mediterranean and Oriental Studies, Italy.