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

doi:10.1126/science.aar8380

Paper

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

Published May 4, 2018 · Marieke Sophia van de Loosdrecht, A. Bouzouggar, L. Humphrey

Science

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Abstract

Relationships among North Africans The general view is that Eurasians mostly descend from a single group of humans that dispersed outside of sub-Saharan Africa around 50,000 to 100,000 years ago. Present-day North Africans share a majority of their ancestry with present-day Near Easterners, but not with sub-Saharan Africans. To investigate this conundrum, Van de Loosdrecht et al. sequenced high-quality DNA obtained from bone samples of seven individuals from Taforalt in eastern Morocco dating from the Later Stone Age, about 15,000 years ago. The Taforalt individuals were found to be most closely related to populations from the Near East (Natufians), with a third of their ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. No evidence was found for introgression with western Europeans, despite attribution to the Iberomaurusian culture. None of the present-day or ancient Holocene African groups are a good proxy for the sub-Saharan genetic component. Science, this issue p. 548 Ancient human genomes suggest dynamic interactions among Pleistocene African populations. 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.

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Study Snapshot

Pleistocene North African genomes reveal a pre-agricultural connection between Africa and the Near East, with a third of their ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa, but no evidence for gene flow from Paleolithic Europeans.

PopulationOlder adults (50-71 years)

Sample size24

MethodsObservational

OutcomesBody Mass Index projections

ResultsSocial networks mitigate obesity in older groups.

Paper

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

References

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Citations

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