🇲🇦 How the Maghreb became Neolithic

Ancient DNA from Morocco shows that early farmers in northwest Africa came largely from Iberia, bringing crops and animals across the Strait of Gibraltar around 7,400–6,900 years ago.

Those earliest Neolithic people carry mostly European farmer ancestry with a local Maghrebi layer, while nearby hunter-gatherer groups (Maghrebi ancestry from Taforalt) continued alongside them.

A bit later, during the Middle Neolithic, a strong Levant-related ancestry appears and mixes with local groups, matching the spread of pastoralism.

Takeaway: Farming in northwest Africa started with Iberian migrants, then the region blended local Maghrebi and Levant-related ancestries into today’s North African genetic mosaic.

Source: Simões et al., 2023. Northwest African Neolithic initiated by migrants from Iberia and Levant.