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The domestication of animals, cultivation of plants, and pottery played major roles in the transition of ancient populations from hunter-gatherers to farming societies. A group of researchers has focused on this shift in North Africa, providing new insights into discoveries in Morocco.
In their study, «High continuity of forager ancestry in the Neolithic period of the eastern Maghreb», published in Nature, they explore the complexities of this transition, particularly in Algeria and Tunisia, contributing to a broader understanding of the Neolithic era in the region.
To investigate these developments, the researchers analyzed DNA, which revealed the complexities of settlement in the region and the locals’ adoption of farming culture. By sequencing the DNA of nine individuals from the late Stone Age to the Neolithic, they found evidence of «long-range connections and population transformations» associated with the spread of food-producing economies. The study highlights «European hunter-gatherer ancestry», likely reflecting movements across the Strait of Sicily to present-day Tunisia at the start of the Holocene.
The study also shows that later Neolithic populations in the eastern Maghreb retained much of their local gatherer ancestry, with smaller influences from European farmers (around 7,000 years BC) and Levantine groups (around 6,800 years BC), indicating they were less affected by external genetic influences than other Mediterranean populations.
Social Organization in North Africa
In Europe, farmers from Anatolia spread along the coast to Iberia around 7,500 years ago, absorbing 0-30% of Western European hunter-gatherer ancestry. This migration is linked to «Cardial» pottery, which is found in the western Maghreb (Morocco), along with traces of domesticated plants and animals.
Source: High continuity of forager ancestry in the Neolithic period of the eastern Maghreb
The study authors point out that while ancient DNA research in Southern Europe has provided a detailed record of demographic changes, similar research in North Africa is still limited. The first ancient DNA data from the North African Neolithic genome came from the site of Ifri n'Amr o'Moussa in Morocco, dating back around 7,000 years BC. This revealed an ancestry related to much older individuals from the late Stone Age site of Taforalt (15,000 to 14,000 years BC).
Despite this, populations descended from European farmers had a significant impact on their neighbors. For example, individuals from the site of Kaf Taht el-Ghar (7,200 years BC) near Tetouan showed about 80% ancestry linked to European farmers. Over the next millennium, Neolithic populations from the Levant, likely from early pastoral societies in Southwest Asia, contributed up to 50% of the ancestry of individuals at the site of Skhirat-Rouazi (around 6,400 years BC).
These three components—Maghreb, European, and Levantine—also influenced populations at the late Neolithic site of Kehf el Baroud (around 5,700 years BC) near Rabat, Morocco. Further east, archaeological evidence shows a distinct cultural tradition from the early Holocene, blending hunting and gathering with the use of wild plants and mollusks.
New Insights into North African Evolution
The researchers also analyzed genomic data from three sites in present-day Tunisia and one in Algeria (dating back 15,000 to 11,000 years BC), establishing links to findings in Morocco. While further analysis is needed to fully understand these developments, the data is significant in complementing recent archaeological discoveries in Morocco.
Source: «High continuity of forager ancestry in the Neolithic period of the eastern Maghreb»
In Morocco, researchers have uncovered a previously unknown agricultural society that existed between 3400 and 2900 BC. This discovery represents the first agricultural complex in Africa outside the Nile corridor, suggesting that North Africa played an important role during the Neolithic period.
At Oued Beht, archaeologists found pottery, stone tools, and pits, indicating a community engaged in broader Mediterranean developments. In the northeast of Morocco, the Kach Kouch site, near Oued Laou, offers valuable insights into the ancient history of the Maghreb. Excavations at this site reveal what may be the region’s first protohistoric village, dating from 2200 to 2000 BC, long before the arrival of the Phoenicians.
