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The extent to which prehistoric migrations of farmers influenced the genetic pool of western North Africans remains unclear. Archaeological evidence suggests that the Neolithization process may have happened through the adoption of innovations by local Epipaleolithic communities or by demic diffusion from the Eastern Mediterranean shores or Iberia. Here, we present an analysis of individuals' genome sequences from Early and Late Neolithic sites in Morocco and from Early Neolithic individuals from southern Iberia. We show that Early Neolithic Moroccans (~5,000 BCE) are similar to Later Stone Age individuals from the same region and possess an endemic element retained in present-day Maghrebi populations, confirming a long-term genetic continuity in the region. This scenario is consistent with Early Neolithic traditions in North Africa deriving from Epipaleolithic communities that adopted certain agricultural techniques from neighboring populations. Among Eurasian ancient populations, Early Neolithic Moroccans are distantly related to Levantine Natufian hunter-gatherers (~9,000 BCE) and Pre-Pottery Neolithic farmers (~6,500 BCE). Late Neolithic (~3,000 BCE) Moroccans, in contrast, share an Iberian component, supporting theories of trans-Gibraltar gene flow and indicating that Neolithization of North Africa involved both the movement of ideas and people. Lastly, the southern Iberian Early Neolithic samples share the same genetic composition as the Cardial Mediterranean Neolithic culture that reached Iberia ~5,500 BCE. The cultural and genetic similarities between Iberian and North African Neolithic traditions further reinforce the model of an Iberian migration into the Maghreb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Objectives The Canary Islands are considered one of the first places where Atlantic slave plantations with labourers of African origin were established, during the 15th century AD. In Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain), a unique cemetery dated to the 15th and 17th centuries was discovered adjacent to an ancient sugar plantation with funerary practices that could be related to enslaved people. In this article, we investigate the origin and possible birthplace of each individual buried in this cemetery, as well as the identity and social status of these people. Materials and Methods The sample consists of 14 individuals radiocarbon dated to the 15th and 17th centuries AD. We have employed several methods, including the analysis of ancient human DNA, stable isotopes, and skeletal markers of physical activity. Results 1) the funerary practices indicate a set of rituals not previously recorded in the Canary Islands; 2) genetic data show that some people buried in the cemetery could have North-African and sub-Saharan African lineages; 3) isotopic results suggest that some individuals were born outside Gran Canaria; and 4) markers of physical activity show a pattern of labour involving high levels of effort. Discussion This set of evidence, along with information from historical sources, suggests that Finca Clavijo was a cemetery for a multiethnic marginalized population that had being likely enslaved. Results also indicate that this population kept practicing non-Christian rituals well into the 17th century. We propose that this was possible because the location of the Canaries, far from mainland Spain and the control of the Spanish Crown, allowed the emergence of a new society with multicultural origins that was more tolerant to foreign rituals and syncretism. Am J Phys Anthropol 159:300-312, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Landraces are described as genetically diverse, dynamic populations of unimproved crops. However, studying the development of a landrace population over longer periods of time has rarely been done due to a lack of suitable archaeological materials. The indigenous grain silos of Gran Canaria provide a unique opportunity for genetically analysing multiple specimens from the same time period as well as sampling the same population at multiple time points. Here we report a genetic study of a landrace barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) sampled repeatedly over a period of 1400 years. We successfully enriched extracted aDNA for the barley exome using capture techniques and present sequencing data from ten archaeological and six extant samples. The results show that the landrace barley population of Gran Canaria has not undergone any dramatic genetic turnover or influx of new genetic material since the 7th century CE, but that the scale of cultivation seems to have varied. We detect smaller temporal changes of the genetic composition during the studied period and suggest that these changes reflect natural selection for adaptation to a changing climate and a dynamic agricultural society. [Display omitted] • Landrace barley on Gran Canaria was studied across a period of 1400 years. • Exome capture was successful on specimens dating back to the 7th century. • No new genetic material has been introduced to the landrace for 1400 years. • Smaller temporal changes detected reflect natural selection for climate adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]