Using ancient DNA recovered from over 270 Iberians representing an unprecedented timespan, researchers including David Reich have pieced together an 8,000-year-long genetic history of the Iberian Peninsula. The study of ancient DNA provides a glimpse into the movements and migrations of ancient peoples as evidenced by the genetic legacies left behind. The Iberian Peninsula, the region encompassing what is now Spain and Portugal, is situated between North Africa, Europe and the Mediterranean. extracted the ancient DNA from archaeological human remains previously recovered from a variety of contexts - including a pair of brothers interred together in a mountain-side cave nearly 7,000 years ago. According to the results of their various analyses, the population structure of the region's Mesolithic hunter-gatherers was much more complex than previously thought.

Source: The North Africa Journal March 14, 2019 18:00 UTC