Berbers and Arabs. Tracing the genetic diversity and history of Southern Tunisia through genome wide analysis

Objectives: Tunisia has been a crossroads for people from Africa, Europe, and the Middle East since prehistoric times. At present, it is inhabited by two main ethnic groups, Arabs and Berbers, and several minorities. This study aims to advance knowledge regarding their genetic structure using new population samplings and a genome-wide approach. Materials and Methods: We investigated genomic variation, estimated ancestry components and dated admixture events in three Berber and two Arab populations from Southern Tunisia, mining a dataset including Middle Eastern, sub-Saharan, and European populations. Results: Differences in the proportion of North African, Arabian, and European ancestries and the varying impact of admixture and isolation determined significant heterogeneity in the genetic structure of Southern Tunisian populations. Admixture time estimates show a multilayer pattern of admixture events, involving both ethnolinguistic groups, which started around the mid XI century and lasted for nearly five centuries. Discussion: Our study provides evidence that the relationships between genetic and cultural diversity of old and new inhabitants of North Africa in southern Tunisia follow different patterns. The Berbers seem to have preserved a significant part of their common genomic heritage despite Islamization, Arab cultural influence, and linguistic diversity. Compared to Morocco and Algeria, southern Tunisian Arabs have retained a higher level of Arabian ancestry. This is more evident in the semi-nomad R'Baya, who have kept their original Bedouin lifestyle, than in the population from Douz, who have undergone multiple events of stratification and admixture

First archaeological investigations in the Chott El Jerid area, Southern Tunisia

This work presents the preliminary results of the archaeological research in southern Tunisia. The program, though strongly hindered by the serious internal situation and dramatically shaken by the attacks sf 2015, allowed an initial assessment of the archaeological potential of the Chott el Jerid region, in the governorate of Kebili. The geo-archaeological reconnaissance and the first excavations, together with an articulated sampling for paleo-environmental reconstruction and the genetic study of nomadic and sedentary populations in the region, provide a first analytical basis to reconstruct the cultural developments of the Late Quaternary, from the Middle Stone Age, through the Pleistocene-Holocene transition (facies Iberomaurusian and Capsian), up to the late Neolithic

Berbers and Arabs: Tracing the genetic diversity and history of Southern Tunisia through genome wide analysis

Objectives: Tunisia has been a crossroads for people from Africa, Europe, and the Middle East since prehistoric times. At present, it is inhabited by two main ethnic groups, Arabs and Berbers, and several minorities. This study aims to advance knowledge regarding their genetic structure using new population samplings and a genome-wide approach. Materials and Methods: We investigated genomic variation, estimated ancestry components and dated admixture events in three Berber and two Arab populations from Southern Tunisia, mining a dataset including Middle Eastern, sub-Saharan, and European populations. Results: Differences in the proportion of North African, Arabian, and European ancestries and the varying impact of admixture and isolation determined significant heterogeneity in the genetic structure of Southern Tunisian populations. Admixture time estimates show a multilayer pattern of admixture events, involving both ethnolinguistic groups, which started around the mid XI century and lasted for nearly five centuries. Discussion: Our study provides evidence that the relationships between genetic and cultural diversity of old and new inhabitants of North Africa in southern Tunisia follow different patterns. The Berbers seem to have preserved a significant part of their common genomic heritage despite Islamization, Arab cultural influence, and linguistic diversity. Compared to Morocco and Algeria, southern Tunisian Arabs have retained a higher level of Arabian ancestry. This is more evident in the semi-nomad R'Baya, who have kept their original Bedouin lifestyle, than in the population from Douz, who have undergone multiple events of stratification and admixture