Mitochondrial DNA variation of southern Tunisian populations

Due to its complex history of migrations and colonization of African, European and Asian people, the Tunisian territory is an ideal area to study the effects of cultural change on the genetic structure of human populations. We investigated the mtDNA genetic variation of Tunisian populations in order to detect the possible impact of recent historical events on their gene pool. Two Arab and three Berber communities were analysed using a comparison dataset of 45 other populations including African, Arabian, Asian, European and Near Eastern groups. The results obtained were compared with those produced using a large panel of autosomal SNPs. We observed a slight but important difference between the populations that inhabit the southern and central-northern areas of the country. Furthermore, robust signatures of genetic isolation were detected in two Berber populations (Nouvelle Zraoua and Tamezret) and in the seminomadic Arab group of the R’Baya. Our investigation suggests that the genetic structure of investigated southern Tunisian populations retains signatures of historical events which occurred between 7th-17th century, particularly the trans-Saharan slave trade and the emigration of Berbers in remote areas of the south during the Arab conquest

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

Climat, environnement et sociétés de la Préhistoire du sud tunisien: résultats préliminaires et perspectives de la recherche

We present the preliminary results of a Tunisian-Italian project of scientific collaboration in the field of environmental studies and prehistoric and anthropological research in southern Tunisia ruled by an interdisciplinary approach that includes geo-archeology, geochronology, geochemistry, palynology, paleoanthropology and population genetics. The research area is south of the Chott el Jerid and its surroundings, where the major physiographic feature is a large playa which contained one of the mega lakes that existed in the Sahara during wet periods in the late Quaternary. The region is a pivotal area between the Mediterranean and the Sahara, then favorable to study the cultural diffusion and humans displacements through different periods and environments.Nous présentons les résultats préliminaires d'un projet Tuniso-Italien de collaboration scientifique dans le domaine des études environnementales et de la recherche préhistorique et anthropologique en Tunisie méridionale mené selon une approche interdisciplinaire qui comprend la géo-archéologie, la géochronologie, la géochimie, la palynologie, la paléoanthropologie et la génétique. La zone de recherche se trouve au sud du Chott el Jérid  et ses environs. Il s’agit d’une zone caractérisée par la présence de l’un des méga lacs qui existaient dans le Sahara pendant les périodes humides à la fin du Quaternaire. La région est une zone charnière entre la Méditerranée et le Sahara, donc favorable à l’étude des diffusions culturelles et des déplacements humains à travers les différentes périodes et environnements. Nous présentons les résultats préliminaires d’un projet Tuniso-Italien de collaboration scientifique dans le domaine des études environnementales et de la recherche préhistorique et anthropologique en Tunisie méridionale mené selon une approche interdisciplinaire qui comprend la géo-archéologie, la géochronologie, la géochimie, la palynologie, la paléoanthropologie et la génétique. La zone de recherche se trouve au sud du Chott el Jérid et ses environs. Il s’agit d’une zone caractérisée par la présence de l’un des méga lacs qui existaient dans le Sahara pendant les périodes humides à la fin du Quaternaire. La région est une zone charnière entre la Méditerranée et le Sahara, donc favorable à l’étude des diffusions culturelles et des déplacements humains à travers les différentes périodes et environnements.We present the preliminary results of a Tunisian-Italian project of scientific collaboration in the field of environmental studies and prehistoric and anthropological research in southern Tunisia ruled by an interdisciplinary approach that includes geo-archeology, geochronology, geochemistry, palynology, paleoanthropology and population genetics. The research area is south of the Chott el Jerid and its surroundings, where the major physiographic feature is a large playa which contained one of the mega lakes that existed in the Sahara during wet periods in the late Quaternary. The region is a pivotal area between the Mediterranean and the Sahara, then favorable to study the cultural diffusion and humans displacements through different periods and environments

L’architecture et le paysage du village berbère de Zraoua dans les montagnes du sud-est de la Tunisie : le patrimoine dans un lieu en voie d’abandon

The Architecture and Landscape of the Berber Village of Zraoua, in the Mountains of South-Eastern Tunisia: Heritage of a Place in Abandonment The village of Zraoua, in southern Tunisia, is one of the villages of the Jebel Dahar whose population underwent a process of programmed displacement in the third quarter of the 20th century. This abandoned village constitutes an interesting case of integrated study of the vernacular architecture and cultural landscape of the Mediterranean mountainous regions. The biophysical dimension and the social structure are essential for the interpretation of the diversity and specificity of the courtyard house of this region (intra-wall house, semi-troglodyte house, ridge house and hillside house), for the reconstitution of the different phases of the urban evolution and for the understanding of a landscape construction system which is very adapted to the scarce resources of the territory (terraces on the thalweg lines, draining surfaces on the slopes and abundant presence of cisterns in the landscape)

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