Genetic prehistory of Iberia differs from central and northern Europe
In a multidisciplinary study published in PNAS, an international team of researchers combined archaeological, genetic and stable isotope data to encapsulate 4000 years of Iberian biomolecular prehistory. The team examined of the remains of 13 human individuals from the north and south of Spain, including genome sequencing of a 7 245 year-old farmer performed by NGI Uppsala at SciLifeLab.
The study demonstrates that Neolithic Iberians show genetic differences to the migrant farmers that settled in Central and Northern Europe. These Mediterranean route migrants show a strong genetic connection with the modern-day inhabitants of the Mediterranean island of Sardinia.
“We can probably consider modern Sardinians relatively direct descendants of the people who spread farming practices across the Mediterranean region around 8 000 years ago”, syas Mattias Jakobsson, Uppsala University/SciLifeLab, one of the senior authors of the study.
