Ancient Canary Islands DNA Reveals Moroccan Ancestry, Study Finds

The study published in the journal Nature highlights the process of colonization of the Canary Islands by the peoples of Morocco during the first millennium and reveals significant genetic differences between the aborigines of the different islands, reports La Provincia. In collaboration with scientists from Stanford (USA) and Copenhagen, from the Max Planck Institute in Germany, from the Carlos III Institute, from the Tibicena company and several Canarian museums, researchers from the universities of La Laguna and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria analyzed the DNA of 40 individuals from seven islands making up the Canaries.

The results of this genetic analysis showed that the ancient inhabitants of the Canary Islands shared a genetic heritage with the peoples of Morocco about 5,000 years ago, during the Neolithic period. The study also reveals genetic differences between the islands. The aborigines of Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura showed similarities with the prehistoric populations of Europe. On the other hand, those of El Hierro, La Palma, La Gomera and Tenerife had close genetic ties with the Moroccan prehistoric populations.

For the researchers, these genetic differences support the hypothesis that human migrations to the different islands of the archipelago were asymmetric during the colonial period and that the populations arrived from different regions of North Africa. These results reinforce the idea that insularity has influenced the genetics of the inhabitants of the different islands, notes Dr. Javier G. Serrano, principal researcher of the study.