DNA Clues To An Ancient Canary Islands Voyage

NYT ^ | 3-25-2019 | Nicholas St. Fleur

[blam]

The islands’ pioneers likely arrived centuries before European conquest, as part of a large-scale movement of people from North Africa.

Today the Canary Islands are a tourist hub, a volcanic archipelago with palm trees and azure beaches, located off the coast of Morocco and governed by Spain. But the history of this paradise is marred by the brutal conquest, enslavement and treatment of its indigenous people by European colonizers beginning around the 15th century.

Although scientists know a fair bit about the fate of the islands’ original inhabitants, much is unknown about their origins. Some scholars have debated whether the indigenous people sailed to the islands themselves more than a thousand years ago or were stranded there by ancient Mediterranean mariners.

Increasingly, the evidence points to an intentional journey. Ancient DNA from skeletal remains found across the islands now suggests that the islands’ earliest pioneers were North Africans who may have arrived around 100 C.E. or earlier, and settled on every island by at least 1000 C.E. The finding supports previous archaeological, anthropological and genetic studies indicating that the island’s first inhabitants were Berbers from North Africa, a group that today lives in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and parts of the Sahara.

“This is the first ancient DNA study that includes archaeological remains from all the seven Canary Islands,” said Rosa Fregel, a population geneticist at the Universidad de La Laguna in Spain. Her team’s results, which were published Wednesday in the journal PLOS One, also undercut the idea that the islands’ early indigenous inhabitants were not explorers in their own right.

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[Little Bill]

I keep reading about DNA this and DNA that, what were their Haplo Groups, male and female? You found out you are Sammi, what was their origin?

[blam]

"I keep reading about DNA this and DNA that, what were their Haplo Groups, male and female? You found out you are Sammi, what was their origin? "

I actually did a search on that some years ago. I recall a lot of Spanish names and many had the same DNA as me (and you), R1B.

Are People From The Canary Islands White?

"Best Answer: Yes, of course. The original inhabitants of the Canary islands were the Gaunches who were descendants of Berbers, a white North African group. In fact, the original Spanish explorers were surprised to find that many of the natives had blond hair, unique among North African groups! The natives were later supplanted by the Spanish who colonized the islands in the 15th century. Modern Canary Islanders are mainly of Spanish background, but some do have significant amounts of native ancestry. However, today the population of the Canary Islands looks no different than the majority of other Spaniards."

17 Interesting Facts About The Canary Islands

[Little Bill]

I am I1a, damned if I know where that came from.

[blam]

"I am I1a, damned if I know where that came from. "

Sorry, I mixed you and your DNA with someone else.

[Little Bill]

Blam, I didn't phrase that well so it was me rather than any thing you said.

To clarify: My fathers family is LDS and they have same very strict rules on establishing who is related to whom, three independent verifications are required at minimum, from sources outside of the family.

My Family has lived in Glostershire for at least 600 years and are I1a in a sea of R1bs.

Getting back to the Islands I am curious what is their blood types? It seems that the Berbers and the Basques have a high incidence of O Neg and AB Neg. Are these people the remnants of the Iberian refuge?