Evaluating the Neolithic expansion at both shores of the Mediterranean Sea

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• dc.contributor.author Pimenta, João
• dc.contributor.author Lopes, Alexandra M.
• dc.contributor.author Comas, David, 1969-
• dc.contributor.author Amorim, António
• dc.contributor.author Arenas, Miguel
• dc.date.accessioned 2024-01-30T14:02:47Z
• dc.date.available 2024-01-30T14:02:47Z
• dc.date.issued 2017
• dc.description.abstract During the Neolithic, human populations underwent cultural and technological developments that led to an agricultural revolution. Although the population genetics and evolution of European Neolithic populations have been extensively studied, little is known regarding the Neolithic expansion in North Africa with respect to Europe. One could expect that the different environmental and geological conditions at both shores of the Mediterranean Sea could have led to contrasting expansions. In order to test this hypothesis, we compared the Neolithic expansion in Europe and North Africa accounting for possible migration between them through the Strait of Gibraltar. We analyzed the entire X chromosome of 580 individuals from 20 populations spatially distributed along the North of Africa and Europe. Next, we applied approximate Bayesian computation based on extensive spatially explicit computer simulations to select among alternative scenarios of migration through the Strait of Gibraltar and to estimate population genetics parameters in both expansions. Our results suggest that, despite being more technologically advanced, Neolithic populations did not expand faster than Paleolithic populations, which could be interpreted as a consequence of a more sedentary lifestyle. We detected reciprocal Neolithic migration between the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa through the Strait of Gibraltar. Counterintuitively, we found that the studied Neolithic expansions presented similar levels of carrying capacity and migration, and occurred at comparable speeds, suggesting a similar demic process of substitution of hunter-gatherer populations. Altogether, the Neolithic expansion through both Mediterranean shores was not so different, perhaps because these populations shared similar technical abilities and lifestyle patterns.
• dc.description.sponsorship We would like to thank Lara R. Arauna (Universitat Pompeu Fabra) for technical advice with the data sets used. IPATIMUP integrates the i3S Research Unit, which is partially supported by FCT in the framework of the project “Institute for Research and Innovation in Health Sciences” (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007274). J.P., A.M.L., and M.A. were funded by the Portuguese Government through the FCT fellowship SFRH/BD/97200/2013 and research contracts IF/01262/2014 and IF/00955/2014, respectively. M.A. was also supported by the “Ramón y Cajal” grant RYC-2015-18241 from the Spanish Government. D.C. was supported by the Spanish MINECO grant CGL2013-44351-P.
• dc.format.mimetype application/pdf
• dc.identifier.citation Pimenta J, Lopes AM, Comas D, Amorim A, Arenas M. Evaluating the Neolithic expansion at both shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Mol Biol Evol. 2017 Dec 1;34(12):3232-42. DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msx256
• dc.identifier.doi http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msx256
• dc.identifier.issn 0737-4038
• dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/10230/58902
• dc.language.iso eng
• dc.publisher Oxford University Press
• dc.relation.ispartof Mol Biol Evol. 2017 Dec 1;34(12):3232-42
• dc.relation.projectID info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/1PE/CGL2013-44351-P
• dc.rights © Oxford University Press. This is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Mol Biol Evol. following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version Pimenta J, Lopes AM, Comas D, Amorim A, Arenas M et al. Evaluating the neolithic expansion at both shores of the mediterranean sea. Mol Biol Evol. 2017 Dec 1;34(12):3232-3242 is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msx256
• dc.rights.accessRights info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
• dc.subject.keyword Neolithic expansion
• dc.subject.keyword Mediterranean Sea
• dc.subject.keyword Strait of Gibraltar
• dc.subject.keyword X chromosome
• dc.subject.keyword Approximate Bayesian computation
• dc.title Evaluating the Neolithic expansion at both shores of the Mediterranean Sea
• dc.type info:eu-repo/semantics/article
• dc.type.version info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion