Kehf el Baroud,[1] sometimes mistakenly spelled Kelif el Boroud, is an archaeological site in Morocco. It is located to the south of Rabat, near Dar es Soltan.[2]
See also: Natufian culture § Genetics, Taforalt § Ancient DNA, Ifri N'Amr Ou Moussa § Genetics, Cave of El Toro § Genetics, Early European Farmers, and Guanches § Population genetics |
Fregel et al. 2018 examined the remains of 8 individuals buried at Kelif el Boroud c. 3780-3650 BCE during the Neolithic.[3] The 1 sample of Y-DNA extracted belonged to the paternal haplogroup T-M184, while the 6 samples of mtDNA extracted belonged to the maternal haplogroups X2b (two samples), K1a1b1 (two samples), K1a4a1 and T2b3.[4] The examined individuals were found to share genetic affinities with individuals buried at both the Early Neolithic sites of Ifri N'Amr Ou Moussa in Morocco and the Early Neolithic Cave of El Toro in Spain. They were modelled as being of about 50% Early European Farmer (EEF) ancestry and 50% local North African ancestry, suggesting substantial migration from Iberia into North Africa during the Neolithic. They had a lower amount of sub-Saharan African admixture than earlier North Africans buried at Ifri N'Amr Ou Moussa. They also carried alleles associated with light skin and light eye color. They were found to be closely related to the Guanches of the Canary Islands,[5] and ancestral to todays North African population. "We show that Early Neolithic Moroccans (~5,000 BCE) are similar to Later Stone Age individuals from the same region and possess an endemic element retained in present-day Maghrebi populations, confirming a long-term genetic continuity in the region."[6]