by
Leonardo Torriani, 1592 extracted 71 samples of
mtDNA from Guanches buried at numerous Canary Islands (c. 1000 AD). The examined Guanches were found to have closest genetic affinities to modern Moroccan
Berbers,
Canary Islanders and
Spaniards. They carried a significantly high amount of the maternal haplogroup
U6b1. U6b1 is found at very low frequencies in North Africa today, and it was suggested that later developments have significantly altered the Berber gene pool. The authors of the study suggested that the Guanches were descended from migrants from mainland North Africa related to the Berbers, and that the Guanches contributed 42–73% to the maternal gene pool of modern Canary Islanders. extracted 30 samples of
Y-DNA from Guanches of the Canary Islands. These belonged to the paternal haplogroups
E1a*, (3.33%),
E1b1b1a* (23.33%),
E1b1b1b* (26.67%),
I* (6.67%),
J1* (16.67%),
K*,
P* (3.33%), and
R1b1b2 (10.00%). E1a*, E1b1b1a* and E1b1b1b* are common lineages among Berbers, and their high frequency among the Guanches were considered evidence that they were migrants from North Africa. R1b1b2 and I* are very common in lineages in Europe, and their moderate frequency among the examined Guanche males was suggested to have been a result of prehistoric gene flow from Europe into the region across the
Mediterranean. It was found that Guanche males contributed less to the gene pool of modern Canary Islanders than Guanche females (as would be expected from the extremely bloody conquest of the islands). Haplogroups typical among the Guanche have been found at high frequencies in
Latin America, suggesting that descendants of the Guanche played an active role in the
Spanish colonization of the Americas. by
Leonardo Torriani, 1592 extracted the mtDNA of 30 Guanches from
La Palma, (Benahoaritas). 93% of their mtDNA haplogroups were found to be of
West Eurasian origin, while 7% were of
sub-Saharan African origin. About 15% of their West Eurasian maternal lineages are specific to
Europe and the
Near East rather than North Africa, suggesting that the Benahoaritas traced partial descent from either of these regions. The examined Benahoaritas were found to have high frequencies of the maternal haplogroups U6b1 and
H1-16260. U6b1 has not been found in North Africa, while H1-16260 is "extremely rare." The results suggested that the North African population from whom the Benahoaritas and other Guanches descended has been largely replaced by subsequent migrations. by
Leonardo Torriani, 1592 studies the origins of the maternal haplogroup
U6, which is characteristic of Guanches. It was suggested that the U6 was brought to North Africa by
Cro-Magnon-like humans from the Near East during the
Upper Paleolithic, who were probably responsible for the formation of the
Iberomaurusian culture. It was also suggested that the maternal haplogroup H1, also frequent among Guanches, was brought to North Africa during the
Holocene by migrants from Iberia, who may have participated in the formation of the
Capsian culture. In a further study, suggested that U6 was brought to the Levant from Central Europe in the
Upper Paleolithic by people of the
Aurignacian culture, forming the
Levantine Aurignacian (c. 33000 BC), whose descendants had then further spread U6 as part of a remigration into Africa. U6b1a was suggested to have been brought to the Canary Islands during the initial wave of settlement by Guanches, while U6c1 was suggested to have been brought in a second wave. of
El Hierro by
Leonardo Torriani, 1592 examined the mtDNA of Guanches of
La Gomera (Gomeros). 65% of the examined Gomeros were found to be carriers of the maternal haplogroup U6b1a. The Gomero appeared to be descended from the earliest wave of settlers to the Canary Islands. The maternal haplogroups
T2c1 and
U6c1 may have been introduced in a second wave of colonization affecting the other islands. It was noted that 44% of modern La Gomerans carry U6b1a. It was determined that La Gomerans have the highest amount of Guanche ancestry among modern Canary Islanders. examined the remains of a large number of Guanches of El Hierro (
Bimbache) buried at Punta Azul, El Hierro (c. 1015–1200 AD). The 16 samples of Y-DNA extracted belonged to the paternal haplogroups
E1a (1 sample),
E1b1b1a1 (7 samples) and
R1b1a2 (R1b-M269) (7 samples). All the extracted samples of
mtDNA belonged to the maternal haplogroup
H1-1626. The Bimbache were identified as descendants of the first wave of Guanche settlers on the Canary Islands, as they lacked the paternal and maternal lineages identified with the hypothetical second wave. examined the
atDNA of 11 Guanches buried at Gran Canaria and Tenerife. The 3 samples of Y-DNA extracted all belonged to the paternal haplogroup
E1b1b1b1a1 (E-M183), while the 11 samples of mtDNA extracted belonged to the maternal haplogroups
H1cf,
H2a,
L3b1a (3 samples),
T2c12, U6b1a (3 samples),
J1c3 and U6b. It was determined that the examined Guanches were genetically similar between the 7th and 11th centuries AD, and that they displayed closest genetic affinity to modern North Africans, "but with a tendency (especially for individuals from Gran Canaria) to occupy a space outside modern Northwest African variation, closer to Europeans." The evidence supported the notion that the Guanches were descended from a Berber-like population who had migrated from mainland North Africa. Among modern populations, Guanches were also found to be genetically similar to modern
Sardinians. Some models found the Guanche to be more closely related to modern Sardinians than modern North Africans. They were determined to be carriers of
Early European Farmer (EEF) ancestry, which probably spread into North Africa from Iberia during the Neolithic, or perhaps also later. One Guanche was also found to have ancestry related to European hunter-gatherers, providing further evidence of prehistoric gene flow from Europe. It was estimated that modern Canary Islanders derive 16–31% of their atDNA from the Guanches. Furthermore, according to the phenotype analysis, these Guanche samples were showing light and medium skin, dark hair and brown eyes. examined remains at the Late Neolithic site of
Kelif el Boroud, Morocco (c. 3780–3650 BC). The Kelif el Boroud people were modeled as being equally descended from people buried at the Neolithic sites of
Ifri N'Ammar, Morocco (c. 5325–4786 BC) and the
Cave of El Toro, Spain (c. 5280–4750 BC). The Kelif el Boroud were thus determined to have carried 50% EEF ancestry, which may have spread with the
Cardial Ware culture from Iberia to North Africa during the Neolithic. After the Kelif el Boroud people, additional European ancestry may have been brought to the region from Iberia by people of the
Bell Beaker culture. Guanches were found to the genetically very similar to the Kelif el Boroud people. In a 2020 review Fregel et al. identified European Bronze Age ancestry in the Guanches, which could be explained by "the presence of Bell-Beaker pottery in the North African archaeological record," as well as observing a certain admixture "possibly related to trans-Saharan migrations". examined the mtDNA of 48 Guanches buried on all the islands of the Canaries. They were found to be carrying maternal lineages characteristic of North Africa, Europe and the Near East, with Eurasian lineages centered around the Mediterranean being the most common. It was suggested that some of these Eurasian haplogroups had arrived in the region through Chalcolithic and Bronze Age migrations from Europe. Genetic diversity was found to be the highest at Gran Canaria, Tenerife, and La Palma, while Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and particularly La Gomera and El Hierro had low diversity. Significant genetic differences were detected between Guanches of western and eastern islands, which supported the notion that Guanches were descended from two distinct migration waves. It was considered significant that 40% of all examined Guanches so far belonged to the maternal
haplogroup H. Serrano et al. 2023 analysed genome-wide data from 49 Guanche individuals, whose ancestry was modelled as comprising 73.3%
Morocco Late Neolithic, 6.9% Morocco Early Neolithic, 13.4%
Germany Bell Beaker and 6.4%
Mota, on average, with Germany Bell Beaker ancestry reaching 16.2% and 17.9% in samples from Gran Canaria and Lanzarote respectively. The mtDNA results indicated some heterogeneity, as many islands had a greater affinity with populations from Europe, while others were more akin to ancient individuals from prehistoric North Africa. Overall, they formed a cluster with Late Neolithic Moroccans and contemporary North Africans, these observations said to be consistent with other studies. The table below shows the genomic proportions of North African and Sub-Saharan African ancestry by island. == Archeological sites ==