Very fascinating, especially since the Guinean Fula (a.k.a. Peulh, Pulaar, Fulani, Fulbe) are usually assumed to be among the "oldest" established Fula groups as in recent history these nomadic people spread from Senegambia (Fouta Toro) and Guinea (Fouta Djallon) in an eastwards direction towards Nigeria/Cameroon and even beyond as far as Sudan. (check this link for a full overview of Fula subgroups). The minor West Eurasian/North African affinity showing up in his results seems to corroborate previous autosomal results in Tishkoff 2009 (link to supplement) among samples of Nigerian and Cameroonian Fulani.
Other groups of interest can be assessed with STRUCTURE analyses, including
the Fulani,sampled from Nigeria and Cameroon, the Baggara sampled from northern
Cameroon, and the Koma sampled from the Alantika Mountains in eastern Nigeria. The
Fulani are nomadic pastoralists who speak a Niger-Kordofanian language (Atlantic
Senegambian subfamily) and occupy a broad geographic range in central and western
Africa. The Fulani show a number of morphological features that have led some
anthropologists to suggest that they may have originated from East Africa or possibly
Egypt or the Near East (S101). Mitochondrial DNA analysis indicates that Fulani have
lineages of predominantly West African origin and that they cluster together and close to
the Mandenka population from Senegal (S101). By contrast, Y chromosome analyses of
Fulani sampled in the Sudan indicates shared ancestry with Nilo-Saharan and Afro-
Asiatic speaking populations (S97). These results raise the possibility of differential
patterns of male and female gene flow into this population. Our analysis, using genomewide
nuclear markers and STRUCTURE, indicates that the Fulani have distinctive
ancestry (fuchsia) at K = 14 in the global analysis (Figs. 3, 4) and at K = 9 -14 in the
Africa analysis (Fig. S15). Low to moderate levels of the Fulani AAC was also observed
in the Mozabite and Mandinka populations in the global analysis (Figs. 3 and 4). The
Fulani cluster with the Chadic and Central Sudanic speaking populations at K <13 in the
global analysis (Fig. 3; maroon) and at K <8 in the Africa analysis (Fig. S15; red). They
also cluster near the Chadic and Central Sudanic speaking populations in the NJ tree
based on population genetic distances (Figs. 1, S7 and S8). In the global STRUCTURE
analysis, the Fulani show low to moderate levels of European/Middle Eastern ancestry
(blue), consistent with mtDNA (S101) and Y chromosome (S97) analyses, as well as the
presence at low frequency of the -13910T mutation associated with lactose tolerance in
Europeans in this population (S102). Additionally, we observe moderate to high levels of
Niger- Kordofanian ancestry in the Fulani populations (Figs. 3, 4, S15;Tables S8, S9).
These results do not enable us to determine the definitive origin of the Fulani, although
they indicate shared ancestry with Saharan and Central Sudanic populations and suggest
that the Fulani have admixed with local populations, and possibly adopted a Niger-
Kordofanian language, during their spread across central and western Africa. The origin
of European (possibly via the Iberian peninsula) and/or Middle Eastern ancestry in the
Fulani requires further exploration with additional genetic markers.
And also the ADMIXTURE run done by Razib Khan
" The Fulani have an old "Berber" (?) element "
link to article
He assumes this "Berber" component would be rather recent dating back at most ~ 2000 years. I suppose this could be partially true. Geneflow from neighbouring Berber populations could have occurred in the Senegal river area and Mauretania especially during the Takrur period. But i'm personally also much intrigued by the possibility of even older (partial) origins of this component dating back from the Green Sahara period and involving proto Berber/Fulani (??) populations like the Tenerians in Niger. I expect future archaeological research in Mauritania and Mali and finerscaled DNA research among relevant populations could further clarify the specifics and antiquity of Fulani ethnogenesis.So what can we see here? First, let’s reiterate something: as in the case of the populations of the Horn of Africa the West Eurasian element in the Fulani is difficult to find in “pure” form in the populations from which it putatively derived. What does that imply? I think that that means that the Fulani have an origin in relatively recent historic time, on the order of 2,000, not 10,000, years. That is because I am skeptical that the Fulani would be able to maintain genetic distinctiveness for ~10,000 years from other populations around them. In contrast, the last 2,000 years have seen the rise of various cultural institutions, from trans-Saharan nomadism to Islam, which might slow down admixture sufficiently to maintain the differences between the Fulani and their neighbors. It also implies to me that the non-Maghrebi “Near Eastern” element which Henn et al. discerned is relatively a recent phenomenon in northwest Africa, else the Fulani should also carry it. How recent? Probably from Classical Antiquity down to the Muslim period. Observe that many North Africa groups have a red “European” element. This may be from Near Eastern populations, but I suspect that the fraction here is just too high to be explained by that. Also, you can see above that some groups in Morocco have nearly as much of this as Egyptians, but far less of the more genuine Near Eastern components.
In all likelihood the West Eurasian component came to the Fulani via the Tuareg or a related or antecedent population. So if you typed the Tuareg you would probably get a better sense of the “pure” “Maghrebi” genetic profile.
Tenerian is the name given by archaeologists to a prehistoric culture originating at least the 5th millennium BC and lasting until the mid-3rd millennium BC in the Sahara Desert. This spans a wet period of Saharan history known as the Neolithic Subpluvial as well into the onset of the current arid regime. [...}
The desert region was lush at the time and the Tenerians were cattle-herders, fishermen, and hunters. The graves show that the Tenerians were a spiritual people, being buried with artifacts such as jewelry made of hippo tusks and clay pots. The most interesting find is a triple burial, dated to 5300 years ago, of an adult female and two children, estimated through their teeth as being five and eight years old, hugging each other. Pollen residue indicates they were buried on a bed of flowers. The three are assumed to have died within 24 hours of each other, but as their skeletons hold no apparent trauma (they didn't die violently) and they have been buried so elaborately - unlikely if they had died of a plague - the cause of their deaths is a mystery. Analysis of Tenerian skeletons reveals that the Tenerians were not related to the modern inhabitants of the region, having more similarities to Mediterranean people.
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Originally Posted by J Man
