Medieval Populations Mixed on the Mediterranean Island of Ibiza

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN—According to a statement released by Stockholm University, genetic analysis of 13 people whose remains were found in an Islamic cemetery on the Mediterranean island of Ibiza suggests that the population had roots in Europe, North Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa between the tenth and twelfth centuries A.D. Two of these individuals were found to have sub-Saharan ancestry. “This is direct genetic evidence of the long-distance networks reaching the Sahel, as described in historical sources,” said Ricardo Rodríguez-Varela of Stockholm University. The study also suggests that people from North Africa reached Ibiza in the late ninth century, or about two to seven generations earlier than those from the south. The researchers also screened the human remains for diseases and discovered that one individual had been infected with leprosy. This strain of Mycobacterium leprae has also been found in Europe and dated to between the seventh and thirteenth centuries. “These genomes capture the moment when the Islamic world and the Christian societies of Iberia began to reshape each other,” explained Anders Götherström of Stockholm University. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Nature Communications. To read about a medieval woman afflicted with a strain of leprosy carried by red squirrels, go to "Around the World: England."