Morisco - Genetic Legacy of Moors in Spain

Genetic Legacy of Moors in Spain

Although most Moriscos were of Iberian descent, a significant number were descended from non-Europeans (mostly Berbers). A number of studies have tried to find out the genetic impact of non-European Muslim populations on the modern Spanish and Portuguese populations, through comparison of genetic markers in Spain and Portugal with North Africa and the Near East. The most recent and thorough study about Moorish influence in the Iberian Peninsula by Capelli et al. 2009 reported that North African male haplogroups, especially E1b1b1b (E-M81), E1b1b1a-b (M78 derived chromosomes showing the rare DYS439 allele 10, or E-V65) and a subset of J1 (M267 derived), represented, on average, 7-8% of the current Iberian male lineages.

A number of studies focus on the genetic impact of the Morisco community on the modern Spanish population. Iberia has a significant presence of the typically North African Y-chromosome haplotype marker E-M81, largely absent in the rest of Europe. and Haplotype Va. A thorough Y-chromosome analysis of the Iberian peninsula reveals that haplotype E-M81 surpasses frequencies of 10% in Southern Iberia. As for Mtdna analysis (Mitochondrial DNA), although present at only low levels, Iberia has much higher frequencies of typically North African Haplogroup U6 than those generally observed in Europe. It is difficult to ascertain whether U6's presence is the consequence of Islam's expansion into Europe during the Middle Ages, or it is rather the result of ancient demic processes that predate the Islamic presence.

According to a widely publicized recent study (December 2008) published in the American Journal of Human Genetics, 19.8 percent of modern Iberians (Spain + Portugal) have DNA reflecting Near Eastern and 10.6 percent having DNA reflecting North African ancestors. The study's speculation on Sephardic origin of the Levantine markers has been widely contested since it is likely that such markers also reflect other migrations from the Near East such as what medieval Andalusians called "Syrians", earlier Phoenician colonization or even population movements during the Neolithic. Chris Tyler-Smith, a collaborator with the team that carried the study, argues that the individual differences in Y-chromosome markers suggests a common ancestry more recent than several millennia.

According to another DNA study by the University of Leeds (2008) of the Y chromosome amongst the current population of Iberia suggests that 11% of Iberian males have traces of Moorish ancestry. Results regarding the "Jewish" genetic markers have come under similar criticism as the 2009 study mentioned above. Earlier genetic studies done in Spain estimated the Moorish contribution from a range of 2.5/3.4% to 7.7%.