Taforalt ancestry map
North African hunter-gatherers (Taforalt) · Northeastern Morocco, about 15,000 years ago
How to read these maps: pale yellow means little or none of the selected ancestry, orange a medium share and deep red the highest values. Each dot is the average of a modern population: hover or tap it to see its numbers. Areas with no samples nearby stay blank.
North African hunter-gatherers (Taforalt)
Northeastern Morocco, about 15,000 years ago
Faded dots are populations the model fits less well: read their values with care. Click the map to zoom with your mouse wheel.
Who were the Taforalt foragers?
Taforalt is a cave in northeastern Morocco, also known as the Grotte des Pigeons, where people of the Iberomaurusian culture buried their dead about 15,000 years ago, near the end of the last Ice Age.
Their genomes, published in 2018, are among the oldest ancient genomes from Africa, and they changed how we see the region's past. The Taforalt foragers were mostly related to the Natufians, the late hunter-gatherers of the Levant, with a smaller share of ancestry linked to sub-Saharan Africa. This shows that people moved between North Africa and the Near East long before farming.
Iberomaurusian ancestry did not vanish. It is still visible in North African populations, especially among Amazigh (Berber) communities, beneath later layers brought by Neolithic farmers, the Arab expansion and other movements. In this model, Taforalt stands for that deep Maghrebi forager heritage.
In our model, Taforalt ancestry peaks today in Berber Morocco Shilha Tiznit, at 44.9%, followed by Berber Morocco Shilha Ait Atta (44.2%) and Berber Morocco Shilha (43.8%). The ten highest values come from Morocco, Mali and Western Sahara. It reaches at least 5% in 125 of the 1,998 populations on the map, and at least 20% in 49 of them. On the world scale the colours run from 0 to 23.2%, the level reached by the top 2% of populations, so the deepest red marks the real hot spots.
Where Taforalt ancestry peaks today
| # | Population | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Berber Morocco Shilha Tiznit Morocco | 44.9% |
| 2 | Berber Morocco Shilha Ait Atta Morocco | 44.2% |
| 3 | Berber Morocco Shilha Morocco | 43.8% |
| 4 | Berber Mali Tuareg Mali | 42.8% |
| 5 | Berber MAR TIZ Morocco | 41.8% |
| 6 | Moroccan Arab Errachidia Morocco | 40.5% |
| 7 | Berber Morocco Central Atlas Tamazight Ifrane Morocco | 40.2% |
| 8 | Berber Morocco Central Atlas Tamazight Morocco | 39.0% |
| 9 | Berber Morocco Shilha Ouarzazate Morocco | 39.0% |
| 10 | Saharawi Western Sahara | 38.5% |
Averages of modern populations, modelled with 17 reference sources. Tap a name to find it on the map.
The 17 ancestral sources
About these numbers
These maps show model estimates for population averages, not ethnic labels and not the result of any one person. Each source stands in for a wider ancestral population, and ancestries that have no source of their own in this set, such as Oceanian or Khoe-San ancestry, are absorbed by their closest relatives among the 17. Populations the model fits less well are shown with faded dots and count less in the colour surface.
Method: Each population average (Global25 coordinates) is modelled as a mix of 17 ancient and modern reference groups with non-negative least squares, shares adding up to 100%. Fit is the distance between the population and its best mix: the lower the better, above 0.06 the mix explains the population poorly. Top lists leave out the few populations these 17 groups cannot model at all (fit above 0.15). Data generated 1 October 2026, 1,998 populations on the map.
Keep exploring
For the full picture of one population, the Population Genetics Atlas has a page for each of hundreds of modern populations, with its ancient make-up and its closest modern and ancient neighbours.
Curious about your own DNA? The free Report Finder tests which of our reports fits your G25 coordinates, before you order anything.
Frequently asked questions
Who were the Iberomaurusians?
They were Late Stone Age hunter-gatherers of North Africa, known from sites such as Taforalt cave in Morocco about 15,000 years ago. Their genomes are mostly related to the Natufians of the Levant, with a smaller sub-Saharan African share.
Where is Taforalt ancestry highest today?
In our model it is highest in Berber Morocco Shilha Tiznit (44.9%), Berber Morocco Shilha Ait Atta (44.2%) and Berber Morocco Shilha (43.8%). These are averages of modern populations modelled with 17 reference sources, so individuals within each population can differ.
How are these ancient ancestry maps made?
Each modern population average, taken from published G25 coordinates, is modelled as a mix of the same 17 ancient and modern reference sources with a non-negative least-squares fit, the same family of method our reports use. The map then interpolates the share of the selected source between the sampled places and leaves areas with no nearby samples blank.
Does a high value mean direct descent from these people?
No. Each source stands in for a broader ancestral population, and the 17 sources are fitted together, so closely related sources can trade shares between them. Read a value as how much of this kind of ancestry the model needs to describe a population average, not as a family tree.
Why are some areas of the map blank?
The colour surface is only drawn within a few hundred kilometres of real samples. Oceans and regions without data stay empty instead of showing invented values. Each dot on the map is a real population average.