Climate, Biogeography, and Human Resilience in the Demographic History of the Canary Islands During the Amazigh Period
Santana et al. · doi:10.1038/s41598-025-04302-y
What the study found
The Canary Islands were populated around the 1st millennium BCE by indigenous North African Amazigh settlers (historically known as Guanches). In this 2025 multidisciplinary study, Santana and colleagues integrated palaeogenomics, palaeoclimate modeling, and archaeological data to reconstruct the demographic history of the archipelago during its pre-colonial Amazigh period.
The results demonstrate long-term genetic continuity with mainland Northwest African Berber populations (specifically harboring high frequencies of Y-DNA E-M81 and mtDNA U6b1a / H1). The study highlights how indigenous islanders adapted resilient agricultural and pastoral strategies to navigate severe medieval droughts and climatic shifts prior to 15th-century European conquest.
Key points
Integrated palaeogenomics and palaeoclimate models for the indigenous pre-colonial Canarian Amazigh period.
Confirmed direct genetic continuity with mainland North African Berber populations (E-M81, U6b1a, H1).
Demonstrated long-term population resilience against severe medieval drought cycles.
Provides crucial insular context for the westernmost extension of Amazigh seafaring and settlement.
Relevance to this lineage
Situated directly off the Atlantic coast of the Souss-Massa region, the Canary Islands represent the insular extension of southwestern Moroccan Amazigh heritage. The genetic alignment between ancient Guanches and mainland Berber populations underscores the shared deep-time origins of communities along the Souss Atlantic corridor.
This is a summary, not the paper
Written here as an aid to reading. Where this page and the study disagree, the study is right — read it. Full citation: Santana, J. et al. (2025). Scientific Reports , 15, 4302. All fifteen summaries are listed on the research page.
Last updated: 16 September 2026