Ancient DNA shows Stone Age Europeans voyaged by sea to Africa

A genomic study of people who lived more than 6,000 years ago hints that ancient European hunter-gatherers might have voyaged across the Mediterranean to Africa. Using DNA from bones or teeth from nine individuals found at archaeological sites in the eastern Maghreb region — present-day Tunisia and northeastern Algeria — researchers found that Stone Age populations who lived there were descended, in part, from Europeans. At that time, there were more islands poking above the waves in the narrow strait between what’s now Sicily and Tunisia, which could have eased the journey for ancient voyagers in simple boats.