The ATLAS Research Group at the University of Seville (HUM-694) is collaborating in an archaeogenomic study carried out by the UK universities of Huddersfield and London (Francis Crick Institute) and Harvard University (USA) in which data are revealed on the genetic ancestry of two medieval adult males buried in the atrium of the Menga dolmen (Antequera, Malaga) between the 8th and 11th centuries AD (Andalusian period). This study is based on previous research carried out by the ATLAS Group, which revealed data on the funerary context, physical anthropology and radiocarbon dating of these two individuals, who were buried at the entrance to the large Neolithic dolmen in a highly formalised manner, with their heads pointing towards the interior of the dolmen. The study has been published in the Journal of Archaeological Science Reports.

In this research, the DNA of two medieval individuals was analysed, radiocarbon dated to between the 8th and 11th centuries AD, buried in the atrium and aligned with the axis of symmetry of the dolmen. The DNA content was very scant and highly degraded, consistent with previous observations in prehistoric and historical Mediterranean Iberia. However, it was possible to obtain the genetic profile of one of the individuals after using the SNP enrichment technique, which is used to obtain useful genetic information when DNA is highly degraded or present in very small quantities.

This individual has uniparental lineages typical of European populations but a mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) lineage shared with modern North African individuals, and at the autosomal level also showed North African and Levantine ancestry, consistent with the general trend in the region during this period. In his mtDNA lineage, this individual shared two mutations with a sequence observed in a modern Mozabite individual in Algeria. The Mozabites are a Berber group native to the M'zab Valley in northern Algeria, with their own language (Mozabite, which is a variant of Berber) and a current population of between 150,000 and 300,000 people. The genomic analysis of this individual therefore reflects the genetic, demographic and cultural diversity of Andalusian society.

The study also proposes an interpretation of these burials based on archaeological and historical data, within the broader archaeological context of the reuse of prehistoric monuments during the Middle Ages, a phenomenon widely documented in Iberia. The data collected suggest that during the period when these two individuals were buried, the Menga dolmen was used as a hermitage or shrine (marabout).

The Menga dolmen, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Antequera (Malaga, Spain), was erected in the fourth millennium BC during the Neolithic period but has a long history of use and frequentation that extends into modern historical times. In fact, it is likely that this large dolmen has been used as a sacred and/or funerary space continuously since its construction between 3800 and 3600 BC.