Why in Iberia does MENA input run on an east to west gradient?

[Sikeliot]

Historically, we would expect it to be a north to south gradient. However, what we see is that it runs on an east to west gradient, with Portugal and adjacent regions of Spain both in north and south (Galicia, Extremadura, Andalusia) having more MENA, while it decreases as you go northeast toward the Pyrenees.

Why do we see this? What historical explanations make sense?

[Tooting Carmen]

Possibly because eastern Spain has slightly greater Continental influences? (Whether Germanic or Gallic).

[Cristiano viejo]

Possibly because eastern Spain has slightly greater Continental influences? (Whether Germanic or Gallic).

Not true. Celtic influences in Spain happen in the western part (Galicia, Castilla y León, Asturias and Cantabria).
Even Germanics settled more in the western part (Galicia, Castilla y León).

[Vasconcelos]

The North African is indeed West-East (https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N4Qt1Uu23XM/Wr8a2yJ7iTI/AAAAAAAADy0/5m9VSUHNE54SN0iq8dwj2jEjLAm9peEJQCEwYBhgL/s1600/NMorocco.png), but as I showed you in the other thread the Eastern Med influence is actually north-south aswell (or SW-NE). This, however, might be because the people who repopulated east Iberia from the north were more isolated and had less ancestry stemming from the ME/NA and they ended up lowering the scores we see in modern east Iberia.

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--YJZtZFnLHw/Wr8T4iE1SkI/AAAAAAAADyI/SnlqnVpDkUIOnrVQle-gqvKp0ecl2gCHgCLcBGAs/s1600/France.png

and

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZO1TVc85_jM/Wr8a20qWT2I/AAAAAAAADy0/hAZarP9CME4acQ-stBsJLP_JI4RnfG4NwCEwYBhgL/s320/Italy.png
Are good proxies to compare the variation.



I'll repost the other simple models below
[1] "distance%=1.2046"

Portuguese

Beaker_Britain,44.4
Iberia_Central_CA,33
Armenia_EBA,12.8
Levant_BA_South,5.2
Iberomaurusian,4.6


[1] "distance%=1.5032"

Spanish_Andalucia

Beaker_Britain,41
Iberia_Central_CA,35.4
Armenia_EBA,17.4
Levant_BA_South,3.4
Iberomaurusian,2.8


[1] "distance%=1.5456"

Spanish_Baleares

Beaker_Britain,43.6
Iberia_Central_CA,33.8
Armenia_EBA,15.2
Levant_BA_South,6.6
Iberomaurusian,0.8


[1] "distance%=1.5118"

Spanish_Aragon

Beaker_Britain,47
Iberia_Central_CA,37.2
Armenia_EBA,10.6
Iberomaurusian,2.6
Levant_BA_South,2.6


[1] "distance%=1.7388"

Spanish_Castilla_Y_Leon

Beaker_Britain,48.2
Iberia_Central_CA,32.4
Armenia_EBA,10
Levant_BA_South,4.8
Iberomaurusian,4.6


[1] "distance%=1.5226"

Spanish_Cantabria

Beaker_Britain,48.2
Iberia_Central_CA,38
Armenia_EBA,9.6
Levant_BA_South,2.4
Iberomaurusian,1.8

[Sikeliot]

The North African is indeed West-East, but as I showed you in the other thread the Eastern Med influence is actually north-south aswell (or SW-NE). This, however, might be because the people who repopulated east Iberia from the north were more isolated and had less ancestry stemming from the ME/NA and they ended up lowering the scores we see in modern east Iberia.

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--YJZtZFnLHw/Wr8T4iE1SkI/AAAAAAAADyI/SnlqnVpDkUIOnrVQle-gqvKp0ecl2gCHgCLcBGAs/s1600/France.png

and

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZO1TVc85_jM/Wr8a20qWT2I/AAAAAAAADy0/hAZarP9CME4acQ-stBsJLP_JI4RnfG4NwCEwYBhgL/s320/Italy.png
Are good proxies to compare the variation.



I'll repost the other simple models below
[1] "distance%=1.2046"

Portuguese

Beaker_Britain,44.4
Iberia_Central_CA,33
Armenia_EBA,12.8
Levant_BA_South,5.2
Iberomaurusian,4.6


[1] "distance%=1.5032"

Spanish_Andalucia

Beaker_Britain,41
Iberia_Central_CA,35.4
Armenia_EBA,17.4
Levant_BA_South,3.4
Iberomaurusian,2.8


[1] "distance%=1.5456"

Spanish_Baleares

Beaker_Britain,43.6
Iberia_Central_CA,33.8
Armenia_EBA,15.2
Levant_BA_South,6.6
Iberomaurusian,0.8


[1] "distance%=1.5118"

Spanish_Aragon

Beaker_Britain,47
Iberia_Central_CA,37.2
Armenia_EBA,10.6
Iberomaurusian,2.6
Levant_BA_South,2.6


[1] "distance%=1.7388"

Spanish_Castilla_Y_Leon

Beaker_Britain,48.2
Iberia_Central_CA,32.4
Armenia_EBA,10
Levant_BA_South,4.8
Iberomaurusian,4.6


[1] "distance%=1.5226"

Spanish_Cantabria

Beaker_Britain,48.2
Iberia_Central_CA,38
Armenia_EBA,9.6
Levant_BA_South,2.4
Iberomaurusian,1.8



"Armenia_EBA" might be the result of Roman settlement, since Italians all have more CHG/Iran type ancestry than Iberia does. Southern Spain had the most dense Roman settlement, while the north of Iberia and Pyrenees region had very little.

[Vasconcelos]

"Armenia_EBA" might be the result of Roman settlement, since Italians all have more CHG/Iran type ancestry than Iberia does. Southern Spain had the most dense Roman settlement, while the north of Iberia and Pyrenees region had very little.

Yes (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Romancoloniae.jpg), but that might not explain all of it. We'll need to wait for Roman and pre-Roman samples before we can know better