Researchers from Khalifa University in the UAE and international collaborators have shed light on the complex genetic history of Yemenis. Their study, as reported by phys.org and published in Scientific Reports, explores how migrations from the Levant, Arabia and East Africa have shaped the Yemeni gene pool.

The research analysed 46 whole genomes and 169 genotype arrays from Yemeni individuals, comparing them with 351 samples from neighbouring populations. It revealed a significant genetic mix, with contributions from Levantine and African sources at different times in history.

Yemeni paternal DNA was dominated by Y-chromosome haplogroup J1, linked to Southwest Asia and the Levant. In contrast, mitochondrial DNA, passed down through mothers, showed a strong African influence. Around one-third of Yemeni samples carried African mtDNA haplogroups, including L2a1, common in sub-Saharan Africa.

The findings align with Yemen’s history as a trade and migration hub. Ancient spice and incense routes connected Yemen to Egypt, Sumer and the Levant, while the Red Sea slave trade brought enslaved Africans into the region.

“Throughout the last 3 millennia Yemen was a main exporter of incense, myrrh, frankincense and other spices,” the study notes. “The trade routes reached as far as the Harappans, and trade from different parts of Africa reached different parts of Yemen.”

Two major gene flow events were identified: one 5,220 years ago, from Palestine during the Bronze Age, and another 750 years ago linked to East African populations. Researchers noted the impact of slavery practices, where enslaved African women bore children who inherited Yemeni lineage.

According to the researchers, Yemen’s gene flow began during the Epipaleolithic period, with markers linking it to the Arabian Peninsula and Levant. This was followed by long periods of population isolation. Later migrations included influences from Nabateans, during the incense trade with Syria and Jordan, as well as from Arabia during the Islamic expansion.

One major phase of migration from East Africa began around the 7th millennium BCE during the Holocene era, when wetter conditions spurred population growth. Substantial later gene flow from East Africa is tied to Yemen’s trade links, including the Kingdom of Aksum, which invaded Yemen in the second and sixth centuries CE.

While Yemenis are often considered to be the “original Arabs“, this is debated, with others tracing the earliest Arab homeland to the Syrian Desert, and the earliest proto-Arab civilisations being the Nabateans in present-day Jordan.