Northern Tunisia Archaeological Project
Acronym: NoTAP
Description
The main objective of the Northern Tunisia Archaeological Project is to reconstruct the Neolithisation process in the Eastern Maghreb and to gain a better understanding of the economic and settlement patterns of the human groups that inhabited the Tunisian Dorsal Mountains during the 6th millennium BC. Another key aim is to investigate the potential genetic relationships between these groups and other North African and Mediterranean populations.
These research questions are addressed through the study of the Neolithic site of Doukanet el Khoutifa, Makthar, which can be considered one of the most significant Neolithic villages, complete with an associated cemetery, discovered so far in the Eastern Maghreb.
Project information
- Italian project leader: CNR ISPC and ISMEO
- Partners: Institut National du Patrimoine (INP), Tunis, Tunisia
- ISPC Scientific coordinator: Giulio Lucarini
- Involved Countries: Italy – Tunisia
- Site/Area/Case study: Doukanet el Khoutifa, Makthar, Siliana province
- Status: ongoing
- Funding: MAECI (2021-2024); MUR via ISMEO (2021-2024); CNR (FOE 2023); Bilateral Project Italy-Tunisia ‘FOOPROMAG’ (2021-2022)
- News CNR ISPC 28/01/2021 →
Events & News
COMUNICATO STAMPA CNR
Maghreb orientale: il DNA antico rivela come le popolazioni locali resistettero all’onda neolitica
12 marzo 2023
Uno studio ha rivelato che, nonostante l’arrivo di agricoltori e allevatori dall’Europa e dall’Asia sud-occidentale, le popolazioni autoctone di quest’area del Nord Africa conservarono un’identità genetica distintiva e mantennero legami con le tradizioni dei cacciatori-raccoglitori. La ricerca, pubblicata su Nature, ha coinvolto il CNR ISPC.
For further information on the research topic, visit our Groups & Labs
