Rabat, March 21 -- Two studies of ancient DNA have shown that North Africans inhabited the Iberian Peninsula long before the Muslim conquest.

The journal Current Biology published a study on the makeup of the Iberian population between 6,000 and 13,000 years ago. The journal Science published a second study on the origins of the population over the past 8,000 years.

The studies proved the presence of North Africans in Iberia from the Bronze Age, when Iberia saw a dramatic genetic shift.

Among the 271 ancient Iberians analyzed, researchers found many had DNA from central Europe, including one man buried in a central Spain Bronze Age site called Castillejo de Bonete. The DNA examination of the man's 4,400-year-old skeleton showed it was ...