Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza on Berber people

“Again, there is the problem of distinguishing between the hypothesis that Berbers originate from and admixture of North Africans with Europeans (and also with people from the Middle East), and a second one that Berbers are direct descendants of the North Africans, a fraction of whom settled Europe. The two hypotheses are not mutually exclusive and might both be true”

“The Berber populations nearer the Mediterranean coast were probably Caucasoids. There is little doubt that they came from the Middle East, and they have occupied the region since the Neolithic or even earlier. Experienced sailors like other Neolithic peoples, they colonized the Canary Islands. When the Spaniards conquered these islands in the fifteenth century, they found a distinct population with some blond-haired and blue-eyed people -traits that are still evident among some Berbers in Morocco. They spoke Guanche, an Afroasiatic Berber language. By the time the Spanish arrived, they had lost the ability to sail.”