Analysis of human genomic data to unveil pre Columbian admixture events in the Antilles

In this thesis the possibility of pre-Columbian contacts between the populations of the Antilles and of the Mediterranean area was explored through a series of genomic analyses aimed at better characterizing the interactions between these populations. These analyses focused both on ancient DNA coming from the Antilles, looking for traces of European DNA inside it, and on modern DNA of the same area, performing an ancestry deconvolution and analyzing the European component in detail through different methods. No particular signs supporting pre-Columbian contacts were found, but there remains space for more detailed analysis depending also on the available data.