7,000-Year-Old DNA from Sahara Reveals Lost Human Lineage

Takarkori stone shelter. Credit: Van Neer W / CC BY 4.0

Researchers person deciphered past genomes from 2 women buried successful the Green Sahara astir 7,000 years ago, uncovering a antecedently chartless human lineage that remained profoundly isolated crossed North Africa for thousands of years.

The study, led by Nada Salem astatine the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology successful Germany and published successful Nature, provides the archetypal genome-wide information from radical who lived successful the Sahara erstwhile it was a scenery of lakes, rivers and grasslands.

The 2 people mummified women were recovered from the Takarkori stone structure successful the Tadrart Acacus Mountains of southwestern Libya. Strontium isotope investigation confirmed they were section to the region.

They lived during the African Humid Period, erstwhile the Sahara supported savanna-like environments betwixt 14,500 and 5,000 years ago.

DNA preservation astatine the tract was highly poor, with quality DNA making up little than 1.4 percent of the extracted material. Researchers utilized specialized past DNA seizure techniques to retrieve capable familial accusation for analysis.

Two mummified women unearthed from Libya’s past stone shelter

The results showed that 93 percent of the women’s ancestry traced backmost to a North African colonisation antecedently unidentified successful immoderate familial study. This lineage diverged from sub-Saharan African populations astir the aforesaid clip modern humans archetypal near Africa, past remained mostly chopped disconnected from extracurricular groups passim astir of its existence.

The remaining 7 percent of their ancestry came from a Levantine source, a tiny but important hint that besides explains the humble magnitude of Neanderthal DNA detected successful their genomes.

7,000-year-old earthy mummy recovered astatine the Takarkori stone structure (Individual H1) successful Southern Libya. pic.twitter.com/mpa6tjAN1S

— Tom Marvolo Riddle (@tom_riddle2025) April 14, 2026

The Takarkori individuals carried astir 0.15 percent Neanderthal ancestry. That fig is astir 10 times little than recovered successful astir populations extracurricular Africa, and astir one-quarter of what was recovered successful past foragers from Taforalt Cave successful Morocco, who lived astir 15,000 years ago.

Despite this, some Takarkori and Taforalt individuals showed adjacent familial region from sub-Saharan African lineages, pointing to nary meaningful cistron travel from sub-Saharan Africa into North Africa adjacent during the humid Green Sahara period.

Deciphered genomes from the Green Sahara reshape North African ancestry models

The survey besides refines the knowing of the Taforalt foragers. Earlier probe identified portion of their ancestry arsenic broadly African but could not pinpoint its source. Salem and colleagues present place that missing constituent arsenic a Takarkori-related North African lineage, accounting for astir 40 percent of the Taforalt genome.

On however pastoralism reached the Sahara, the minimal Levantine ancestry successful the Takarkori women tells a wide story. Herding dispersed done taste speech alternatively than migration. Local populations with heavy North African roots adopted the signifier mostly connected their ain terms.

Modern-day Fulani herding communities from the Sahel showed the closest familial affinity to the Takarkori lineage among surviving populations, accordant with archaeological grounds of southward pastoral enlargement arsenic the Sahara dried out.