Ancient DNA from the Green Sahara reveals ancestral North African lineage

AI interpretationAI-generated

7,000-year-old Green Sahara genomes reveal a deep North African lineage.

This study recovers genome-wide DNA from two 7,000-year-old hunter-gatherers buried at Takarkori Rockshelter in Libya's Green Sahara, plus archaic admixture data from seven 15,000-year-old individuals from Taforalt Cave, Morocco. Together they show that ancient North Africans formed a distinct ancestral lineage that persisted through the humid 'Green Sahara' period, before later migrations reshaped the region.

• A distinct ancestral North African lineage existed in the Green Sahara around 7,000 years ago.
• The Libyan Takarkori individuals carry this deep North African ancestry, linking them to earlier Taforalt-related populations.
• Archaic admixture signals in the 15,000-year-old Taforalt samples suggest complex early mixing in North Africa.

Sample interpretation

Across the 10 reported ancient individuals, 6 have resolved Y-chromosome lineages: E-M78 dominates (4), with E-M215 (1) and E-L618 (1). Mitochondrial DNA is mostly unresolved (3 N/A), but includes U6a7 (2), N (1), M1b (1), and U6a7b (1). Site-wise, 6 samples come from TAF015. These markers are typical of North African and Near Eastern ancient profiles, supporting a local deep-rooted ancestry rather than a single recent migration.

For genealogy enthusiasts

For ancestry enthusiasts, this confirms North Africa had its own ancient genetic lineage, not just a crossroads of later migrations. E-M78 and U6 lineages in these samples connect modern North African and Mediterranean paternal and maternal lines to a deep Green Sahara past.