Two women who lived 7,000 years ago in a Libyan rock shelter are revealing surprising truths about ancient human life. They lived during the African Humid Period, a time when the Sahara transformed from a desert into lush savannahs filled with lakes and grasslands. This environment supported various human activities, including fishing and herding.
Researchers extracted DNA from the women’s naturally mummified remains found at the Takarkori rock shelter. Their genetic makeup challenges assumptions about North African ancestry. The study shows these women belonged to an unknown lineage that was genetically isolated for thousands of years, showing little influence from populations south of the Sahara or from Europe and the Near East.
This finding was published in the journal Nature. Johannes Krause, a geneticist at the Max Planck Institute, noted, “This suggests they remained isolated despite practicing animal husbandry, which originated outside Africa.”
A Unique Genetic Lineage
The women’s ancestry diverged from sub-Saharan populations about 50,000 years ago. This coincides with a broader pattern where modern human lineages began migrating out of Africa. Krause described their genomes as “almost like living fossils,” suggesting immense stability in North African genetics during the late Ice Age.
Interestingly, when researchers checked for Neanderthal ancestry, they found only about 0.15%. This is significantly lower than what is seen in populations outside Africa, indicating that the Takarkori lineage had minimal contact with other groups.
Herding and Cultural Exchange
Field studies at Takarkori have unearth evidence of human habitation for thousands of years, revealing a complex picture of life there. Over 15 burials have been discovered, dating from 10,200 years ago to a pastoral period ending around 4,200 years ago. The two women undergoing DNA analysis came from the Middle Pastoral Period and their remains are remarkably preserved, alongside tools and pottery.
These findings shed light on a long-debated question: Did pastoralism spread through migration or cultural exchange? The Takarkori data strongly supports the idea of cultural diffusion. Local people adopted livestock herding techniques rather than being replaced by incoming populations.
Nada Salem, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute, emphasized that this shows pastoralism spread through cultural practices across the Green Sahara, not through large-scale migration.
Connecting Past and Present
This research also reinterprets the ancestry of older North African populations, such as the 15,000-year-old foragers from Taforalt Cave in Morocco. Previously, their ancestry was thought to involve a mix from the Levant and unidentified sub-Saharan sources. The new findings suggest their ancestry likely comes from a Takarkori-like lineage instead.
Both Takarkori and Taforalt populations show significant genetic distance from sub-Saharan groups, reinforcing the idea that even when the Sahara was a green paradise, there was not much interaction with populations to the south.
Impact of Climate Change
The lineage from Takarkori vanished around 5,000 years ago when the African Humid Period ended. Along with them, traces of this genetic heritage persisted in modern North African populations. This research highlights how groups like the Fulani herders have a genetic connection to Takarkori, reflecting the shift of pastoralism southward as the Sahara dried up.
Mary Prendergast, an anthropologist at Rice University, noted that studies like this shed light on Africa’s intricate population history, revealing nearly forgotten lineages.
The human remains from Takarkori can be seen at the Museum of Anthropology of the University of Rome, La Sapienza. This discovery not only enriches our understanding of ancient societies but also speaks to the ways migration and cultural practices shape human history.
