A new study shows that 7,000 years ago, during the wet Africa period, there was a long-standing North African human ancestry in the central Sahara Desert.
The study provides key new insights into the wet period in Africa, an era 14,500 to 5,000 years ago, when the Sahara desert was a green savanna rich in water that promoted the spread of human habitation and herders. Later, aridification turned the region into the largest desert in the world. This pioneering ancient DNA study has become even more important due to the extreme drought in the region today.
Genome analysis shows that individuals in Takarkori Rock Shelter have a predominantly North African descent, which differs from the population of sub-Saharan Africa, and are approximately 50,000 years ago in modern human descent about outside Africa. The newly described lineage remains isolated, revealing deep genetic continuity in North Africa during the late Ice Age. Although this lineage no longer exists in fixed forms, it remains a core genetic component of the people of today’s North African people, highlighting its unique heritage.
Furthermore, these people share a close genetic relationship with 15,000-year-old foragers in the Taforalt Cave in Morocco, which is associated with the Ibirolong rock industry, predating the wet period in Africa. It is worth noting that both groups are far from sub-Saharan African descent, suggesting that despite the sub-Saharan greenness, gene flow between the sub-Saharan and North African populations remained limited during the wet times in Africa, but contrary to previous recommendations.
The study also sheds light on Neanderthal ancestry, showing that the Takakori Neanderthal DNA is ten times less than those outside Africa, but more important than contemporary Africans outside the Sahara. “Our findings suggest that although the early population in North Africa was largely isolated, they received traces of Neanderthal DNA due to gene flow from outside Africa,” said Johannes Krause, director of the Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology at Max Planck.
The spread of herders in the green Sahara desert
“Our research challenges previous hypotheses about the history of North Africa’s population and highlights the existence of a deeply rooted and long-standing genetic lineage,” said Nada Salem, first author of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. “This discovery reveals how pastoralists migrate through cultural exchanges rather than mass.”
“This study highlights the importance of ancient DNA in reconstructing human history in central North Africa, providing independent support for archaeological hypotheses,” said David Caramelli, a senior writer at the University of Florence. “By illuminating the deep past of the Sahara, our goal is to improve understanding of human immigration, adaptation and cultural evolution in this critical region,” added Savino Di Lernia, a senior writer at the University of Sapinza, Rome.
If you find this report useful, consider supporting our work with a small donation. Your contribution allows us to continue to bring you accurate, thought-provoking scientific and medical news that you can trust. Independent reporting requires time, effort, and resources, and your support makes it possible for us to continue exploring stories that are important to you. Thank you so much!
