7,000-Year-Old Skeletons From the ‘Green Sahara’ Reveal a Mysterious Human Lineage
20th March 2026
Between 5,000 and 14,000 years ago, the Sahara Desert looked nothing like it does today. It was lush and green, with lakes and rivers supporting a variety of animals—including humans.
But who were these ancient ancestors? And where do they fit on the human family tree?
Researchers think they finally have some answers to these questions. They’ve successfully analyzed the DNA of two naturally mummified livestock herders who died roughly 7,000 years ago in present-day Libya, which was part of what’s known as the “green Sahara.”
Their analyses revealed a previously unknown—and largely genetically distinct—population of ancient humans, according to a new paper published this month in the journal Nature.
The individuals who lived in the green Sahara showed “no significant genetic influence from sub-Saharan populations to the south or Near Eastern and prehistoric European groups to the north,” says study co-author Johannes Krause, a geneticist at Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, to Reuters’ Will Dunham.
“This suggests they remained genetically isolated despite practicing animal husbandry—a cultural innovation that originated outside Africa,” Krause adds.