When we think of the Sahara, we picture a vast, unforgiving desert. But journey back in time, between 14,800 and 5,500 years ago, and you would have found a lush, green savanna teeming with life. It was a world of lakes, forests, and thriving human communities. It is in this lost world that scientists have just found a breathtaking mystery: the mummies of two women who belong to a ghost lineage of humanity.
A team led by archaeogeneticist Nada Salem at the Max Planck Institute made the discovery at the Takarkori rock shelter in southwestern Libya. Dating back 7,000 years, the DNA of these two individuals tells a story that turns our understanding of human history on its head.
A Lost Branch of the Human Family
When researchers analysed the genetic makeup of the Takarkori women, they were stunned. Their DNA didn’t match that of modern Sub-Saharan populations. In fact, it didn’t cleanly match any modern human group. Instead, they belonged to a previously unknown North African lineage that had split from other populations and remained genetically isolated for thousands of years.
Their closest known relatives were another ancient and mysterious group: the Taforalt Cave foragers of Morocco. This means that while the rest of humanity was mingling, migrating, and intermixing its genes, this unique group of hunter-gatherers remained in relative seclusion throughout one of the most dynamic periods of our species’ development. They are, in essence, a lost branch of our family tree.
This discovery challenges the long-held belief that farming and herding spread across the continent through waves of migration. The people of Takarkori, it seems, weren’t replaced or taught by newcomers.
Ideas That Travelled Like Memes
Delve Deeper
So how did they learn to be pastoralists? The evidence suggests something fascinating: the ideas simply spread from culture to culture. Think of it like a viral TikTok trend or an internet meme. One group saw their neighbours herding cattle and thought, “That’s a good idea.”
This process, known as cultural diffusion, demonstrates that ancient peoples were exchanging ideas, sharing innovations, and adapting new technologies without necessarily being conquered or displaced. Change came naturally, through curiosity and exchange, not force. It’s a powerful reminder that our ancestors lived in a world just as complex and interconnected as our own.
The World’s Oldest Mummies?
The Takarkori discovery is part of a wave of new findings that are rewriting our ancient past. At the same time, researchers working in China and Southeast Asia have announced the discovery of what may be the world’s oldest mummies, pushing back the timeline by thousands of years.
A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences details human remains from as far back as 14,000 years ago that were preserved by being slowly smoke-dried over a fire. This incredible tradition, which predates the famous Egyptian mummies by nearly 10,000 years, is so enduring that it is still practised today by the Dani people of West Papua, Indonesia.
While the Takarkori mummies tell a story of a people who vanished from the gene pool, the smoked mummies of Asia tell a story of cultural continuity across an immense span of time. Both discoveries reveal that the human story is far weirder, more wonderful, and more mysterious than we ever imagined. The ground beneath our feet is full of secrets, and we are only just beginning to scratch the surface.
For those whose curiosity is sparked by the deep and often strange story of our ancestors, a wealth of fascinating books on human origins can be found on sites like Amazon.
In Pure Spirit
These discoveries remind us that our history is not a straight line, but a tangled, beautiful tree with many lost branches. What do you think happened to the mysterious people of the Green Sahara? Let us know in the comments below.
Photo by Shubham Dhage on Unsplash
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