7,000-year-old mummies from Takar reveal unknown human lineage in Green Sahara

Atlantis In The Green Sahara - Part 2
Source: Atlantis In The Green Sahara - Part 2 by Funny Olde World

Site mentioned

📍 Takar

🧬 Two naturally preserved individuals from Takarkori rock shelter in Libya (~7,000 yrs old) carry DNA from a completely unknown human lineage — a 'ghost population' that diverged from other African populations tens of thousands of years ago. This genome is absent in modern humans 😮

Key facts:

- Two naturally preserved female mummies found in Takarkori rock shelter in southwest Libya, dated to ~7,000 years ago

- DNA analysis reveals they belong to a previously unknown branch of the human family tree, termed a 'ghost population'

- The diverse ecosystems of the Green Sahara (lakes, wetlands, forests, mountains) may have naturally limited interaction between human communities

- This genome is absent from modern humans, suggesting missing chapters in human history

Key facts

  • Two naturally preserved female mummies found in Takar rock shelter in southwest Libya, dated to 7,000 years ago
  • DNA analysis reveals they belong to a previously unknown branch of the human family tree, termed a 'ghost population'
  • Genetic lineage separated from subsaharan African communities approximately 50,000 years ago
  • The diverse ecosystems of the Green Sahara (lakes, wetlands, forests, mountains) may have naturally limited interaction between human communities
  • This genome is absent from modern humans, suggesting missing chapters in human history

Related stories

Sources

Ancient DNA from the Green Sahara Reveals a Lost North African ...anthropology.net
By analyzing DNA from two 7,000-year-old naturally mummified individuals found in the Takarkori rock shelter of southwestern Libya, researchers ...
7,000-Year-Old Skeletons From the 'Green Sahara' Reveal a ...smithsonianmag.com
They've successfully analyzed the DNA of two naturally mummified livestock herders who died roughly 7,000 years ago in present-day Libya, which ...
This 7000-year-old mummy DNA has revealed a 'ghost' branch of ...sciencefocus.com
Scientists have successfully analysed the DNA of two naturally mummified individuals from the Takarkori rock shelter, in what is now southwestern Libya.
Ancient DNA sheds light on origins of 7000-year-old Saharan ... - CNNcnn.com
“DNA extracted from two pastoralist women who were buried at the rock shelter around 7,000 years ago reveals that most of their ancestry can be ...
Takarkori - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
Takarkori rockshelter is one of two sites where the earliest evidence of plant processing in pottery has been found, is the first Saharan site where ancient DNA ...
Was this story useful?

← All stories

Keep exploring

Every site on this page sits on the globe, and the people who research them are on the Discord.

3D Globe · Sites by country · Story Archive · Research Library · Weekly Journal · Search

AI-generated text · images from the original sources · always verify with the sources.