7,000-year-old ancient DNA reveals a previously unknown North African genetic lineage
The ancient genomes from the African Humid Period, linked to the «Green Sahara», offer groundbreaking insights into North Africa's past, with findings intersecting those from Taforalt (Morocco) and Takarkori (Libya). Takarkori, in particular, sheds light on a lineage associated with the Iberomaurusian lithic industry, which is closely connected to discoveries in Morocco. A study published on April 2 in the scientific journal Nature describes these results as «an important first step» for «future genetic studies», which could offer more precise insights into human migrations and gene flow across the Sahara.
Conducted by researchers from Libya, Morocco, South Africa, and several European countries, the study is based on ancient genomic data from two Neolithic pastoral women buried in the rock shelter of Takarkori in the central Sahara. The majority of their ancestry comes from a previously unknown North African genetic lineage that diverged from Sub-Saharan African lineages around the same time modern humans left Africa and remained isolated for much of its existence, the authors explain.
The study also highlights the connection between the Takarkori individuals and the 15,000-year-old hunter-gatherers from Taforalt cave. While the Taforalt individuals exhibit half the Neanderthal admixture of non-Africans, the Takarkori genomes show significantly less Neanderthal ancestry—ten times less than Levantine farmers—but notably more than contemporary Sub-Saharan genomes.
The researchers suggest that pastoralism spread through cultural diffusion in a deeply divergent and isolated North African lineage, likely widespread in North Africa at the end of the Pleistocene. These findings also support earlier studies, which suggest that ancient North African Neolithic genomes are derived from a Maghrebian genetic pool, linked to much older individuals from the late Stone Age site of Taforalt.
Following the sequencing of a genome in Morocco, evidence from sites in Algeria and Tunisia has led to further questions about the movements between Asia, Europe, and the Maghreb during the development of local production cultures.
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Ya Biladi
03-04-2025
- Ya Biladi
7,000-year-old ancient DNA reveals a previously unknown North African genetic lineage
The ancient genomes from the African Humid Period, linked to the «Green Sahara», offer groundbreaking insights into North Africa's past, with findings intersecting those from Taforalt (Morocco) and Takarkori (Libya). Takarkori, in particular, sheds light on a lineage associated with the Iberomaurusian lithic industry, which is closely connected to discoveries in Morocco. A study published on April 2 in the scientific journal Nature describes these results as «an important first step» for «future genetic studies», which could offer more precise insights into human migrations and gene flow across the Sahara. Conducted by researchers from Libya, Morocco, South Africa, and several European countries, the study is based on ancient genomic data from two Neolithic pastoral women buried in the rock shelter of Takarkori in the central Sahara. The majority of their ancestry comes from a previously unknown North African genetic lineage that diverged from Sub-Saharan African lineages around the same time modern humans left Africa and remained isolated for much of its existence, the authors explain. The study also highlights the connection between the Takarkori individuals and the 15,000-year-old hunter-gatherers from Taforalt cave. While the Taforalt individuals exhibit half the Neanderthal admixture of non-Africans, the Takarkori genomes show significantly less Neanderthal ancestry—ten times less than Levantine farmers—but notably more than contemporary Sub-Saharan genomes. The researchers suggest that pastoralism spread through cultural diffusion in a deeply divergent and isolated North African lineage, likely widespread in North Africa at the end of the Pleistocene. These findings also support earlier studies, which suggest that ancient North African Neolithic genomes are derived from a Maghrebian genetic pool, linked to much older individuals from the late Stone Age site of Taforalt. Following the sequencing of a genome in Morocco, evidence from sites in Algeria and Tunisia has led to further questions about the movements between Asia, Europe, and the Maghreb during the development of local production cultures.
Ya Biladi
24-03-2025
- Ya Biladi
Morocco's weather systems linked to ancient lake-filling events in the Sahara Desert
The Sahara Desert has not always been dry and arid. Researchers believe that in the past, it may have been wetter and greener, with even lakes. To understand this wetter past, scientists have been studying paleo-lakes in Algeria and weather data from the western coast of Morocco. In a study published earlier in March in Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, researchers from Switzerland and Israel sought to link present-day hydrological events with past climate patterns in the Sahara. The researchers focused on Sebkha el Melah lake in northwestern Algeria, an ancient lake that serves as evidence of the Sahara's wetter past. The study aims to learn more about when and why lakes in the Sahara fill up, using this lake as a key example. To achieve this, the study examined heavy precipitation events (HPEs) and lake-filling episodes (LFEs). HPEs occur when a large amount of rain falls, and LFEs refer to periods when lakes fill with water. The researchers used satellite data to track water levels in the lake and combined this with weather data to understand the conditions leading to heavy rain and lake filling. Additionally, they used data from weather models (called "weather reanalysis") to determine the source of moisture in the rain and how weather systems develop. Cyclones near the North African Atlantic coast The findings link the filling of ancient lakes to weather conditions in Morocco. They have linked intense rainfall originating from the Atlantic Ocean to modern lake-filling events in the northwestern Sahara. Specifically, the researchers identified low-level cyclones—large, rotating storm systems forming off the coast Morocco—as a key factor. These cyclones, along with upper-level atmospheric features and moisture from the tropics, move through Morocco into Algeria, creating favorable conditions for filling the lake during rainfall events. The findings suggest that moisture transport involves the interaction of extratropical cyclones near the North African Atlantic coast with upper-level atmospheric patterns, creating conditions conducive to heavy rainfall. A crucial element in these events is the «recycling domino effect», where moisture is progressively transported and enhanced over the Sahara before reaching the lake's drainage basin. The study concludes that the filling of lakes in the Sahara is more closely related to the intensity and frequency of specific weather events, like heavy rainfall, than to a simple increase in overall rainfall.
Ya Biladi
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Discovering North Africa's shift from hunting to farming
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