The Sahara Desert was once a lush green savannah rich in bodies of water and teeming with life. DNA obtained from the remains of two individuals who lived in what is now Libya reveals a mysterious lineage of people isolated from the outside world. The Takarkori individuals were part of a distinct and previously unidentified human lineage that lived separated from sub-Saharan and Eurasian populations for thousands of years. The Sahara only became habitable about 15,000 years ago, and the original homeland of the Takarkori lineage remains uncertain. Although the Takarkori population disappeared around 5,000 years ago, traces of their ancestry persist among various North African groups today.