Researchers have discovered some of the oldest African DNA ever from children buried 8,000 and 3,000 years ago in Cameroon. One of the individuals studied - a teenage male - carried a rare haplogroup of the Y chromosome (A00), which is currently not found anywhere outside of western Cameroon. A00 is best documented among the Mbo and Bangwa ethnic groups living near Shum Laka, and this is the first time it has been observed in ancient DNA. A00 is a deeply divergent haplogroup that separated from all other known human lineages about 300,000-200,000 years ago. This shows that this oldest known lineage of modern human males has been present in Midwest Africa for more than 8,000 years, and perhaps much longer.