Two 7,000-year-old Libyan mummies reveal previously unknown genetically distinct population. No significant gene flow from sub-Saharan Africans or Near Eastern Europeans. Pastoralism spread via cultural diffusion not migration. Lineage split from sub-Saharan ancestors around 50,000 years ago. Population stayed isolated for tens of thousands of years. Genomes resemble 40,000-year-old fossils. Green Sahara not a migration corridor between North and sub-Saharan Africa. Individuals hunted fished and herded goats sheep. Mitochondrial DNA first recovered then full genomes sequenced. Small sample but key to Africa's complex ancestry. Modern genomes barely detect this lineage.