Green Sahara — Photo Gallery — National Geographic Magazine

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Lost Tribes of the Green Sahara

How a dinosaur hunter uncovered the Sahara's strangest Stone Age graveyard.

/2008/09/green-sahara/img/01-dunes-desert-aerial-714.jpg /2008/09/green-sahara/img/green-sahara-60-01.jpg /2008/09/green-sahara/img/02-tenerian-grave-714.jpg /2008/09/green-sahara/img/green-sahara-60-02.jpg /2008/09/green-sahara/img/03-burial-mother-children-714.jpg /2008/09/green-sahara/img/green-sahara-60-03.jpg /2008/09/green-sahara/img/04-women-bones-niger-714.jpg /2008/09/green-sahara/img/green-sahara-60-04.jpg /2008/09/green-sahara/img/05-pit-digging-shovel-714.jpg /2008/09/green-sahara/img/green-sahara-60-05.jpg /2008/09/green-sahara/img/06-archaeologist-skeleton-475.jpg /2008/09/green-sahara/img/green-sahara-60-06.jpg /2008/09/green-sahara/img/07-soldiers-niger-desert-714.jpg /2008/09/green-sahara/img/green-sahara-60-07.jpg /2008/09/green-sahara/img/08-sifting-archaeologist-niger-714.jpg /2008/09/green-sahara/img/green-sahara-60-08.jpg /2008/09/green-sahara/img/09-radar-sahara-475.jpg /2008/09/green-sahara/img/green-sahara-60-09.jpg /2008/09/green-sahara/img/10-dunes-oasis-714.jpg /2008/09/green-sahara/img/green-sahara-60-10.jpg /2008/09/green-sahara/img/11-group-men-niger-714.jpg /2008/09/green-sahara/img/green-sahara-60-11.jpg /2008/09/green-sahara/img/12-rock-carving-giraffe-714.jpg /2008/09/green-sahara/img/green-sahara-60-12.jpg /2008/09/green-sahara/img/13-male-kiffian-skull-475.jpg /2008/09/green-sahara/img/green-sahara-60-13.jpg Kiffian: 10,000-8,000 years ago
A skeleton records detailed data about a person's life, including diet, diseases, injuries, and habits. Teeth are particularly rich in information. Molar wear patterns suggest that the Kiffian chewed coarse grains and that some lived into their 40s. Analysis of strontium isotopes in tooth enamel indicates that they drank from a local water source and probably didn't travel far from Gobero.]]> /2008/09/green-sahara/img/14-fishhook-bone-475.jpg /2008/09/green-sahara/img/green-sahara-60-14.jpg Kiffian: 10,000-8,000 years ago
Fishhook, 1 inch (2.5 cm) long
Beyond a handful of fishing tools carved from animal bones, the Kiffian left few clues about how they lived at Gobero.]]> /2008/09/green-sahara/img/15-harpoon-bone-714.jpg /2008/09/green-sahara/img/green-sahara-60-15.jpg Kiffian: 10,000-8,000 years ago
Harpoon, 7 inches (18 cm) long
A harpoon carved from animal bone was another fishing tool found at Gobero.]]> /2008/09/green-sahara/img/16-male-tenerian-skull-475.jpg /2008/09/green-sahara/img/green-sahara-60-16.jpg Tenerian: 6,500-4,500 years ago
The Tenerian were more lightly built than the Kiffian, with narrower crania and taller foreheads.]]> /2008/09/green-sahara/img/17-green-disk-knife-475.jpg /2008/09/green-sahara/img/green-sahara-60-17.jpg Tenerian: 6,500-4,500 years ago
Disk knife, 6 inches (15 cm) long
This disk knife, found adorning a grave, and other tools were crafted from a green volcanic rock quarried about a hundred miles away in the AÃ¯r mountains. Excavations also turned up several pieces of amazonite. The closest known source for the iridescent gem is in the Tibesti mountains, some 500 miles northeast of Gobero, raising questions: Are there closer, now forgotten sources? Did the Tenerian emigrate from the Tibesti? Or were they trading with other groups?]]> /2008/09/green-sahara/img/18-hippo-pendant-475.jpg /2008/09/green-sahara/img/green-sahara-60-18.jpg Tenerian: 6,500-4,500 years ago
Pendant, 4 inches (10 cm) long
Unlike their predecessors, the Tenerian often adorned graves with myriad artifacts, including this hippo ivory pendant.]]> /2008/09/green-sahara/img/19-portrait-bone-woman-714.jpg /2008/09/green-sahara/img/green-sahara-60-19.jpg