Some of the deepest human genetic diversity ever studied survived in southern Africa until just 1,400 years ago.

A 2026 DNA study published in Nature sequenced 28 ancient southern African genomes dating from about 10,200 to 150 years ago.

Remarkably, every individual older than roughly 1,400 years fell outside the range of genetic variation observed among modern-day humans in the study, including present-day Khoe-San populations. They were fully Homo sapiens, but represented an extremely distinctive ancient branch of human genetic diversity.

For nearly 9,000 years, these populations showed no detectable outside admixture, suggesting remarkable long-term genetic continuity and isolation in southern Africa.

The researchers estimated that this ancient southern African population diverged from other human populations roughly 240,000–310,000 years ago, representing one of the deepest population splits within Homo sapiens.

Their genetic legacy has not disappeared. Among modern Khoe-San individuals selected for relatively low recent admixture, the study estimated an average of about 79% ancient southern African ancestry, with the Juǀ’hoansi and Karretjie People showing some of the closest genetic affinities to the ancient samples.

Detectable incoming ancestry from eastern and western African populations appears in southern Africa only around 1,300 years ago, followed later by additional African and European admixture.

The study highlights just how much ancient human genetic diversity has been lost or reshaped by more recent population movements, and how important southern Africa is for understanding the deep history of Homo sapiens.

📚 Source: Jakobsson et al. (2026), Homo sapiens-specific evolution unveiled by ancient southern African genomes, Nature.

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