LifeSub-Saharan Africa
The oldest lineages
Humanity's deepest genetic divide is in southern Africa
See it on the timeline →In depth
Genetic diversity is greatest in Africa and least furthest away — the pattern that shows where the species comes from. That does not make these peoples "original" or unchanged; every living human has an equally long evolutionary history behind them. It means the split between their lineage and everyone else's lies deepest in time.
For children
The San and Khoi peoples of southern Africa carry the oldest known branches of the human family tree. Their languages have click sounds rare elsewhere in the world. Their rock art reaches back tens of thousands of years.
Connects to
Part of Terra Saga — the story of Earth on a timeline. terrasaga.org