OBJECTIVES: We assess patterns of dental morphological variation at the site of Gobero, located in central Niger, to test competing models of population history in northern Africa during the Holocene "Green Sahara" period. We test three competing models: East African Dispersal Model, Maghreb Dispersal Model, and Multisource Dispersal Model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data were collected on dental morphological variables using the Arizona State University Dental Anthropology system for two successive occupation phases at the Gobero site (Early and Middle Holocene). Using Mean Measure of Divergence statistics, these data were compared to Late Pleistocene, Early Holocene, and Middle Holocene sites from 22 premodern dental samples from the Maghreb, Nile Valley, and eastern, central, and southern Africa. Results were visualized using MDS ordination. Analyses were run using a 35-trait and a 26-trait data matrix. RESULTS: The resulting inter-sample affinities suggest that time-successive Gobero populations are dentally indistinguishable, suggesting continuity of populations through time at the site despite significant climate deterioration. Both the Early and Middle Holocene samples at Gobero share dental affinities with Nile Valley populations, in particular the multicomponent Sudanese site of al-Khiday. However, both samples also show intermediate affinities with northern and sub-Saharan African populations. DISCUSSION: These results suggest that for most of the Holocene, an admixed population was present in the central Sahara with a primarily East African/Nile Valley origin. Nonetheless, as the climate deteriorated we cannot discount population interactions with northern African and sub-Saharan populations.
Stojanowski et al. (2026) studied this question.