Old Libya

Tens of thousands of years ago, The Sahara Desert, which now Covers Roughly 90% of Libya, was lush with Green Vegetation. It was home to lakes, forests, diverse wildlife and a temperate Mediterranean climate. Archaeological evidence indicates that the Coastal plain of Ancient Libya was inhabited by the Neolithic Berbers from as early as 8000 BCE. These peoples were perhaps drawn by the climate, which enabled their culture to grow; the Berbers were skilled in the domestication of cattle and the Cultivation of Crops.

Rock Paintings and Carvings at Wadi Mathendous and the Mountainous region of Jebel Acacus are the Best Sources of Information about prehistoric Libya, and the pastoralist Culture that Settled there. The Paintings Reveal that the Libyan Sahara Contained rivers, Grassy Plateaus and an Abundance of Wildlife Such as Giraffes, Elephants and Crocodiles.History of Libya

Pockets of the Berber Population still Remain in Modern Libya. Dispersal in Africa from the Atlantic coast to the Siwa Oasis in Egypt seems to have followed, due to climatic changes which Caused Increasing Desertification. It is Thought that the indigenous Libyan civilization of the Garamantes, Based in Germa, Originated From this time, or may have done so even earlier when the Sahara was Still Green. The Garamantes were a Saharan People of Berber origin who used an elaborate underground Irrigation system, and Founded a kingdom in the Fezzan area of Modern-day Libya. They were probably present as tribal people in The Fezzan by 1000 BCE, and were a local power in the Sahara Between 500 BCE and 500 CE. By the time of contact with the Phoenicians, the first of the Outside civilisations to arrive in Libya From the East, the Garamantes and other local Berber tribes that Lived in the Sahara Were already Well Established.