The origin and the meaning of the name Tuareg have long been debated, with various etymologies hypothesized. It would appear that Twārəg is derived from the broken plural of Tārgi, a name whose former meaning was

Early history
In antiquity, the Tuareg moved southward from the Tafilalt region into the Sahel under the Tuareg founding quee

The Tuareg traditionally adhered to the Berber mythology. Archaeological excavations of prehistoric tombs in the Maghreb have yielded

Tuareg culture is largely matrilineal. Tuareg women have high status compared with their Arab counterparts (see matrilineality). Other distinctive aspects of Tuareg culture include clothing, food, language, religion, arts, astronomy, nomadic architecture, traditional weapons,

The Tuareg today inhabit a vast area in the Sahara, stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern Algeria, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso. Their combined population in these territories exceeds 2.5 million, with an estimated population in Niger of around 2 million (11% of

The Tuareg society has traditionally featured clan membership, social status and caste hierarchies within each political confederation.
Clans

Y-chromosome DNA
Y-Dna haplogroups, passed on exclusively through the paternal line, were found at the following frequencies in Tuaregs:
E1b1b is