Two cultures with a connection: Egypt and Mesopotamia. This has been established by researchers who have found a genetic link in a DNA sample. The researchers sequenced entire genomes from the teeth of a remarkably well-preserved skeleton. It’s important to note that conducting this type of work in Egypt has been difficult, as heat and time destroy ancient DNA.
The research shows how four-fifths of the genome showed links to North Africa and the region around Egypt
The skeleton was found in a sealed funerary urn at an Egyptian tomb site dating back between 4,495 and 4,880 years. The research, published in the journal Nature, shows how four-fifths of the genome showed links to North Africa and the region around Egypt, and one-fifth showed ties to the area in the Middle East between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, known as the Fertile Crescent, where Mesopotamian civilization flourished. “This is the first direct evidence of what had been hinted at in previous work,” said Daniel Antoine, curator of Egypt and Sudan at the British Museum.
The remains found came from Nuwayrat, near Beni Hasan, about 275 kilometers (170 miles) south of Cairo, and their life span overlapped the Old Kingdom
The discovery is very important, experts say, considering that Svante Pääbo reported the first cloned DNA from an Egyptian mummy back in 1985, but complete human genomes from such ancient remains remained out of reach for decades. Now, the remains found came from Nuwayrat, near Beni Hasan, about 275 kilometers (170 miles) south of Cairo, and their life span overlapped the Old Kingdom. That is, the man lived just before or near the start of Egypt’s Old Kingdom, when Upper and Lower Egypt were unified as a single state, leading to a period of relative political stability.
“This is the moment when centralized power allowed the formation of ancient Egypt as we know it”
According to the data analyzed, radiocarbon dating places the skeleton between 2855 and 2570 BC. The Egyptian genome was sequenced with approximately double the coverage from DNA extracted in clean labs from two teeth. “This is the moment when centralized power allowed the formation of ancient Egypt as we know it,” said Linus Girdland-Flink, co-author and a paleogeneticist at the University of Aberdeen.
Researchers have said that further analysis of ancient DNA samples is needed to gain a clearer picture
Although the preservation of the bones has been key to their analysis: the bones were sealed inside a large ceramic container, located in a rock tomb. That container, and the cool microclimate of the chamber, likely protected the fragile ancient DNA better than open sand or later embalming practices. Researchers have said that further analysis of ancient DNA samples is needed to gain a clearer picture of the extent and timing of movements between the two cultural centers.
The specific data from the research indicates that the age at death was around 60, and his estimated height was around 1.6 meters
And in any case, the discovery tells us important things about a time when cultural innovation prevailed, which included, among other things, the construction of the pyramids at Giza. The specific data from the research indicates that the age at death was around 60, and his estimated height was around 1.6 meters. Osteoarthritis and other bone wear are a consequence of a life of hard and repetitive work. And the genome indicates about 80% of his ancestry matched ancient North African sources and roughly 20% aligned with Mesopotamia. A truly important discovery.
