TÜBINGEN, GERMANY—According to a report in Wired UK, an international team of scientists has analyzed ancient Egyptian nuclear DNA obtained from mummies interred at the archaeological site of Abusir el-Meleq, located in Middle Egypt. It had been thought that DNA would be degraded by Egypt’s hot and humid climate and the chemicals used during the mummification process. The samples, taken from bones and tissues after their surfaces had been removed, and from tooth pulp, were collected in a clean room at the University of Tübingen and UV irradiated to reduce contamination. Reliable samples were obtained from 90 individuals, and the entire nuclear genomes of three individuals were mapped. The results suggest that the ancient Egyptians were related to ancient populations in the Near East, and Neolithic populations from Anatolia and Europe. And, when compared with the genomes of modern Egyptian populations, the data suggests there has been an increase in Sub-Saharan African gene flow into Egypt over the past 1,500 years, according to Stephan Schiffels of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. For more on the study of ancient DNA, go to “Worlds Within Us.”
Genomes of Egyptian Mummies Mapped
News May 30, 2017
Recommended Articles
Digs & Discoveries November/December 2024
Egyptian Crocodile Hunt
Digs & Discoveries November/December 2024
A Pharaoh's Coffin
Digs & Discoveries July/August 2024
Sticking Their Necks Out
-
Features March/April 2017
Kings of Cooperation
The Olmec city of Tres Zapotes may have owed its longevity to a new form of government
(De Agostini Picture Library/Getty Images) -
Features March/April 2017
The Road Almost Taken
An ancient city in Germany tells a different story of the Roman conquest
(© Courtesy Gabriele Rasbach, DAI) -
Letter from Philadelphia March/April 2017
Empire of Glass
An unusual industrial history emerges from some of the city’s hippest neighborhoods
(Courtesy AECOM, Digging I-95) -
Artifacts March/April 2017
Middle Bronze Age Jug
(Courtesy Clara Amit)