Mummy DNA unravels ancient Egyptians’ ancestry
Ajackson17
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The tombs of ancient Egypt have yielded golden collars and ivory bracelets, but another treasure — human DNA — has proved elusive. Now, scientists have captured sweeping genomic information from Egyptian mummies. It reveals that mummies were closely related to ancient Middle Easterners, hinting that northern Africans might have different genetic roots from people south of the Sahara desert.
Related stories
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Ancient DNA: Curse of the Pharaoh's DNA
The study, published on 30 May in Nature Communications1, includes data from 90 mummies buried between 1380 bc, during Egypt’s New Kingdom, and ad 425, in the Roman era. The findings show that the mummies’ closest kin were ancient farmers from a region that includes present-day Israel and Jordan. Modern Egyptians, by contrast, have inherited more of their DNA from central Africans.
Archaeological discoveries and historical documents suggest close ties between Egypt and the Middle East, but “it is very nice that this study has now provided empirical evidence for this at the genetic level”, says evolutionary anthropologist Omer Gokcumen of the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Egypt’s searing climate and the ancient practice of embalming bodies has made the recovery of intact genetic material daunting. The first DNA sequences thought to be from a mummy2 were probably the result of modern contamination, and many scientists are sceptical3 of purported genetic information acquired from the mummy of King Tutankhamun4.
The latest analysis succeeded by bypassing soft tissue — often abundant in Egyptian mummies — to seek DNA from bone and teeth. Researchers carefully screened the DNA to rule out contamination from anyone who had handled the mummies since their excavation a century ago in the ancient town of Abusir el-Meleq.
“More than half of the mummies we studied had pretty decent DNA preservation,” says co-author Johannes Krause, a palaeogeneticist at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Jena, Germany.
The team “succeeds where previous studies on Egyptian mummies have failed or fallen short”, says Hannes Schroeder, a palaeogeneticist at the University of Copenhagen. Now, researchers can hope to answer questions such as whether immigration drove ancient-Egyptian population growth, adds Sonia Zakrzewski, a bioarchaeologist at the University of Southampton, UK.
The scientists obtained information about variations in mitochondrial DNA, which is passed from mother to child, from 90 mummies. Because of contamination, the team was able to acquire detailed nuclear DNA, which is inherited from both parents, from only three mummies.
Both types of genomic material showed that ancient Egyptians shared little DNA with modern sub-Saharan Africans. Instead, their closest relatives were people living during the Neolithic and Bronze ages in an area known as the Levant. Strikingly, the mummies were more closely related to ancient Europeans and Anatolians than to modern Egyptians.
The researchers say that there was probably a pulse of sub-Saharan African DNA into Egypt roughly 700 years ago. The mixing of ancient Egyptians and Africans from further south means that modern Egyptians can trace 8% more of their ancestry to sub-Saharan Africans than can the mummies from Abusir el-Meleq.
The new data can’t explain why the ancient Egyptians were so tightly aligned with people from the Middle East. Was it the result of migration, or were the Stone Age hunter-gatherers of northern Africa genetically similar to those of the Levant? It’s too early to tell, Krause says, but there’s a better chance now of getting answers. “This is the first glimpse of the genetic history of Egypt,” he says. “But it’s really just the start.”
Nature 546, 17 (01 June 2017) doi:10.1038/546017a
Tweet Follow @NatureNews
References
Schuenemann, V. J. et al. Nature Commun. 8, 15694 (2017).
ArticlePubMedChemPort
Show context
Pääbo, S. Nature 314, 644–645 (1985).
ArticlePubMed
Show context
Lorenzen, E. D. & Willerslev, E. J. Am. Med. Assoc. 303, 2471–2475 (2010).
ArticlePubMedChemPort
Show context
Hawass, Z. et al. J. Am. Med. Assoc. 303, 638–647 (2010).
ArticleChemPort
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Comments
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so....he from chicago?
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Ajackson17 wrote: »
The tombs of ancient Egypt have yielded golden collars and ivory bracelets, but another treasure — human DNA — has proved elusive. Now, scientists have captured sweeping genomic information from Egyptian mummies. It reveals that mummies were closely related to ancient Middle Easterners, hinting that northern Africans might have different genetic roots from people south of the Sahara desert.
Related stories
Ancient DNA from hot climes yields its secrets
Underwater archaeology: Hunt for the ancient mariner
Ancient DNA: Curse of the Pharaoh's DNA
The study, published on 30 May in Nature Communications1, includes data from 90 mummies buried between 1380 bc, during Egypt’s New Kingdom, and ad 425, in the Roman era. The findings show that the mummies’ closest kin were ancient farmers from a region that includes present-day Israel and Jordan. Modern Egyptians, by contrast, have inherited more of their DNA from central Africans.
Archaeological discoveries and historical documents suggest close ties between Egypt and the Middle East, but “it is very nice that this study has now provided empirical evidence for this at the genetic level”, says evolutionary anthropologist Omer Gokcumen of the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Egypt’s searing climate and the ancient practice of embalming bodies has made the recovery of intact genetic material daunting. The first DNA sequences thought to be from a mummy2 were probably the result of modern contamination, and many scientists are sceptical3 of purported genetic information acquired from the mummy of King Tutankhamun4.
The latest analysis succeeded by bypassing soft tissue — often abundant in Egyptian mummies — to seek DNA from bone and teeth. Researchers carefully screened the DNA to rule out contamination from anyone who had handled the mummies since their excavation a century ago in the ancient town of Abusir el-Meleq.
“More than half of the mummies we studied had pretty decent DNA preservation,” says co-author Johannes Krause, a palaeogeneticist at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Jena, Germany.
The team “succeeds where previous studies on Egyptian mummies have failed or fallen short”, says Hannes Schroeder, a palaeogeneticist at the University of Copenhagen. Now, researchers can hope to answer questions such as whether immigration drove ancient-Egyptian population growth, adds Sonia Zakrzewski, a bioarchaeologist at the University of Southampton, UK.
The scientists obtained information about variations in mitochondrial DNA, which is passed from mother to child, from 90 mummies. Because of contamination, the team was able to acquire detailed nuclear DNA, which is inherited from both parents, from only three mummies.
Both types of genomic material showed that ancient Egyptians shared little DNA with modern sub-Saharan Africans. Instead, their closest relatives were people living during the Neolithic and Bronze ages in an area known as the Levant. Strikingly, the mummies were more closely related to ancient Europeans and Anatolians than to modern Egyptians.
The researchers say that there was probably a pulse of sub-Saharan African DNA into Egypt roughly 700 years ago. The mixing of ancient Egyptians and Africans from further south means that modern Egyptians can trace 8% more of their ancestry to sub-Saharan Africans than can the mummies from Abusir el-Meleq.
The new data can’t explain why the ancient Egyptians were so tightly aligned with people from the Middle East. Was it the result of migration, or were the Stone Age hunter-gatherers of northern Africa genetically similar to those of the Levant? It’s too early to tell, Krause says, but there’s a better chance now of getting answers. “This is the first glimpse of the genetic history of Egypt,” he says. “But it’s really just the start.”
Nature 546, 17 (01 June 2017) doi:10.1038/546017a
Tweet Follow @NatureNews
References
Schuenemann, V. J. et al. Nature Commun. 8, 15694 (2017).
ArticlePubMedChemPort
Show context
Pääbo, S. Nature 314, 644–645 (1985).
ArticlePubMed
Show context
Lorenzen, E. D. & Willerslev, E. J. Am. Med. Assoc. 303, 2471–2475 (2010).
ArticlePubMedChemPort
Show context
Hawass, Z. et al. J. Am. Med. Assoc. 303, 638–647 (2010).
ArticleChemPort
Show context
I read about this. I haven't ready the whole study, but it seemed kinda dubious to me, or rather it doesn't really support the claim it's making. The study covered the period of about ~1400 BC to ~400 AD. The problem is the Egyptian empire came into being around ~3000 BC. The study basically covers the back half of the empire's existence, a time where migration and rule by outside parties was much more prevalent. To put it into perspective, look at the U.S. now and compare it to the same land 1500 years ago. A lot can happen in that much time. Also, I could be wrong, but what I read said that most of the mummies examine were from royalty. The royalty of an empire doesn't necessarily reflect the actual makeup of an empire, especially when that empire has gone through a series of conquerings. Again, to put it in perspective. Say some historian 1000 years in the future finds Obama's body and concludes that his racial heritage is typical of America now, would that be a reasonable conclusion. I know that's just one body vs several that they looked at, but keep in mind that they had dynastic rule so many of the mummies they looked at were probably related or at least belonged to the same group. -
Also basically to piggyback, but they only did one specific area which was known for having foreigners this is where history has to intertwined with DNA analysis. I use to live very close to a Jewish graveyard and if you did their DNA and you would think the total make up currently would be them which could be further than the truth. They have to test out the ones who done the actual building and nor they do DNA with obvious phenotypes that are closer to sub-saharan africans who were pivotal to Egypt's greatness.
Brother Reggie went in on this. -
Found an article a couple of weeks ago that showed alot of mummies were black.
Also they found the oldest afro pick there. Let me find it -
Cliff notes please. Yeah I'm being lazy right now, ? it.
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Cliff notes please. Yeah I'm being lazy right now, ? it.
They did DNA on a specific region and specific time periods and found out that these people don't have much sub-saharan ancestry and more closer related to Levant (Canaanites), Southern European (Sea People aka Philistines) and Turkish people (Hittites). Just studying the history of the specific region and time periods that they cover, there were many foreigners in this region and mixing was going on. So this was in the later half of Egypt's history. These would not be the pyramid builders. -
White folk low key trying to pull another quick one on black history
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I havent really read the original research....
But, if that is true then the ancient people of the Levant looked like this....
This was Amenhotep IV's biological mother....
And that's tut's grandmother....
The new kingdom is the most famous.....
Whites have been trying to claim it and Akhenaten/Tutankhamun forever.....
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The study, published on 30 May in Nature Communications1, includes data from 90 mummies buried between 1380 bc, during Egypt’s New Kingdom, and ad 425, in the Roman era.
lol at this flagrant propaganda.
of course those bootleg-ass mummies from the roman period would have Middle Eastern DNA. The Middle East was part of the roman empire then.
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The study, published on 30 May in Nature Communications1, includes data from 90 mummies buried between 1380 bc, during Egypt’s New Kingdom, and ad 425, in the Roman era.
lol at this flagrant propaganda.
of course those bootleg-ass mummies from the roman period would have Middle Eastern DNA. The Middle East was part of the roman empire then.
Yes.....
We know the Roman era would be European....
They are trying to say that these people are more middle eastern than Africans.....
Musicians at a banquet. Mural from the tomb of Rekhmire, vizier under Thutmosis III (1490-1439 BCE) and Amenophis II (1439-1413 BCE). 18th Dynasty, New Kingdom, Egypt.
http://www.msafropolitan.com/2015/11/ancient-egypt-was-black-african.html
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Yeah my point was they're testing 90 mummies from the course of 1000 years (out of around 5000 covering prehistory - ancient Egypt). Why would they do that? A new kingdom mummy shouldn't be lumped in with a roman period mummy unless you have an agenda.
Put it this way... if I was going to do a study to determine what the genetics of a Native American was would I do a study with "random" samples from the past 200 years up until today? Only if I wanted to mislead people. -
I havent really read the original research....
But, if that is true then the ancient people of the Levant looked like this....
This was Amenhotep IV's biological mother....
And that's tut's grandmother....
The new kingdom is the most famous.....
Whites have been trying to claim it and Akhenaten/Tutankhamun forever.....
Lol They can have Tut. He didn't do ? . -
The Lonious Monk wrote: »I havent really read the original research....
But, if that is true then the ancient people of the Levant looked like this....
This was Amenhotep IV's biological mother....
And that's tut's grandmother....
The new kingdom is the most famous.....
Whites have been trying to claim it and Akhenaten/Tutankhamun forever.....
Lol They can have Tut. He didn't do ? .
Sadly, this is so damn true. He just filled an empty void after his famous father passed away and the one people wanted was his elder brother who died from an accident. He just got the worst luck. -
Anyone have good source material evidence for how long black Egypt largely remained black? Secular evidence preferred but I'll take Biblical as well
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SMH, here these racist scientist go again lol. Anything they can get they hands on that don't look african lol. Thank ? some of y'all on here already pointed the ? out. I was about to go in. They are obsessed, they refuse to believe we did this unbelievable ? that we can barley understand in modern times. It's the same with the native australians. They just can't figure out how they can have natural straight hair, blonde hair, and blue/green eyes. With absolutely no connection to europeans. It's the same in some parts of africa that haven't ever been invaded. To this day a minority(most people of science don't indulge in this silly ? ) of racist scientist can't accept reality.
I wish they would test the black folks that are left in egypt(who aint sucking Allah's ? ) DNA. That ? would answer a lot of questions. Why don't they test sudanese, somali's, libyans, and ethiopians? A lot of the O.G egyptians fled to those areas to escape the constant invasions. Hell, a lot of O.G egyptions are originally from these places. The people of Sudan straight up claim that they fled from egypt. When the arabs started to attack and islam started gaining momentum. Somalia has a direct connection to ancient egypt. Saw this documentary speaking on how arabs destroyed a lot of their history. Just like they did in egypt. They showed some hieroglyphs of some egyptians dancing. They discovered that some groups of somalis do this same exact dance today. It's a traditional old ass dance that they've been doing forever. Even some of their traditional outfits(not that arab ghost looking ? ) is very similar. -
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See
That's some ether. If everything stated there is true, they misrepresented the new study even more than I thought. -
PILL_COSBY wrote: »SMH, here these racist scientist go again lol. Anything they can get they hands on that don't look african lol. Thank ? some of y'all on here already pointed the ? out. I was about to go in. They are obsessed, they refuse to believe we did this unbelievable ? that we can barley understand in modern times. It's the same with the native australians. They just can't figure out how they can have natural straight hair, blonde hair, and blue/green eyes. With absolutely no connection to europeans. It's the same in some parts of africa that haven't ever been invaded. To this day a minority(most people of science don't indulge in this silly ? ) of racist scientist can't accept reality.
I wish they would test the black folks that are left in egypt(who aint sucking Allah's ? ) DNA. That ? would answer a lot of questions. Why don't they test sudanese, somali's, libyans, and ethiopians? A lot of the O.G egyptians fled to those areas to escape the constant invasions. Hell, a lot of O.G egyptions are originally from these places. The people of Sudan straight up claim that they fled from egypt. When the arabs started to attack and islam started gaining momentum. Somalia has a direct connection to ancient egypt. Saw this documentary speaking on how arabs destroyed a lot of their history. Just like they did in egypt. They showed some hieroglyphs of some egyptians dancing. They discovered that some groups of somalis do this same exact dance today. It's a traditional old ass dance that they've been doing forever. Even some of their traditional outfits(not that arab ghost looking ? ) is very similar.
They did tests on Modern Egyptians. In fact they are really descendants of ancient Egyptians. But only Y chromosome wise, their maternal ancestry is Levant aka Canaanite. It's no secret that African men were feenin for some Levant and Syrian women. Just like how some brothers today feenin for some white women. -
The Lonious Monk wrote: »
Yeah, the test wasn't pseudo, but they were using results to paint a picture that the Egyptians were these foreigners. It's more pseudo history. -
Respect OP for the post but man, waaayyy too many European hands have exploited and controlled the narrative so long I can stomach ANYTHING from them. I can't trust their slant on our history.
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Ajackson17 wrote: »Cliff notes please. Yeah I'm being lazy right now, ? it.
They did DNA on a specific region and specific time periods and found out that these people don't have much sub-saharan ancestry and more closer related to Levant (Canaanites), Southern European (Sea People aka Philistines) and Turkish people (Hittites). Just studying the history of the specific region and time periods that they cover, there were many foreigners in this region and mixing was going on. So this was in the later half of Egypt's history. These would not be the pyramid builders.
Meaning they are from the Black Shemetic Race and The Hamitic Race -
Straight grave robbing man. They aren't utilizing the findings 2 further the betterment of humanity. They wanna prove Egyptians we're of Euro decent once and 4 all.
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waterproof wrote: »Ajackson17 wrote: »Cliff notes please. Yeah I'm being lazy right now, ? it.
They did DNA on a specific region and specific time periods and found out that these people don't have much sub-saharan ancestry and more closer related to Levant (Canaanites), Southern European (Sea People aka Philistines) and Turkish people (Hittites). Just studying the history of the specific region and time periods that they cover, there were many foreigners in this region and mixing was going on. So this was in the later half of Egypt's history. These would not be the pyramid builders.
Meaning they are from the Black Shemetic Race and The Hamitic Race
The Lebanese are Canaanites descendants. They don't look "Hamitic" and "Shemitic" whatever that is. -
Current Lebanese are descendants of the Canaanites.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/07/canaanite-bible-ancient-dna-lebanon-genetics-archaeology/