Caroline Wilkinson / Liverpool John Moores University
It is the first complete genome sequenced of someone from ancient Egypt. Discovered DNA with 4,800 years, which reveals links with Mesopotamia.
A sample of ADN has managed to survive for almost 5,000 years and, moreover, reveals an unexpected ancestor of ancient Egyptians.
An international study achieved sequencing, for the first time, the full genome of a person from ancient Egyptdied between 4,500 and 4,800 years ago.
The remains, discovered in 1902 in the village of Nuwayrat, in southern Cairo, were exceptionally well preserved due to the fact that the body was buried in a vase of sealed ceramic.
The launch a new light on the genetic and cultural origins of the first Nile civilizations.
The individual, a man an estimated age between 44 and 64 yearsby means of just over 1.50 meters and had signs of osteoarthritis e physical wear, suggesting that it performed intense handicrafts, possibly linked to the pottery.
Despite its apparent humble origin, it was buried in a ceremonial bowl, which indicates a high -ended social status or professional skills recognized by the community.
Resorting to advanced genomic sequence techniques, the researchers got rebuild your genetic profilerevealing that it had dark skin, brown eyes and brown hair.
Adds that isotopic analyzes also indicated that their diet It was based on wheat, barley and animal proteins – typical of the Nile Valley populations during the beginning of the dynastic period.
One of the most surprising discoveries is that 20 % of its genetic material coincides with that of old Mesopotamian populations. This connection provides the first direct genetic proof of biological exchanges between Egypt and Western Asia in the third millennium before our era, previously inferred only based on archaeological traces.
The discovery reinforces the idea of an ancient world much more interconnected than it was supposed.
