During a study conducted in collaboration between Liverpool University John Moores and the Francis Crick Institute, researchers managed for the first time to sequence the complete genome of an individual who lived in Egypt between 4,500 and 4,800 years before our era. Until now, only partial attempts had been carried out, in particular that of the Nobel Prix Svante Pääbo in the 1980s.
The objective of this research was to document the migratory flows between ancient Egypt and the fertile crescent (which extends from southern Turkey to Jordan) during this period. If material and iconographic exchanges between these regions were already attested, a complete genetic study should make it possible to support them.
The analyzes were carried out from the remains of an individual discovered in 1902 in Nuwayrat (Egypt), in a rock tomb, where his body had been placed in a sealed ceramic pot. The remains are preserved today at the World Museum in Liverpool. It is mainly the teeth, better preserved in hot and arid climates, which made it possible to extract DNA.
Remains of the inhabitant of ancient Egypt, discovered in 1902.
© GuyaTang Musem, University of Liverpool
The results indicate that the genome of the individual is composed of 80 % North African ancestry and 20 % of near-East origin, suggesting migratory links. Other data reveal that he died at around sixty years old, that he was likely to suffer from arthritis, and that his eating habits were in accordance with those in the region. The analysis of muscle marks on the bones suggests that he was a potter, frequently seated, outstretched arm, tilted head – a posture compatible with the use of the potter’s tower, introduced at that time. However, the high -ranking tomb where he was buried suggests that he was a recognized or economically easy craftsman.
The individual lived in the transition between the early dynastic period and the old empire, a phase marked by the emergence of the first pyramids. He died before the generalization of artificial mummification, which explains the good conservation of his DNA.
Since the first research carried out by Svante Pääbo, sequencing techniques have been considerably perfected. Rigorous protocols have been applied to avoid contamination by contemporary DNA, a difficulty encountered in previous works.
This method opens the way to a better understanding of migratory flows between Africa, ancient Egypt and the Middle East.
