Modern Egyptians share 8% of their genome with central Africans, far more than ancient ones, according to the study (Ancient Egyptian Mummy Genomes Suggest an Increase of Sub-Saharan African Ancestry in post-Roman Periods), published in the journal Nature Communications.
Egypt over the span of antiquity was conquered many times including by Alexander the Great, by the:
Greeks
Romans
Arabs
and more.
Researchers wanted to know if these constant waves of invaders caused any major genetic changes in the populace over time.
Group leader Wolfgang Haak at the Max Planck Institute in Germany said,
"The genetics of the Abusir el-Meleq community did not undergo any major shifts during the 1,300 year time-span we studied, suggesting that the population remained genetically relatively unaffected by foreign conquest and rule."
The study was led by archeo-geneticist Johannes Krause, also of the Max Planck Institute.
Historically, there's been a problem finding intact DNA from ancient Egyptian mummies.
"The hot Egyptian climate, the high humidity levels in many tombs and some of the chemicals used in mummification techniques, contribute to DNA degradation and are thought to make the long-term survival of DNA in Egyptian mummies unlikely," Dr. Krause said.
The mummified remains of Queen Hatshepsut wet-nurse Sitre-In. Egyptian Museum, Cairo. 2007. Getty Images.
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It was also thought that, even if genetic material were recovered, it may not be reliable.
Despite this, Krause and colleagues have been able to introduce robust DNA sequencing and verification techniques, and completed the first successful genomic testing on ancient Egyptian mummies.
Each came from Abusir el-Meleq, an archaeological site situated along the Nile, 70 miles (115 km) south of Cairo.
Researchers also gathered historical and archaeological data, to give their discoveries some context.
They wanted to know what changes had occurred over time.
To find out, they compared the mummies' genomes to that of 100 modern Egyptians and 125 Ethiopians.
"For 1,300 years, we see complete genetic continuity," Krause said.
The oldest mummy sequenced was from the New Kingdom, 1,388 BCE, when Egypt was at the height of its power and glory.
The youngest was from 426 CE, when the country was ruled from Rome.
The ability to acquire genomic data on ancient Egyptians is a dramatic achievement, which opens up new avenues of research.
One limitation according to their report,
"All our genetic data were obtained from a single site in Middle Egypt and may not be representative for all of ancient Egypt."
In southern Egypt they say, the genetic makeup of the people may have been different, being closer to the interior of the continent.
Researchers in future want to determine exactly when Sub-Saharan African genes seeped into the Egyptian genome and why.
They'll also want to know where ancient Egyptians themselves came from.
To do so, they'll have to identify older DNA from, as Krause said,
"Back further in time, in prehistory."
Using high-throughput DNA sequencing and cutting-edge authentication techniques, researchers proved they could retrieve reliable DNA from mummies, despite the unforgiving climate and damaging embalming techniques.
Further testing will likely contribute much knowledge to our understanding of the ancient Egyptians and perhaps even those from other places as well, helping to fill in the gaps in humanity's collective memory.
To learn about the latest Egyptian archaeological find, watch below video:
