For the first time, scientists have successfully sequenced the complete genome of an individual from ancient Egypt, offering unprecedented insights into early Egyptian ancestry and revealing a genetic connection to Mesopotamia dating back nearly 5,000 years.
In a recent study published in the journal Nature, scientists from the Francis Crick Institute and Liverpool John Moores University analyzed DNA from a man buried in the Egyptian village of Nuwayrat, 265 kilometers south of Cairo. He died sometime between 4,500 and 4,800 years ago, during Egypt’s Early Dynastic and Old Kingdom eras, a time of constructing the first pyramids and the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt.
His remains were found in 1902, buried in a sealed ceramic pot within a rock-cut tomb—conditions that helped to preserve his corpse in the region’s climate. “The pot burial, in combination with the rock-cut tomb into which the pot burial was placed, provided a stable environment,” said Linus Girdland-Flink, an archaeologist at the University of Aberdeen and co-author of the study.
Thanks to shotgun sequencing, researchers extracted and analyzed DNA from the root of one of his teeth. The genome indicated that approximately 80% of his ancestry belonged to ancient North Africans, while 20% came from the eastern Fertile Crescent region, specifically Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq). This is the first time that genetic confirmation has validated long-proposed cultural and genetic exchange between Egypt and West Asia. While farming practices and artifacts were indicative of trade and exchange, this genome reveals a deeper level of human migration and intermixing.
Adeline Morez Jacobs, lead author and visiting research fellow at Liverpool John Moores University, explained: “Piecing together all the clues from this individual’s DNA, bones, and teeth has allowed us to build a comprehensive picture. We hope that future DNA samples from ancient Egypt can expand on when precisely this movement from West Asia started.”
Further examination of his skeleton revealed details of his life. Liverpool John Moores University bioarchaeologist Joel Irish estimated the man was between 44 and 64 years of age at the time of his death—an unusually advanced age for the period. His skeleton showed clear evidence of osteoarthritis and muscle development consistent with a life of hard labor. Features of his pelvis and curved spine showed he sat for long hours with arms outstretched, likely engaged in a trade such as pottery.
Genetic indicators suggest he was likely brown-eyed, brown-haired, and dark-skinned. Isotopic analysis of his tooth enamel also revealed that he had grown up in the Nile Valley, consuming wheat, barley, legumes, and animal protein common in the ancient Egyptian diet.
The research comes after decades of attempts to recover DNA from ancient Egyptian remains. Swedish geneticist Svante Pääbo, who later won a Nobel Prize for sequencing the Neanderthal genome, had previously tried in the 1980s to obtain DNA from Egyptian mummies but had been foiled by preservation challenges until recent advances in DNA sequencing enabled whole-genome recovery.
Before this study, only three genomes of ancient Egyptians had been sequenced, and none of them were complete. They were from much later periods, between 787 BCE and 23 CE, and provided only partial data by target-enriched sequencing. The new study is a landmark in history because it provides a full genome from the formative period of ancient Egypt.
Although significant, researchers caution that the data is from one individual and does not necessarily indicate the entire range of ancient Egyptians. The research team aims to collaborate further with Egyptian institutions to expand the sample size.
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