Study reveals ancient Egyptians closer to Levantines than Africans

Ancient Egyptians had closer genetic ties to the people of the Mediterranean than to those of sub-Saharan Africa, a recent DNA study has revealed.

In the most sophisticated genetic study of ancient Egyptians yet, DNA from 151 mummies was extracted and analyzed from an archaeological site south of Cairo. 

Led by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History and the University of Tubingen in Germany, the study found that ancient Egyptians were closely related to people in Turkey and the Levant. The results were published in the journal Nature Communications.

"There has been much discussion about the genetic ancestry of ancient Egyptians," said Johannes Krause, the archaeogeneticist leading the study, according to the Washington Post. "Are modern Egyptians direct descendants of ancient Egyptians? [...] Did foreign invaders change the genetic makeup?" 

In an attempt to answer these questions, DNA was extracted from the bones, teeth and soft tissues of mummies found in the Abusir El-Malek archaeological site.

The mummies date back to the period spanning from 1388 BC up until 426 AD after Egypt had become a Roman Empire province.

The samples were then analyzed and compared with samples of modern Egyptians and Ethiopians. 

The researchers noted that the results may not be representative of the entire ancient Egyptian population, as the genetic data was obtained from a single site in Egypt.

Researchers were surprised to find that ancient Egyptians had little to no genetic ties with sub-Saharan populations, despite having significant interactions with the before-mentioned populations back then.

The study revealed that ancient Egyptians mostly shared genetic material with people who lived along the eastern Mediterranean, more specifically those who were present in parts of Iraq, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, as well as Lebanon.

The samples also revealed a genetic kinship with residents of the Turkish peninsula and Europe at the time.

The findings were rather groundbreaking as modern Egyptians share genetic material with sub-Saharan populations. "In the last 1,500 years, Egypt became more African, if you want," Krause explained.

Still, the study has not determined the exact origins of Egyptians, a task that can only be accomplished if older genomes are discovered.