The first genome data from ancient Egyptianmummies30 May 2017

Map of Egypt, showing the archaeological site of Abusir-el Meleq (orange X), and the location of the modernEgyptian samples used in the study (orange circles).Credit: Graphic: Annette Guenzel. Credit: NatureCommunications, DOI: 10.1038/NCOMMS15694

An international team of scientists, led byresearchers from the University of Tuebingen andthe Max Planck Institute for the Science of HumanHistory in Jena, successfully recovered andanalyzed ancient DNA from Egyptian mummiesdating from approximately 1400 BCE to 400 CE,including the first genome-wide nuclear data fromthree individuals, establishing ancient Egyptianmummies as a reliable source for genetic material

to study the ancient past. The study, publishedtoday in Nature Communications, found thatmodern Egyptians share more ancestry with Sub-Saharan Africans than ancient Egyptians did,whereas ancient Egyptians were found to be mostclosely related to ancient people from the NearEast.

Egypt is a promising location for the study ofancient populations. It has a rich and well-documented history, and its geographic locationand many interactions with populations fromsurrounding areas, in Africa, Asia and Europe,make it a dynamic region. Recent advances in thestudy of ancient DNA present an intriguingopportunity to test existing understandings ofEgyptian history using ancient genetic data.

However, genetic studies of ancient Egyptianmummies are rare due to methodological andcontamination issues. Although some of the firstextractions of ancient DNA were from mummifiedremains, scientists have raised doubts as towhether genetic data, especially nuclear genomedata, from mummies would be reliable, even if itcould be recovered. "The potential preservation ofDNA has to be regarded with skepticism," confirmsJohannes Krause, Director at the Max PlanckInstitute for the Science of Human History in Jenaand senior author of the study. "The hot Egyptianclimate, the high humidity levels in many tombs andsome of the chemicals used in mummificationtechniques, contribute to DNA degradation and arethought to make the long-term survival of DNA inEgyptian mummies unlikely." The ability of theauthors of this study to extract nuclear DNA fromsuch mummies and to show its reliability usingrobust authentication methods is a breakthroughthat opens the door to further direct study ofmummified remains.

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Verena Schuenemann at the Palaeogenetics Laboratory,University of Tuebingen. Credit: Johannes Krause

For this study, an international team of researchersfrom the University of Tuebingen, the Max PlanckInstitute for the Science of Human History in Jena,the University of Cambridge, the Polish Academy ofSciences, and the Berlin Society of Anthropology,Ethnology and Prehistory, looked at geneticdifferentiation and population continuity over a1,300 year timespan, and compared these resultsto modern populations. The team sampled 151mummified individuals from the archaeological siteof Abusir el-Meleq, along the Nile River in MiddleEgypt, from two anthropological collections hostedand curated at the University of Tuebingen and theFelix von Luschan Skull Collection at the Museumof Prehistory of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin,

Stiftung Preussicher Kulturbesitz.

In total, the authors recovered mitochondrialgenomes from 90 individuals, and genome-widedatasets from three individuals. They were able touse the data gathered to test previous hypothesesdrawn from archaeological and historical data, andfrom studies of modern DNA. "In particular, wewere interested in looking at changes andcontinuities in the genetic makeup of the ancientinhabitants of Abusir el-Meleq," said AlexanderPeltzer, one of the lead authors of the study fromthe University of Tuebingen. The team wanted todetermine if the investigated ancient populationswere affected at the genetic level by foreignconquest and domination during the time periodunder study, and compared these populations tomodern Egyptian comparative populations. "Wewanted to test if the conquest of Alexander theGreat and other foreign powers has left a geneticimprint on the ancient Egyptian population,"explains Verena Schuenemann, group leader at theUniversity of Tuebingen and one of the leadauthors of this study.

Sarcophagus of Tadja, Abusir el-Meleq. Credit:bpk/Aegyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung,SMB/Sandra Steiss

Close genetic relationship between ancientEgyptians and ancient populations in the NearEast

The study found that ancient Egyptians were most

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closely related to ancient populations in the Levant,and were also closely related to Neolithicpopulations from the Anatolian Peninsula andEurope. "The genetics of the Abusir el-Meleqcommunity did not undergo any major shifts duringthe 1,300 year timespan we studied, suggestingthat the population remained genetically relativelyunaffected by foreign conquest and rule," saysWolfgang Haak, group leader at the Max PlanckInstitute for the Science of Human History in Jena.The data shows that modern Egyptians shareapproximately 8% more ancestry on the nuclearlevel with Sub-Saharan African populations thanwith ancient Egyptians. "This suggests that anincrease in Sub-Saharan African gene flow intoEgypt occurred within the last 1,500 years,"explains Stephan Schiffels, group leader at the MaxPlanck Institute for the Science of Human History inJena. Possible causal factors may have beenimproved mobility down the Nile River, increasedlong-distance trade between Sub-Saharan Africaand Egypt, and the trans-Saharan slave trade thatbegan approximately 1,300 years ago.

This study counters prior skepticism about thepossibility of recovering reliable ancient DNA fromEgyptian mummies. Despite the potential issues ofdegradation and contamination caused by climateand mummification methods, the authors were ableto use high-throughput DNA sequencing and robustauthentication methods to ensure the ancient originand reliability of the data. The study thus showsthat Egyptian mummies can be a reliable source ofancient DNA, and can greatly contribute to a moreaccurate and refined understanding of Egypt'spopulation history.

More information: Ancient Egyptian mummygenomes suggest an increase of Sub-SaharanAfrican ancestry in post-Roman periods, NatureCommunications (2017). nature.com/articles/doi:10.1038/ncomms15694

Provided by Max Planck SocietyAPA citation: The first genome data from ancient Egyptian mummies (2017, May 30) retrieved 11 June2022 from https://phys.org/news/2017-05-genome-ancient-egyptian-mummies.html

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