by From Will Dunham
(Reuters) -Dna, which were obtained from the remains of a man who lived in ancient Egypt around the time of the first pyramids, provides evidence of the connections between two major cultures of this time, with a fifth of his genetic ancestors being pursued to Mesopotamia.
Although the results are based on a single genome, they offer a unique insight into the genetic history of the ancient Egyptians – a difficult task when you consider that Egypt’s hot climate of the DNA conservation is not beneficial.
The researchers extracted DNA from the roots of two teeth, part of the man’s skeletal remains, which have been buried in a large -sealed ceramic ship in a stone grave for thousands of years. Then they managed to sequence his entire genome, a premiere for everyone who lived in ancient Egypt.
The man lived about 4,500-4,800 years ago, according to the researchers, at the beginning of a time of prosperity and stability, which is known as Old Reich and is known as a monumental pharaonic grave for the construction of immense pyramids.
The ceramic ship was excavated in 1902 at a place called Nuwayrat near the village of Beni Hassan, about 270 km south of Cairo. The researchers said that the man was about 60 years old when he died, and these aspects of his skeleton gave the opportunity to work as a Potter.
The DNA showed that the man mainly dropped from local population groups, with about 80% of its descent being attributed to Egypt or adjacent parts of North Africa. But about 20% of his descent were attributed to a region of the old Middle East, which was called fertile crescent moon and comprised Mesopotamia.
“This indicates considerable genetic connections between the ancient Egypt and the eastern fertile crescent,” said genetic population geneticist Adeline Morez Jacobs from the Liverpool John Moores University in England and the Francis Crick Institute in London, head of the study published on Wednesday in the journal Nature.
The results build on the archaeological evidence of trade and cultural exchange between the ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, a region that includes modern Iraq as well as parts of Iran and Syria.
During the third millennium BC
Egypt showed cultural connections with mesopotamia, based on some common artistic motifs, architecture and imports such as Lapis Lazuli, the Blue Semiprecious Stone, the researchers said.
The ceramic bike from Mesopotamia first appeared in Egypt at the time when the man lived, a time when the earliest pyramids near the modern Cairos launched, starting with the step pyramid of the Pharaoh Djoser in Saqqara and later the great pyramid of the Pharaoh Khufu at Giza.
About 90% of the man’s skeleton were preserved. It was about 5-foot 3 (1.59 meters) tall and with a slim building. He also had diseases that matched older age such as osteoporosis and arthrosis as well as a large unsuitable abscess of dental infections.
“The old DNA recovery from Egyptian remains was exceptionally difficult due to the hot climate of Egypt, which accelerates the DNA reduction, with high temperatures in comparison to cooler, more stable environments,” said Francis Crick Institute population geneticist and study co-author pontus skoglund.
“In this case, the funeral of the individual in a ceramic pot vessel probably contributed to the unusual DNA maintenance in the region in a gap of rock,” added Skoglund.
The fact that his burial became a standard practice before mumification in Egypt may have contributed to avoiding DNA reduction, since its remnants were spared elaborate maintenance techniques.
According to the paleogenetic and studied co-author Linus Girdland, the University of Aberdeen in Scotland tried to regain the ancient Egyptian genomes. An earlier effort resulted in a partial genom sequencing of three people who lived about 1,500 years after the Nuwayrat man.
In view of the success story, the researchers were surprised by their success in sequencing the man’s genome.
“Yes, it was a long shot,” said Skoglund.
The man may have worked as a Potter or in a trade with similar movements because his bones had muscle brands that have been sitting with limbs stretched out for a long time.
“All indicators match movements and positions of a potter, as stated in the ancient Egyptian pictures,” said the bioarchologist and studies co-author Joel Irish. “He would have been a high status to have been buried in a rock grave. This is in conflict with his hard physical life and his assumption that he was a potter, which would normally have been a working class. Maybe he was an excellent potter.”
(Dunham reporting in Washington, editing of Rosalba O’Brien)
