I have always been fascinated with ancient mummies from Egypt
ever since I was a child, so I take any opportunity to learn more about the
Egyptian culture. An article that was published last year compared the DNA
extracted from three ancient Egyptian mummies to the DNA of a modern Egyptian
population. The results showed that ancient Egyptians shared more ancestry with
Near Easterners than present day Egyptians who share more ancestry and
admixture with people from sub Saharan Africa. This shows the effects that globalization
has on genetic diversity, especially in a location that is ideal for admixing
with people from Africa, Europe, and Asia. Studying both the ancient and
present Egyptian genome can help knit together Egypt’s past while also
providing insight to Egypt’s long history of cultural and genetic exchange.
For the original article in nature communications go here.
-Sam
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