Old Kingdom sample is highly natufian

[kaahin13]

Doctoral thesis coming out:
http://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/18979/

Morez, A (2023) Reconstructing past human genetic variation with ancient DNA: case studies from ancient Egypt and medieval Europe. Doctoral thesis, Liverpool John Moores University.

He analyzed samples from both egypt and sudan, but only one sample from egypt dated between 2,868-2,492 cal BCE (3rd to 4th dynasty period) was recovered. Interestingly, the author finds "sample did not carry the Caucasus Hunter-Gatherer genetic component that started to spread across West Asia ~4,000 years ago and is widely spread in present-day populations. The presence of this component in Egypt is likely associated with admixture between local Egyptian populations and Bronze Age-related populations from West Asia. This admixture pattern might result from the dominance of Lower Egypt by Canaanite (Levantine) rulers during the Second Intermediate Period (ca. 1,650-1,550 BCE)."

 

[Cognitive]

Was going to post it, lol.

Anyway, this is interesting, and hopefully, other samples (from the same 34) can soon be sequenced. I'd take them even if they're all low-coverage.

In case anyone wonders where the f*ck Nuerat was, well, it's somewhere near Beni Hassan. Within the range of 16th nome, and is located in southern regions of the modern Minya Governorate.

 

[Juke]

*Natufian-like

It's not clear how much of the ancient Egyptian ancestry is from Neolithic Levant vs the NE African population ancestral to both

 

[Ibn Amer]

Natufian-like ancestry in North East Africans is more likely Egyptian Hunter Gatherer + Neolithic Levantine/Mediterranean rather than actual direct Natufian ancestry.