For the first time, scientists have decoded the oldest and most complete genetic code of an ancient Egyptian, who lived about 4,500 years ago, revealing new secrets from the Old Kingdom.

                         Pyramids of Egypt

This man's remains were found in 1902 by British archaeologists inside a ceramic vessel in his tomb in the Nuwayrat cemetery, more than 240 km south of Cairo. Scientists now believe that these unusual burial conditions helped preserve his DNA for the past four thousand years.

      Ancient Egyptian remains from the pyramid                          era discovered in 1912


Scientists have successfully decoded the entire genome of the first ancient Egyptian, using intact DNA extracted from his teeth. They published their findings Wednesday in the prestigious journal Nature. The study indicates that this man lived between 2855 and 2570 BC, during a transitional period between the end of the Early Dynastic Period and the beginning of the Old Kingdom, when Egypt's rulers began to consolidate power and ushered in what is known as the "Age of the Pyramids." While other studies have succeeded in decoding the genetic codes of hundreds of much older skeletons, some of which belong to Neanderthals around 45,000 years ago in various regions of the world, Egypt remains an exceptional mystery in this regard.

Previously, the oldest DNA extracted from ancient Egypt belonged to three mummies dating from 787 to 23 BC. However, those samples represented only parts of the genome and were incomplete. The new genome, however, is complete and belongs to an individual who lived approximately 1,500 years earlier.

It's worth noting that Egypt's hot climate accelerates the decomposition of biological materials.

Scientists also discovered that approximately 80% of this man's ancestry traces back to Neolithic North African populations, while the remaining 20% ​​is attributed to ancient peoples from Western Asia, including Mesopotamia and the eastern Fertile Crescent. Researchers found no evidence of East African or sub-Saharan African ancestry.

Researchers don't know when the mixing between these two population groups occurred in this man's lineage, but they believe it occurred over hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years, and possibly more than once. This genetic data is consistent with archaeological evidence, which indicates that the same people moved and intermarried between different regions, and it reinforces theories that emphasize ancient Egypt's position as a center, hub, and cultural incubator of the ancient world. Furthermore, the scientists reconstructed his face based on the genetic information they obtained, as shown in the image below. To avoid guesswork about features that could not be precisely identified, the research team decided to use only gray colors, without hair or skin tone.

Reconstruction of the face of the ancient Egyptian

It's worth noting that the scientists were certain that such an image would spark some controversy, as had happened with previous images of ancient Egyptians, which were often criticized for their appearance, which they considered "too European" or "too African," as they put it.