Within a tomb cut into a limestone hill at the Nuwayrat necropolis in Egypt, archaeologists found a ceramic pot. Curled inside it was the skeleton of a man from the Old Kingdom Period, some 4,500 years ago. And inside one of that man’s teeth, scientists recovered a genetic time capsule.
The analysis showed that 80 percent of the man’s DNA came from Neolithic North African groups, and 20 percent from populations located in West Asia. This represents the earliest and most complete glimpse yet into the ancestry of an ancient Egyptian.
“The 80/20 split between North African and West Asian ancestry provides crucial insight into the population movements that shaped ancient Egyptian civilization.”
Scientists used a 3D scan of the Nuwayrat man’s face to reconstruct what he may have looked like — though they deliberately left out hair and skin color, noting these would be “more speculative.” Strains on his bones suggest he did a lot of repetitive, back-bending work, leading researchers to deduce he was possibly a skilled potter.
As to why he was buried in a pot — the researchers are unsure. But the discovery adds another piece to the puzzle of who the ancient Egyptians were and where they came from.
