For the first time, researchers have sequenced the genome of a man from ancient Egypt, whose remains date to the 3rd millennium BC. The results indicate that he had links with both North Africa and Mesopotamia. The human skeleton was discovered at Nuwayrat, located near the village of Beni Hasan, 165 miles (265 km) south of Cairo. The remains were contained in a pot, which may have been the reason why enough DNA had been preserved to study. According to the study (see link below), the skeleton was carbon dated to 2855–2570 cal BC, meaning the man lived a few centuries after Egyptian unification, straddling the Early Dynastic Period and the Old Kingdom. The genetic sequencing revealed that 80% of his ancestry was from North Africa, while 20% came from the Fertile Crescent, including the region of Mesopotamia. The authors of the study conclude that contact between Egypt and Mesopotamia was not limited to artifacts alone, but that there was also a level of human migration.
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