Examination of skeleton points to genetic connection between ancient Egyptian, Mesopotamian people

Ancient DNA has uncovered a genetic connection between ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian cultures.

According to a study published this week in the Nature publication, scientists analyzed whole genomes from a well-preserved skeleton found inside a sealed burial pot in an Egyptian tomb, dated to between 4,495 and 4,880 years ago. About 80% of the man's genome was linked to North Africa and the Egyptian region, while the remaining 20% showed ties to Mesopotamia — specifically the Fertile Crescent, the area between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers where early civilizations flourished.

“This is a highly significant discovery,” said Daniel Antoine, curator of Egypt and Sudan at the British Museum, noting that it is the first direct genetic proof of a relationship that prior archaeological work had long suggested.

Earlier evidence pointed to trade between Egypt and Mesopotamia and noted similarities in pottery styles and early writing systems. Even dental structure resemblances hinted at shared ancestry. This new genetic data strengthens the theory of human movement and interaction between these civilizations.

“The Nile likely served as an ancient superhighway, enabling the flow of not just goods and ideas, but people as well,” said Antoine, who was not part of the study.

The individual studied lived just before or during the dawn of Egypt’s Old Kingdom, when the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt led to political consolidation and major achievements such as the construction of the Giza pyramids.

“This period marked the birth of ancient Egypt as we know it,” said study co-author Linus Girdland-Flink, a paleogeneticist at the University of Aberdeen. Around the same era, Sumerian city-states and cuneiform writing began to emerge in Mesopotamia.

Researchers stress that further ancient DNA studies are essential to better understand the scope and timing of movements between these early cultural centers.

According to data published on the World History webpage, Mesopotamia — meaning "between two rivers" in Greek — was an ancient region that was located in the eastern Mediterranean bounded in the northeast by the Zagros Mountains and in the southeast by the Arabian Plateau. It spanned across the territories of modern-day Iraq and parts of Iran, Syria, Kuwait, and Türkiye and known as the Fertile Crescent and the cradle of civilization.

The 'two rivers' of the name refer to the Tigris and the Euphrates and the land was known as "Al-Jazirah" (the island) to the Arabs as a fertile land surrounded by water. Known as the cradle of civilization, it consisted of diverse cultures linked only by language, religion, and customs unlike more unified civilizations like that in ancient Egypt.

By Nazrin Sadigova