Mummies’ DNA Reveals Egyptians Relatives From The East

• Ancient DNA study of 90 Egyptian mummies revealed the hook-up history of the Egypt with the foreigners from the east
• Verena Schuenemann was able to finally get the clean DNA samples by working on samples from teeth and bone
• The revelation did not come as a surprise to the scientists as they found the genetic ties of the mummies to the Middle East and Greece

June 26, 2017: The mummies of the Egypt and THE Egyptian art always fascinated us. The way bodies are preserved in the Egyptian mummy caskets and the mummification process has always interested the scientists in particular.

When the ancient DNA of 90 Egyptian mummies was studied, it revealed the hook-up history of the Egyptians with the foreigners from the east.

The first DNA sample from the mummies was yielded in 1985 but the samples were highly contaminated and scientists could not find a way to get clean DNA samples, free of modern contamination.

Verena Schuenemann and her colleagues from the University of Tübingen in Germany were able to finally get the clean DNA samples from three mummies by using the latest technology on human genetic testing by working on the samples extracted from teeth and bones rather than using the soft tissue. The origin of the mummies was found to be from 1388 BC to 426 AD.

The revelation did not come as a surprise to the scientists as they found the genetic ties of the mummies to the Middle East and Greece since Egypt was a centre of trade and travel back in time.

Prepared by Sumit Balodi of NewsGram. Twitter: @sumit_balodi