The Mummy Returns: Secrets of Ancient Egyptian DNA Revealed!

Winchester, VA – The Daily Mail is reporting on results of genetic testing on ancient Egyptian mummies that was performed by a team of scientists from the University of Tuebingen and the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. Usable DNA was retrieved from 90 mummies and full-genome DNA data was found from 3 mummies. The genetic information they extracted was compared to DNA taken from modern Egyptians to scrutinize the differences and similarities. What the testing surprisingly discovered is that Ancient Egyptians were more Turkish and European in ancestry than African. They were found to be closely related to the people of Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Israel and Lebanon. They also were genetically related to the Mediterranean populations and the neolithic populations from Europe. Ancient Egypt was a center of trade at the portal of Africa, and experienced rule by multiple foreign powers. The study also determined that modern Egyptians are more related to the Sub-Saharan African populations.