The man, who lived between 4,500 and 4,800 years ago during the era of the earliest pyramids, was discovered in a sealed clay pot near Nuwayrat, south of Cairo. His remains, now kept at Liverpool’s World Museum, were unearthed in 1902 but only recently yielded enough DNA for analysis. Genetic analysis indicates he had brown eyes, dark hair, and dark skin.
The findings, published in Nature, show that around 80 percent of his ancestry came from ancient North Africans, while about 20 percent traced back to West Asia and Mesopotamia( modern‑day Iraq and Iran). Researchers say this provides the first genetic evidence of population movement between these regions, long suspected through archaeological finds.
“Piecing together all the clues from this individual’s DNA, bones, and teeth has allowed us to build a comprehensive picture,” said Dr Adeline Morez Jacobs, lead author and visiting fellow at Liverpool John Moores University. “We hope that future DNA samples from ancient Egypt can expand on when precisely this movement from West Asia started.”
A breakthrough
Egypt’s hot climate usually destroys genetic material, frustrating decades of research. Even Nobel laureate Svante Pääbo’s early attempts in the 1980s failed. But advances in sequencing technology and the unusual preservation of this man’s tooth cementum, a tissue that locks teeth into the jaw, finally made it possible.
Scientists used a technique called shotgun sequencing, reading every DNA fragment in the sample to reconstruct the genome. “Our approach means that any future researcher can access the whole genome we published,” said Dr Linus Girdland-Flink of the University of Aberdeen.
Clues to a life lived in labour
Forensic analysis shows the man was just over 5ft tall and aged between 44 and 64, exceptionally old for his time. His skeleton shows that he had arthritis, muscle markings from lifting heavy loads, and pelvic wear from long hours sitting on hard surfaces.
These signs, along with the period when pottery wheels arrived in Egypt, suggest he may have been a potter, though his relatively high‑status burial hints at a respected craftsperson.
Experts say the discovery marks “the beginning of writing the genetic history of Egypt”, opening the door to further studies on how ancient people moved, mingled, and shaped one of the world’s earliest civilizations.
