Facial reconstruction from the skull of the Nuwayrat Individual
Ancient Egyptian civilisation has long captivated our imaginations, with archaeological excavations offering glimpses into what life was like at the time. ‘Egyptomania’ spanned from the Romans’ fascination with Cleopatra, to European collectors in the 18th century filling museums with Egyptian statues, and later to Hollywood blockbusters like The Mummy. Rapid advances in DNA technology have opened a new window into that world, recently enabling a whole-genome analysis of an adult male discovered in Nuwayrat, a village south of Cairo, dating back around 4,500 years (~2500 BCE). The Nuwayrat man would have been born into Egypt during its prime; the Great Pyramids had been built and the Old Kingdom was flourishing. Thanks to his remarkably well-preserved DNA, Dr. Adeline Morez Jacobs and colleagues at the Francis Crick Institute in London and Liverpool John Moores University were able to reconstruct the man’s ancestry. While most of his genetic makeup originated from North Africa, about 20% could be traced to the eastern Fertile Crescent, sometimes referred to as the “cradle of civilisation” due to its rich soils. This region spans areas of modern-day Iran, Iraq and Jordan, which is over 1,000 kilometers from where this man was buried. Until now, evidence of cross-cultural exchange came mainly from imagery, stories, and artefacts. This finding provides the first genetic proof of human movement between the Levant and North Africa – much earlier than previously known.
Our understanding of migration between ancient civilisations has historically been based on theorised trade routes, but biological proof has remained scarce due to the limited number of preserved ancient genomes. The Nuwayrat individual was found buried in a large ceramic pot within a rock-cut tomb, a burial style typically reserved for higher social classes, which likely contributed to the exceptional DNA preservation. Interestingly, this seems to contradict the man’s apparent occupation: bone analysis revealed signs of osteoarthritis and musculoskeletal stress from repeated physical strain, markers usually associated with physical labour. Perhaps, however, he was highly skilled in his craft and rose in social status. Based on dental analysis, his age at death is estimated between 44 and 64 years – relatively old for the era.
By sampling the root tips of the man’s teeth, researchers were able to uncover clues about the environment he grew up in. Multi-isotope analysis (a technique which measures chemical signatures in teeth or bones) revealed that he consumed an omnivorous diet, including grains like wheat and barley; foods typical of those living in the hot, dry climate of the Nile Valley. By comparing the Nuwayrat individual’s genome with that of 805 ancient and 3,233 modern individuals, the researchers found his genetic profile most closely matched populations from North Africa and West Asia, offering a deeper insight into regional connections thousands of years ago.
As this analysis is based on a single individual, who may not have been typical or representative of his population given his possible higher social status, we still don’t know how widespread this kind of movement between regions really was. However, this evidence of gene flow from the eastern Fertile Crescent through the Levant into ancient Egypt complements long-standing evidence of cultural diffusion seen in the archaeological record, including the spread of crops, writing systems, and technologies such as the pottery wheel. Ancient DNA sequencing is a rapidly growing field, transforming our understanding of the lives and movements of people in prehistory. With a growing number of diverse ancient genome sequences, from different places and time periods, the story of early human migration and interaction is becoming increasingly clear, and we may soon better comprehend the true scale and complexity of these early connections.
Article written by Nitara Wijayatilake, a PhD student at the University of Edinburgh. Nitara is currently researching the role of social behaviour in infectious disease spread.
Article edited by Eleanor Stamp, a Neuroscience PhD student at the Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, and an Online News Editor for EUSci.
Resources:
Fritze, Ronald H. Egyptomania: a history of fascination, obsession and fantasy. Reaktion Books, 2021.
Morez Jacobs, Adeline, Joel D. Irish, Ashley Cooke, Kyriaki Anastasiadou, Christopher Barrington, Alexandre Gilardet, Monica Kelly et al. “Whole-genome ancestry of an Old Kingdom Egyptian.” Nature (2025): 1-8.
Bietak, Manfred. “Egypt and the Levant.” In The Egyptian World, pp. 445-476. Routledge, 2007.
Francis Crick Institute “Researchers sequence first genome from ancient Egypt” | Available at: https://www.crick.ac.uk/news/2025-07-02_researchers-sequence-first-genome-from-ancient-egypt (2025) (Accessed: 04 August 2025).
Image Credit: Facial reconstruction from the skull of the Nuwayrat Individual ; Morez Jacobs, Adeline, Joel D. Irish, Ashley Cooke, Kyriaki Anastasiadou, Christopher Barrington, Alexandre Gilardet, Monica Kelly et al. “Whole-genome ancestry of an Old Kingdom Egyptian.” Nature (2025): 1-8. CC License
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