PopGenCT Ancient Egypt

In this project, we aim to investigate the population genetic history of Egypt using ancient DNA (aDNA) analyses. For this, Egyptian mummies and skeletal remains housed in the collections of the Museo Egizio of Turin and the Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin will be analyzed. These specimens encompass a time span of about 5000 years (4000 BC - AD 800) and have been recovered from various archaeological sites in Egypt. Thus, the data obtained by this project will, for the first time, cover all periods of ancient Egyptian history as well as a broad geographical context. To all specimens high-throughput sequencing methods, including DNA hybridization capture techniques, will be applied, to reconstruct mitochondrial genomes and, for specimens exhibiting a good DNA preservation, also whole-genome datasets. Thereby, this project will investigate the genetic history of Egypt not only on a uniparental level, based on the maternal lineage, but also on a genome-wide scale.    

Furthermore, in collaboration with the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, some of the mummies will be examined by means of computed tomography (CT) in the framework of a methodological test. In particular, the test aims to assess the applicability of two sex determination methods, the Ischio-Pubic Index (IPI) and the Diagnose Sexuelle Probabiliste (DSP), to CT scans, which will provide further insights into the possibilities and limitations of CT-based examinations of mummified human remains.