Ancient DNA has revealed links between the cultures of Egypt and Mesopotamia. Researchers sequenced whole genomes from the teeth of a well-preserved skeleton found in a sealed funeral pot in an Egyptian tomb site dating to between 4,495 and 4,880 years ago. Four-fifths of the genome showed links to North Africa. But a fifth of the genome showed links to the region known as the Fertile Crescent, where Mesopotamian civilization flourished. Earlier archeological evidence has shown cultural and trade links between Egypt and Mesopotamia, but the new study published Wednesday in Nature clarifies a genetic link.
