This is not a question that the genetic research itself resolves — it is a policy and ethical question that will be worked out through ongoing relationships between British and Egyptian institutions.

What the research demonstrates is that the genetic study of ancient Egyptians can be conducted with the involvement and partnership of Egyptian scientists, and that the results of that research can contribute to Egyptian scientific knowledge and to the global understanding of Egyptian history.

The NUE001 study is a step toward the model of ancient DNA research that the field increasingly recognizes as the ethical standard: involving the communities and countries most connected to the ancient individuals being studied.

What It Means To Say Egypt Was A Connected Civilization