The 4,500-Year-Old Egyptian Man Found In A Tomb — And The DNA Test That Revealed His Unexpected Ancestry

The physical examination of his remains also provided information about his age at death, his general health, and his physical characteristics.

While the specific details of these findings are reported in the paper’s supplementary materials, they contribute to the overall portrait of NUE001 as an adult male who lived to mature age in a population whose health was affected by the same range of factors — diet, disease, physical labor — that affected ordinary Egyptians throughout the Old Kingdom period.

The Global Ancient DNA Context: Where Egypt Fits

The NUE001 genome enters a global ancient DNA database that now includes thousands of individuals from prehistoric and historic contexts across the world.