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Most scientists assume that modern humans (Homo sapiens) originated in Africa, from where they gradually spread to the other five continents. Since then, human populations have diversified—culturally and genetically. Ingrained in everyone’s DNA, therefore, is our individual genetic history. These days, an array of private companies makes the sophisticated tools accessible to virtually anyone to find out about one’s genetic ancestry.
Advances in science and technologies have lately made it possible to study ancient populations from archaeologically obtained samples. Analysis of ancient DNA (aDNA) can even reveal genetic footprints of human migrations. The biggest challenges of such research lie in the sheer survival of intact genetic information and the successful extraction of that information. In two recent studies, scientists accomplished exactly that, revealing a great deal about two of the most prominent peoples of the Biblical world—the Egyptians and the Canaanites.
A study published in the American Journal of Human Genetics presents a genetic analysis of ancient and modern Lebanese.1 The scientists extracted and “read” aDNA of five Middle Bronze Age II inhabitants of Sidon, a major coastal Canaanite city-state in present-day Lebanon. The results showed that the ancient Canaanites had “derived from [a] mixture between local Neolithic populations and eastern migrants genetically related to Chalcolithic Iranians.” That mixture occurred sometime between 4580 and 1750 B.C.E.
Even more intriguing are the observations regarding the fate of the Canaanites. According to the Bible, the Israelites were instructed to annihilate the Canaanites—but failed to do so. Judges 1:31 recounts that the Israelites “did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon, or of Ahlab, or of Achzib, or of Helbah, or of Aphik, or of Rehob.” The Canaanites who survived became known as the Phoenicians during the Iron Age. And indeed, the genetic comparison of the five Bronze Age Sidonians with 99 modern Lebanese reveals “substantial genetic continuity” between the ancient Canaanites and the modern Lebanese, who share 93 percent of their DNA with the ancient Sidonians. This provides a solid connection between the Canaanites, the Phoenicians and the modern Lebanese.
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Unlike the Canaanites, ancient Egyptians left copious textual records to inform us of their history. Yet a genetic analysis published in the scientific journal Nature Communications brought rather surprising results.2 Genetic material from 151 mummies excavated at Abu Sir al-Malaq in Middle Egypt reveals that ancient Egyptians were closely related to the peoples of the Levant and even shared DNA with populations in contemporary Europe. Even though the mummies date from between 1388 B.C.E. and 426 C.E., during which period Egypt was conquered several times and saw an influx of Nubians, Persians, Greeks and Romans, the tested samples showed remarkable genetic continuity. Comparison of this aDNA with modern Egyptians and Ethiopians revealed one more surprise: unlike the present-day populations of Egypt and Ethiopia, ancient Egyptians had very little sub-Saharan African ancestry.
To be sure, the ancient samples come from a single site and as such “may not be representative for all of ancient Egypt,” caution the scientists. They also acknowledge that to determine the origin of the Egyptians, they would have to examine aDNA dating much further back, in prehistory. More recent samples, on the other hand, would show when the admixture of sub-Saharan DNA (seen in modern populations) occurred. Something to look forward to.—M.D.
Most scientists assume that modern humans (Homo sapiens) originated in Africa, from where they gradually spread to the other five continents. Since then, human populations have diversified—culturally and genetically. Ingrained in everyone’s DNA, therefore, is our individual genetic history. These days, an array of private companies makes the sophisticated tools accessible to virtually anyone to find out about one’s genetic ancestry.
