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TORONTO – DNA researchers have given us a glimpse of what the ancient Egyptians could look like.
Researchers at Parabon NanoLabs, a Virginia-based DNA technology company, created 3D reconstructions of the faces of three men after processing DNA samples from mummies.
The mummified men – named JK2134, JK2888 and JK2911 – are believed to be between 2,000 and 2,800 years old. They come from Abousir el-Meleq, an ancient Nile community in Egypt. JK2134 is believed to date from 776 to 569 BC and JK2888 is estimated to be between 97 and 2 BC, while JK2911 is from around 769 to 560 BC.
The researchers shared their findings at the 32nd International Symposium on Human Identification earlier this month.
Using a process called DNA phenotyping, they were able to extract genetic information about the physical characteristics and ancestry of men to generate 3D models of what they might look like when they were around 25 years old. years.
The researchers found that the three men were predominantly of Middle Eastern ancestry, with some mixed Southern European ancestry.
Because the DNA samples were so old, some key genetic information was missing or damaged, so the researchers had to make some predictions to fill in the gaps. The samples lacked genetic information associated with eye and hair color, so the researchers applied dark brown hair and eyes – the most common hair and eye colors in the Middle Eastern population.
Much of the genetic information on skin color was also missing, so the researchers also predicted that the men had a light brown complexion.
“It’s great to see how genome sequencing and advanced bioinformatics can be applied to ancient DNA samples,” said Ellen Greytak, director of bioinformatics at Parabon, in a press release.
Many law enforcement agencies around the world use this technology to generate reconstructions when unidentified remains are found. Parabon researchers say this is the first time such DNA analysis has been performed on such ancient specimens.
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