DNA Did Not Prove Ancient Egyptians Were European — Teacher Resources

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DNA Did Not Prove Ancient Egypt Was European

Part 1: What the 2017 Study Actually Tested — Teacher Resources

It Proved How Little They Tested.

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Quiz — DNA Did Not Prove Ancient Egypt Was European

PART A — MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. How many mummies were sampled in the 2017 Schuenemann et al. study?

C) 151.

Students should recall that 151 mummies were sampled. [1]Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History (Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology). "The First Genome Data from Ancient Egyptian Mummies." shh.mpg.de.[2]Schuenemann, V.J. et al. "Ancient Egyptian mummy genomes suggest an increase of Sub-Saharan African ancestry in post-Roman periods." Nature Communications 8, 15694 (2017). nature.com. Students who answer A, B, or D do not match the figure given in the lesson.

2. How many full genome-wide datasets were successfully recovered?

B) 3.

Students should recall that only three full genome-wide datasets were recovered. [1]Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History (Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology). "The First Genome Data from Ancient Egyptian Mummies." shh.mpg.de.[2]Schuenemann, V.J. et al. "Ancient Egyptian mummy genomes suggest an increase of Sub-Saharan African ancestry in post-Roman periods." Nature Communications 8, 15694 (2017). nature.com. Students who answer A, C, or D do not match the figure given in the lesson.

3. Where were all of the study's samples recovered from?

B) Abusir el-Meleq.

Students should recall that all samples came from Abusir el-Meleq. [1]Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History (Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology). "The First Genome Data from Ancient Egyptian Mummies." shh.mpg.de.[3]Wikipedia. "Abusir el-Meleq." Students who answer A, C, or D do not match the site given in the lesson.

4. How many of the three full genome samples came from the Pre-Ptolemaic period?

C) Two.

Students should recall that two of the three genome samples came from the Pre-Ptolemaic period. [3]Wikipedia. "Abusir el-Meleq." Students who answer A, B, or D do not match the figure given in the lesson.

5. What did the study find about populations further south in Egypt?

B) They had higher sub-Saharan ancestry.

Students should recall that the study found higher sub-Saharan ancestry further south. [2]Schuenemann, V.J. et al. "Ancient Egyptian mummy genomes suggest an increase of Sub-Saharan African ancestry in post-Roman periods." Nature Communications 8, 15694 (2017). nature.com.[4]Novoscriptorium. "Ancient Egyptian mummies as a genetic source to study ancient human history — What have we learned so far." novoscriptorium.com. Students who answer A, C, or D do not match the finding described in the lesson.

6. What Y-chromosome haplogroup was identified in the mummy of Ramesses III?

B) E1b1a.

Students should recall that Ramesses III's haplogroup was identified as E1b1a. [5]Wikipedia. "Genetic history of Egypt." Students who answer A, C, or D do not match the lineage given in the lesson.

7. What did the study's own authors say about drawing final conclusions from their results?

B) That more studies are needed before final conclusions can be drawn.

Students should recall that the study's authors called for more research before final conclusions. [2]Schuenemann, V.J. et al. "Ancient Egyptian mummy genomes suggest an increase of Sub-Saharan African ancestry in post-Roman periods." Nature Communications 8, 15694 (2017). nature.com. Students who answer A, C, or D do not match the lesson's description of the study's own conclusion.

PART B — SHORT ANSWER KEY POINTS

Question 8. Explain why sampling 151 mummies but recovering only three full genomes matters when evaluating the strength of the study's conclusions.

A strong answer should include:

  • The specific claim: of 151 mummies sampled, only three yielded usable full genome-wide data [1]Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History (Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology). "The First Genome Data from Ancient Egyptian Mummies." shh.mpg.de.[2]Schuenemann, V.J. et al. "Ancient Egyptian mummy genomes suggest an increase of Sub-Saharan African ancestry in post-Roman periods." Nature Communications 8, 15694 (2017). nature.com.
  • The reason: ancient DNA degrades significantly over time, so most samples could not produce reliable full-genome results
  • Strong answers will note: a study's headline sample size (151) is not the same as its actual analyzed sample size (3) for the strongest type of genetic data
  • Strong answers will connect: this gap to why broad claims about "ancient Egyptians" based on this study overstate what was actually measured

Question 9. Describe the time periods represented by the three genome samples, and explain why this complicates the claim that all three reflect a population living under foreign occupation.

A strong answer should include:

  • The specific claim: two samples are from the Pre-Ptolemaic period (New Kingdom through Late Period), and one is from the Ptolemaic period [3]Wikipedia. "Abusir el-Meleq."
  • The complication: only the Ptolemaic-period sample reflects a population under foreign (Greek) rule; the other two are from periods of native Egyptian rule
  • Strong answers will note: this means the "foreign occupation" framing applies cleanly to only one of the three samples, not all three
  • Strong answers will connect: this distinction to the lesson's broader point that the study is more limited and more nuanced than popular claims about it suggest

Question 10. Explain what the study found about ancestry patterns further south in Egypt, and how this connects to the origins of Kemet's earliest dynasties.

A strong answer should include:

  • The specific claim: the study found higher sub-Saharan African ancestry in populations further south in Egypt than at the northern Abusir el-Meleq site [2]Schuenemann, V.J. et al. "Ancient Egyptian mummy genomes suggest an increase of Sub-Saharan African ancestry in post-Roman periods." Nature Communications 8, 15694 (2017). nature.com.[4]Novoscriptorium. "Ancient Egyptian mummies as a genetic source to study ancient human history — What have we learned so far." novoscriptorium.com.
  • The connection: Kemet's earliest dynasties are widely traced to Upper Egypt and its connections to Nubia and the African interior — the region the study did not sample [4]Novoscriptorium. "Ancient Egyptian mummies as a genetic source to study ancient human history — What have we learned so far." novoscriptorium.com.
  • Strong answers will note: this is an area of ongoing scholarly discussion, not a single settled consensus
  • Strong answers will connect: the study's own finding of a north-south ancestry gradient to why one northern site cannot represent the whole of ancient Egypt

Sources & Footnotes

  1. [1] Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History (Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology). "The First Genome Data from Ancient Egyptian Mummies." shh.mpg.de.
  2. [2] Schuenemann, V.J. et al. "Ancient Egyptian mummy genomes suggest an increase of Sub-Saharan African ancestry in post-Roman periods." Nature Communications 8, 15694 (2017). nature.com.
  3. [3] Wikipedia. "Abusir el-Meleq."
  4. [4] Novoscriptorium. "Ancient Egyptian mummies as a genetic source to study ancient human history — What have we learned so far." novoscriptorium.com.
  5. [5] Wikipedia. "Genetic history of Egypt."

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