MyAncient Egyptian Ancestry: What It Means
Ancient Egypt is one of the longest-running civilizations included in Ancient Origins comparisons, and one of the best-documented by ancient-DNA research thanks to a landmark mummy-genome study published in 2017.
| Time span studied | Roughly 1400 BCE – 400 CE (New Kingdom through Roman-era Egypt) |
|---|---|
| Key study | Schuenemann et al., "Ancient Egyptian mummy genomes..." (Nature Communications, 2017) |
| Sample source | About 90 mummies from Abusir el-Meleq, Middle Egypt |
| Closest ancient relatives | Ancient Near Eastern and Levantine populations |
| Key finding | Sub-Saharan African ancestry in the region increased notably after the Roman period |
Who were the ancient Egyptians?
A widely cited 2017 study in Nature Communications sequenced mitochondrial and, for a smaller subset, nuclear genomes from roughly 90 Egyptian mummies excavated at Abusir el-Meleq in Middle Egypt, spanning around 1,300 years from the New Kingdom period through Roman rule. The study found that these ancient Egyptians were most closely genetically related to ancient populations from the Near East and the Levant — broadly consistent with Egypt's geographic position as a crossroads between Africa, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean. Because the site is in Middle Egypt and the samples cluster in a specific window of time, the researchers were careful to note the results may not fully represent the genetic diversity of ancient Egypt across its full ~3,000-year history or its full geographic range from the Nile Delta to Upper Egypt and Nubia.
How ancient Egyptian ancestry shows up in modern populations
The same 2017 study found that present-day Egyptians carry meaningfully more sub-Saharan African ancestry than the ancient mummy samples did — a shift the researchers linked to increased mobility along the Nile and expanded trans-Saharan trade networks in the centuries following the Roman period, rather than to a sudden single event. This makes ancient Egyptian ancestry a useful example of how a population's genetic profile can shift gradually over centuries even within the same geographic region, long after the civilization most associated with it had ended.
If your Ancient Origins results show ancient Egyptian ancestry
A match to this category reflects resemblance to the specific ancient Egyptian reference samples in MyHeritage's panel, drawn from the New Kingdom through Roman-era window covered by the available ancient-DNA research. Given ancient Egypt's close genetic relationship to Near Eastern and Levantine populations, people with ancestry from the broader Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East may also see some resemblance in this category. See our explainer on ancient DNA testing for more on how these population-level comparisons work.
Ancient Egyptian ancestry vs. Imperial Roman ancestry
Egypt became a Roman province in 30 BCE and remained one of the empire's most important territories — a major grain supplier and trade hub — for centuries afterward, which is part of why the ancient Egyptian mummy-genome samples span all the way into the Roman era. See our page on Imperial Roman ancestry for how Roman-era Mediterranean populations compare more broadly to this specific Egyptian lineage.
Does ancient Egyptian ancestry mean I'm related to the pharaohs?
Not specifically. The reference samples behind this category come from mummies at a particular burial site, representing the general population of that time and place rather than royal lineages. Royal Egyptian genomes, including any belonging to specific pharaohs, are a separate and much more limited area of research.
Why do modern Egyptians have different ancestry than ancient mummies studied in 2017?
The study's authors linked the difference to increased genetic contact with sub-Saharan Africa in the centuries after the Roman period, likely driven by expanded trade and mobility along the Nile and across the Sahara — a gradual demographic shift rather than a single migration event.