Inquiry & Investigation

Pre-dynastic Egyptian DNA: A Sneak Peak into North East Africa’s Distant Past

The research by Wurst and colleagues in 2023 explores diseases in mummified individuals globally, focusing on a sample from Egypt’s Naqada period. This analysis suggests a genetic profile in pre-dynastic Egyptians related to both West Eurasian and Sub-Saharan African ancestries, with complex population admixtures, contributing to diverse genetic legacies in the region.

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West African Ancestry Ain’t A Mystery!

Recent advances in genetic anthropology have crucially illuminated the composite origins of West African gene pools, but gaps still persist. While significant progress, like the sequencing of ancient Moroccan DNA, has refined our understanding of ancestry links, the origins of historical populations like the Bantu—key distributors of prevalent Sub-Saharan African lineages—remain underexplored. The integration of various genetic, archaeological, and anthropological data, particularly from underrepresented African regions, is pivotal in reconstructing the genetic histories and migrations that shaped modern West African populations. This study primarily seeks to decipher the intricate ancestry through advanced admixture graphs, underscoring the complex influences from neighboring North and Central African regions.

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Signs of Genetic Substructure in Epipaleolithic North Africa? (EDIT)

Content and data contained in this blogpost was in reference to a study which since been released after this webpage has been published. A major change should be considered when reading the following. OUB02 designation is that of the Epipaleothic culture, however the archeological site and date has been elucidated by the full article. She

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Possible Upcoming Study on Neolithic Nubian Remains?

Over the last decade, researchers had made advancements in unveiling some of the hidden secrets of the African continent with Ancient DNA. One region which have historically garnered attention was the lower Nile valley, North East Africa, home to who most refer to as Egyptians and Nubians. As of the 20th century, numerous archaeological expeditions

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UPDATE: ANA-(related) admixture in select populations

This is an update revisiting my attempt at quantifying the Ancestral North African or Ancestral north African related (ANA) admixture in Africans and neighboring populations. ANA in this context would represent a population related to both East Africans and early non-African populations, which is the loose description of the direct ancestors of North Africans; hence

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Are all Africans Genetically North African?

Linking genetics with reality: Short hand analysis of African DNA under archaeological context. So what’s going on? Since as far as I can remember (2014) there has been an obsession with a particular set of people across the many layers of the bioanthropology community. Researchers and enthusiasts alike sought the means to properly identify and

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