Who was Tutankhamun and where did he come from?
Who was Tutankhamun and where did he come from?
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History tells us that Tutankhamun was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh who reigned during the 14th Century BC, and who was descended from a long line of pharaohs beginning with Thutmose 160 years earlier. We are told that there was significant in-breeding throughout this dynasty, with pharaohs frequently marrying their sisters or cousins, and that Tutankhamun was no different in this respect.
History tells us that Tutankhamun was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh who reigned during the 14th Century BC, and who was descended from a long line of pharaohs beginning with Thutmose 160 years earlier. We are told that there was significant in-breeding throughout this dynasty, with pharaohs frequently marrying their sisters or cousins, and that Tutankhamun was no different in this respect.
Tutankhamun was only young when he died, but was known for resurrecting the old Egyptian religion that had been abandoned by his father, and for restoring diplomatic relations with neighbouring states. However, perhaps Tutankhamun is best-known because a tomb was discovered in 1922 that contained his mummified body.
Tutankhamun was only young when he died, but was known for resurrecting the old Egyptian religion that had been abandoned by his father, and for restoring diplomatic relations with neighbouring states. However, perhaps Tutankhamun is best-known because a tomb was discovered in 1922 that contained his mummified body.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tutankhamun
Since then, many have speculated as to the origins of Tutankhamun and his dynasty. Were they indigenous Africans who originated from South of the Sahara, or were they perhaps of Middle Eastern extraction, as many Egyptians are today? As genetic technologies have advanced in recent years, it has become possible to analyse Tutankhamun's DNA in order to help answer such questions, and by 2009 some tests of Tutankhamun's DNA were finally carried out.
Since then, many have speculated as to the origins of Tutankhamun and his dynasty. Were they indigenous Africans who originated from South of the Sahara, or were they perhaps of Middle Eastern extraction, as many Egyptians are today? As genetic technologies have advanced in recent years, it has become possible to analyse Tutankhamun's DNA in order to help answer such questions, and by 2009 some tests of Tutankhamun's DNA were finally carried out.
Curiously, we are still waiting for the full results of this testing to be published. However, geneticists at Igenea managed to retrieve some of these results from data that they spotted on a programme aired on the Discovery Channel, and they used this data to assert that Tutankhamun's y chromosome readings identified his paternal lineage as R1b.
Curiously, we are still waiting for the full results of this testing to be published. However, geneticists at Igenea managed to retrieve some of these results from data that they spotted on a programme aired on the Discovery Channel, and they used this data to assert that Tutankhamun's y chromosome readings identified his paternal lineage as R1b.
https://www.igenea.com/en/tutankhamun
At first, we received no confirmation of this result from the testing team, leading to doubts about its authenticity. However now, over 10 years later, the identification of R1b has finally been confirmed in a peer-reviewed paper published in an academic journal.
At first, we received no confirmation of this result from the testing team, leading to doubts about its authenticity. However now, over 10 years later, the identification of R1b has finally been confirmed in a peer-reviewed paper published in an academic journal.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33059357/
So what does all of this tell us about Tutankhamun? Well, firstly the confirmed result is a little surprising, as R1b is most commonly found in Europe, so it does not seem immediately to support either of the hypotheses that he was an indigenous African or that his paternal line hailed from the Middle East. However, more importantly, this confirmation indicates that the more detailed DNA readings uncovered by Igenea were also likely to be accurate; and it is this more detailed data that we can use to delve more deeply into Tutankhamun's ancestral origins.
So what does all of this tell us about Tutankhamun? Well, firstly the confirmed result is a little surprising, as R1b is most commonly found in Europe, so it does not seem immediately to support either of the hypotheses that he was an indigenous African or that his paternal line hailed from the Middle East. However, more importantly, this confirmation indicates that the more detailed DNA readings uncovered by Igenea were also likely to be accurate; and it is this more detailed data that we can use to delve more deeply into Tutankhamun's ancestral origins.
Based on the R1b identification, some commentators have suggested that Tutankhamun might have descended from an archaic branch of R1b (termed V88) that moved from Europe or Asia into Africa many thousands of years ago.
Based on the R1b identification, some commentators have suggested that Tutankhamun might have descended from an archaic branch of R1b (termed V88) that moved from Europe or Asia into Africa many thousands of years ago.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2987365/
This would seem a credible theory, but for the fact that Tutankhamun's detailed DNA readings do not bear significant resemblance to those of V88 individuals today. So others have proposed that Tutankhamun's y chromosome is most likely that of men, probably from the Caucasus region, who migrated over to Egypt with the a people called the Hyksos only shortly before Thutmose came to power.
This would seem a credible theory, but for the fact that Tutankhamun's detailed DNA readings do not bear significant resemblance to those of V88 individuals today. So others have proposed that Tutankhamun's y chromosome is most likely that of men, probably from the Caucasus region, who migrated over to Egypt with the a people called the Hyksos only shortly before Thutmose came to power.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyksos
However, once again, the detailed DNA readings for Tutankhamun also yield another possibility that fits more closely. The Caucasian variety of R1b (termed Z2103) for the most part has a DNA reading of 12 short tandem repeats at position DYS393, whereas the West European variety of R1b (termed L51) for the most part has a DNA reading of 13 short tandem repeats at this position, just as Tutankhamun's DNA has. In other respects, these two varieties of R1b are close to a similar degree, but in this particular respect Tutankhamun's DNA looks closer to Western Europe.
However, once again, the detailed DNA readings for Tutankhamun also yield another possibility that fits more closely. The Caucasian variety of R1b (termed Z2103) for the most part has a DNA reading of 12 short tandem repeats at position DYS393, whereas the West European variety of R1b (termed L51) for the most part has a DNA reading of 13 short tandem repeats at this position, just as Tutankhamun's DNA has. In other respects, these two varieties of R1b are close to a similar degree, but in this particular respect Tutankhamun's DNA looks closer to Western Europe.
Indeed, it is only when we compare Tutankhamun's readings to a whole series of subgroups of European and Caucasian DNA that we see one association that is exceptionally close, and this is a branch of West European R1b termed Y139456. Both Tutankhamun and the Y139456-positive men share three separate rare mutations in their short tandem repeats - readings of 11 or less at position DYS439, 30 at position DYS389ii and 10 at Y-GATA-H4. For three such mutations to have occurred separately in two different clusters of R1b men would be an extraordinary coincidence. Rather, a more likely explanation would be that both of these clusters descend ultimately from the same paternal ancestor.
Indeed, it is only when we compare Tutankhamun's readings to a whole series of subgroups of European and Caucasian DNA that we see one association that is exceptionally close, and this is a branch of West European R1b termed Y139456. Both Tutankhamun and the Y139456-positive men share three separate rare mutations in their short tandem repeats - readings of 11 or less at position DYS439, 30 at position DYS389ii and 10 at Y-GATA-H4. For three such mutations to have occurred separately in two different clusters of R1b men would be an extraordinary coincidence. Rather, a more likely explanation would be that both of these clusters descend ultimately from the same paternal ancestor.
https://www.yfull.com/tree/R-Y139456/ (click on the info tab, then the STRs tab)
So who are these Y139456 men that appear to share the same ancestral roots as Tutankhamun? Surprisingly, all three of the Y139456-positive men listed on yfull's database are identified as English.
So who are these Y139456 men that appear to share the same ancestral roots as Tutankhamun? Surprisingly, all three of the Y139456-positive men listed on yfull's database are identified as English.
Does this mean that Tutankhamun was most likely of English origin? To get a better idea about this, we need to look a little more closely at this uncommon branch of R1b. By examining the features of Y139456 presented on yfull's database, we can note two significant things about it:
Does this mean that Tutankhamun was most likely of English origin? To get a better idea about this, we need to look a little more closely at this uncommon branch of R1b. By examining the features of Y139456 presented on yfull's database, we can note two significant things about it:
Firstly, it is said to have 36 unique SNP mutations. This means that it is likely to have developed over a very long period of time, which yfull 's calculations estimate as 4,300 years.
Firstly, it is said to have 36 unique SNP mutations. This means that it is likely to have developed over a very long period of time, which yfull 's calculations estimate as 4,300 years.
Secondly, its only 3 modern samples all share identical SNP mutations. And this means that each of these men almost certainly shares a common male ancestor who probably lived fairly recently.
Secondly, its only 3 modern samples all share identical SNP mutations. And this means that each of these men almost certainly shares a common male ancestor who probably lived fairly recently.
Accordingly, we have records of only 2 clusters of Y139456-like DNA - one small modern English cluster and one ancient Egyptian sample. This represents a pretty wide geographical range, but it would seem most likely that any common ancestor would have arisen from somewhere between these two locations.
Accordingly, we have records of only 2 clusters of Y139456-like DNA - one small modern English cluster and one ancient Egyptian sample. This represents a pretty wide geographical range, but it would seem most likely that any common ancestor would have arisen from somewhere between these two locations.
What then do we know about the modern English samples that might possibly help us associate them with a man from ancient Egypt? Well, it seems that we can identify their names, or at least the names of other men within the same cluster, from Family Tree DNA's R1b Basal Subclades Project website. Again, we find only the 3 English samples, who are all identified as descendants of Thomas Avery, born in Cornwall in 1327. It is unsurprising then that the y chromosomes of these men are so similar, because all 3 of them appear to be related.
What then do we know about the modern English samples that might possibly help us associate them with a man from ancient Egypt? Well, it seems that we can identify their names, or at least the names of other men within the same cluster, from Family Tree DNA's R1b Basal Subclades Project website. Again, we find only the 3 English samples, who are all identified as descendants of Thomas Avery, born in Cornwall in 1327. It is unsurprising then that the y chromosomes of these men are so similar, because all 3 of them appear to be related.
https://www.familytreedna.com/public/R1bBasalSubclades?iframe=ysnp (set page size to 3,000)
What then do we know about the roots of this shared surname Avery? Well, according to ancestry.co.uk, the name is believed to be of Norman origin, with the suggestion that it could have derived from a French pronunciation of the Germanic name Alfred (originally meaning 'elf counsel') that subsequently morphed back into a Germanic-influenced English pronunciation. This is possible, I suppose, although there is perhaps a simpler possibility.
What then do we know about the roots of this shared surname Avery? Well, according to ancestry.co.uk, the name is believed to be of Norman origin, with the suggestion that it could have derived from a French pronunciation of the Germanic name Alfred (originally meaning 'elf counsel') that subsequently morphed back into a Germanic-influenced English pronunciation. This is possible, I suppose, although there is perhaps a simpler possibility.
One of the more important settlements in ancient Normandy was at Évreux (a place name not at all dissimilar phonetically to Avery), and we find that many of the people who had lived in Évreux were identified by this town from which they came. Let us take a closer look at some of them:
One of the more important settlements in ancient Normandy was at Évreux (a place name not at all dissimilar phonetically to Avery), and we find that many of the people who had lived in Évreux were identified by this town from which they came. Let us take a closer look at some of them:
Judith Évreux - first wife of the Norman King Roger, whose son Roger II conquered Tunisia and Libya and was crowned as King of Africa in the 12th Century AD.
Judith Évreux - first wife of the Norman King Roger, whose son Roger II conquered Tunisia and Libya and was crowned as King of Africa in the 12th Century AD.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_II_of_Sicily
Amaury Évreux - a blood relative of both Roger and Judith, also born in the 12th Century AD, who ended up being deposed in Normandy and moving to England, where he was named Earl of Gloucester.
Amaury Évreux - a blood relative of both Roger and Judith, also born in the 12th Century AD, who ended up being deposed in Normandy and moving to England, where he was named Earl of Gloucester.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaury_IV_of_%C3%89vreux
Roger II King of Africa was a particularly interesting figure. Strikingly for a Norman leader, he famously recruited a multi-racial team to work around him, including the North African voyager Muhammad al-Idrisi (who claimed to have visited North Western Europe, including Ireland) and a number of skilled Jewish tradespeople. We even see celebrated Jewish sages living in Évreux not long afterwards, including Samuel, who was praised as Prince of Évreux, and others named as Moses Évreux and Isaac Évreux.
Roger II King of Africa was a particularly interesting figure. Strikingly for a Norman leader, he famously recruited a multi-racial team to work around him, including the North African voyager Muhammad al-Idrisi (who claimed to have visited North Western Europe, including Ireland) and a number of skilled Jewish tradespeople. We even see celebrated Jewish sages living in Évreux not long afterwards, including Samuel, who was praised as Prince of Évreux, and others named as Moses Évreux and Isaac Évreux.
https://dbs.anumuseum.org.il/skn/en/c6/e212950/Place/Evreux
So potential links between ancient North Africans and English Averys of Norman extraction are perhaps not so unlikely after all; and this association appears even stronger when we look at the DNA of another group of British people who bear the surname Avery. In Family Tree DNA's R1b Basal Subclades Project database, we find another cluster of people with the surname Avery (or similar) testing positive for a rare mutation. This mutation is termed Y82825, and the striking thing about it is that it sits within R1b's ancient African branch V88. The Y82825 samples that we are given are identified as Archibald Avery, William Averell and Averill.
So potential links between ancient North Africans and English Averys of Norman extraction are perhaps not so unlikely after all; and this association appears even stronger when we look at the DNA of another group of British people who bear the surname Avery. In Family Tree DNA's R1b Basal Subclades Project database, we find another cluster of people with the surname Avery (or similar) testing positive for a rare mutation. This mutation is termed Y82825, and the striking thing about it is that it sits within R1b's ancient African branch V88. The Y82825 samples that we are given are identified as Archibald Avery, William Averell and Averill.
https://www.familytreedna.com/public/R1bBasalSubclades?iframe=ysnp (set page size to 3,000)
So where does this second branch of Averys originate? If we examine the two other known carriers of Y82825, we see one identified as coming from Saudi Arabia and the other from Algeria. And most striking of all is the close similarity of the y chromosomes between these North Africans, Arabs and English Averys. Indeed, their SNPs are reported as identical, leading yfull to estimate that all of them had a male ancestor in common no earlier than 200 BC.
So where does this second branch of Averys originate? If we examine the two other known carriers of Y82825, we see one identified as coming from Saudi Arabia and the other from Algeria. And most striking of all is the close similarity of the y chromosomes between these North Africans, Arabs and English Averys. Indeed, their SNPs are reported as identical, leading yfull to estimate that all of them had a male ancestor in common no earlier than 200 BC.
https://www.yfull.com/tree/R-Y82825/
Where then across this huge geographical range might Y82825's common ancestor have lived? Well, the only other sample provided that descends from Y82825's immediate ancestral branch is a man from Cameroon in West Africa. This would seem to indicate a relatively recent African origin for the Averys as most likely, rather than a recent North West European origin for the Arabian and the Algerian.
Where then across this huge geographical range might Y82825's common ancestor have lived? Well, the only other sample provided that descends from Y82825's immediate ancestral branch is a man from Cameroon in West Africa. This would seem to indicate a relatively recent African origin for the Averys as most likely, rather than a recent North West European origin for the Arabian and the Algerian.
We now see two clusters of British people surnamed Avery within very different branches of R1b, each with apparently North African genetic origins. Both clusters appear likely to have descended from people who migrated to North Western Europe fairly recently. Given that they share the same surname, it also seems highly likely that their ancestors' migrations to North Western Europe occurred at approximately the same times - perhaps with the Normans. Some of these Averys, it seems, are likely to descend from the R1b-V88 men who had settled in North Africa many thousands of years before Tutankhamun was alive, and others from the same men as Tutankhamun and other pharaohs before him who had settled in North Africa more recently. Indeed, it is even possible that the latter group of Averys descend from one or other of the pharaohs themselves, who with their culture of in-breeding seem to have contributed heavily to the DNA of the ancient Egyptian elites.
We now see two clusters of British people surnamed Avery within very different branches of R1b, each with apparently North African genetic origins. Both clusters appear likely to have descended from people who migrated to North Western Europe fairly recently. Given that they share the same surname, it also seems highly likely that their ancestors' migrations to North Western Europe occurred at approximately the same times - perhaps with the Normans. Some of these Averys, it seems, are likely to descend from the R1b-V88 men who had settled in North Africa many thousands of years before Tutankhamun was alive, and others from the same men as Tutankhamun and other pharaohs before him who had settled in North Africa more recently. Indeed, it is even possible that the latter group of Averys descend from one or other of the pharaohs themselves, who with their culture of in-breeding seem to have contributed heavily to the DNA of the ancient Egyptian elites.
So is there anything more that we can we find out about the Tutankhamun-like y chromosome Y139456? Well, we can see from yfull that it is a sub-group of a prior mutation termed A8053, and that this prior mutation only has two known sub-groups - Y139456 and A8051. As we know of very few samples of Y139456 itself and all look recently related to each other, the only other place we can look for clues is A8051.
So is there anything more that we can we find out about the Tutankhamun-like y chromosome Y139456? Well, we can see from yfull that it is a sub-group of a prior mutation termed A8053, and that this prior mutation only has two known sub-groups - Y139456 and A8051. As we know of very few samples of Y139456 itself and all look recently related to each other, the only other place we can look for clues is A8051.
https://www.yfull.com/tree/R-A8051/
A8051 has three known branches, two of which are represented in maritime North Western Europe and the other in Portugal. Once again, none of these branches have many representative modern or ancient samples, indicating that they did not particularly thrive reproductively. However, the y chromosome group A8053 from which A8051 and Y139456 emerged does have some reproductively-illustrious brothers, as A8053 is a basal branch of L151 - a genetic identity which it shares with two other very populous branches indeed. The largest of these branches (P312) is the most common y chromosome group found in Western Europe today, and we can see from testing carried out on hundreds of ancient burials that men positive for P312 formed the great majority of the Bell Beaker populations that dominated Western and Central Europe during the late 3rd millennium BC.
A8051 has three known branches, two of which are represented in maritime North Western Europe and the other in Portugal. Once again, none of these branches have many representative modern or ancient samples, indicating that they did not particularly thrive reproductively. However, the y chromosome group A8053 from which A8051 and Y139456 emerged does have some reproductively-illustrious brothers, as A8053 is a basal branch of L151 - a genetic identity which it shares with two other very populous branches indeed. The largest of these branches (P312) is the most common y chromosome group found in Western Europe today, and we can see from testing carried out on hundreds of ancient burials that men positive for P312 formed the great majority of the Bell Beaker populations that dominated Western and Central Europe during the late 3rd millennium BC.
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/135962v1.supplementary-material (see Table 3)
The interesting thing in comparing A8053 to its brother group P312 is that P312 dominates Western Europe and has done so since the 3rd millennium BC, and A8053 is also spread across Western Europe with a coalescence point that yfull calculates from analysis of its mutations to the 3rd millennium BC. These two branches therefore seem to run in tandem. However, it is less numerous group A8053 that looks more instructive regarding its development, as its most basal branches seem to separate between North Western Europe (where brother group P312 dominated the Bell Beaker populations) and Portugal and the Mediterranean (where Bell Beaker also thrived, but P312 did not appear to predominate).
The interesting thing in comparing A8053 to its brother group P312 is that P312 dominates Western Europe and has done so since the 3rd millennium BC, and A8053 is also spread across Western Europe with a coalescence point that yfull calculates from analysis of its mutations to the 3rd millennium BC. These two branches therefore seem to run in tandem. However, it is less numerous group A8053 that looks more instructive regarding its development, as its most basal branches seem to separate between North Western Europe (where brother group P312 dominated the Bell Beaker populations) and Portugal and the Mediterranean (where Bell Beaker also thrived, but P312 did not appear to predominate).
Accordingly, early A8053 men from whom Tutankhamun's DNA suggests he most likely arose appear positioned at a primitive stage of Bell Beaker's development, linked as much to Portugal (where the first Bell Beakerish culture emerged in the early 3rd millennium BC) and to North Africa as they were to North Western Europe. Over the course of Bell Beaker's subsequent expansion in the North West and Centre of Europe, P312 men gained a dominance of these populations, and indeed this dominance ended up spreading down into Southern Europe during the subsequent Bronze Age; but at the time when the Bell Beaker culture was only just beginning to grow and develop, men positive for A8053 and probably other y chromosome groups seem likely to have been an integral part of it.
Accordingly, early A8053 men from whom Tutankhamun's DNA suggests he most likely arose appear positioned at a primitive stage of Bell Beaker's development, linked as much to Portugal (where the first Bell Beakerish culture emerged in the early 3rd millennium BC) and to North Africa as they were to North Western Europe. Over the course of Bell Beaker's subsequent expansion in the North West and Centre of Europe, P312 men gained a dominance of these populations, and indeed this dominance ended up spreading down into Southern Europe during the subsequent Bronze Age; but at the time when the Bell Beaker culture was only just beginning to grow and develop, men positive for A8053 and probably other y chromosome groups seem likely to have been an integral part of it.
Conclusion
Conclusion
What do we learn about Tutankhamun through the DNA extracted from his mummified remains?
What do we learn about Tutankhamun through the DNA extracted from his mummified remains?
The confirmation of his y chromosome R1b status and his associated short tandem repeat readings indicate that his paternal ancestry was most likely not longstanding indigenous African, nor even Middle Eastern, but rather from some kind of Southern or Western European Bell Beaker-like origin. And if accurate, the historical family trees of the pharaohs who came before him indicate that all of the elite Egyptian males of the 18th Dynasty were similarly derived.
The confirmation of his y chromosome R1b status and his associated short tandem repeat readings indicate that his paternal ancestry was most likely not longstanding indigenous African, nor even Middle Eastern, but rather from some kind of Southern or Western European Bell Beaker-like origin. And if accurate, the historical family trees of the pharaohs who came before him indicate that all of the elite Egyptian males of the 18th Dynasty were similarly derived.
Yet it appears that very few men sharing the y chromosome mutations of these Egyptian elites still survive today; the only ones that we know about come from a tiny cluster of related people living in Britain with the surname Avery. It remains a mystery how these 18th Dynasty pharaohs might have emerged from pre-Bell Beaker or early Bell Beaker populations in Southern or Western Europe and transformed into Egyptian demi-gods reigning over a indigenous population of mixed African and Middle Eastern heritage to which they were largely unrelated. And it is no less of a mystery how the descendants of these Egyptian elites might later have faded into obscurity, leaving little or no trace in terms of either their y chromosomes or their DNA in general.
Yet it appears that very few men sharing the y chromosome mutations of these Egyptian elites still survive today; the only ones that we know about come from a tiny cluster of related people living in Britain with the surname Avery. It remains a mystery how these 18th Dynasty pharaohs might have emerged from pre-Bell Beaker or early Bell Beaker populations in Southern or Western Europe and transformed into Egyptian demi-gods reigning over a indigenous population of mixed African and Middle Eastern heritage to which they were largely unrelated. And it is no less of a mystery how the descendants of these Egyptian elites might later have faded into obscurity, leaving little or no trace in terms of either their y chromosomes or their DNA in general.
Analysis of Tutankhamun's y chromsome DNA seems to indicate much about the historical origins of his people and the subsequent diminution in their descendant populations, but there are still many intriguing questions about the historical record that perhaps only additional DNA data might be able to answer.
Analysis of Tutankhamun's y chromsome DNA seems to indicate much about the historical origins of his people and the subsequent diminution in their descendant populations, but there are still many intriguing questions about the historical record that perhaps only additional DNA data might be able to answer.
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