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A study led by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History and the University of Tubingen in Germany managed to obtain full genome sequences of Ancient Egyptians for the first time and have concluded the people of the pharaohs were more closely related to modern Europeans and inhabitants of the Near East rather than present-day Egyptians.
Ancient Egyptians were closely related to people who lived along the eastern Mediterranean, the analysis showed. They also shared genetic material with residents of the Turkish peninsula at the time and Europe.
Furthermore, Scientists at Zurich-based DNA genealogy center, iGENEA, say they have reconstructed the DNA profile of the pharaoh, King Tutankhamun, his father Akhenaten and grandfather Amenhotep III.
The researchers say they believe King Tut belonged to a genetic profile group known as haplogroup R1b1a2. More than 50 per cent of all men in Western Europe belong to this genetic group as do up to 70 per cent of British men.
Researchers say it's likely that King Tut and Europeans share a common ancestor who lived in the Caucasus region about 9,500 years ago. (Note: Noah's ark is biblically placed to have landed in Mount Ararat, which is a part of the Caucasus mountain range)
