FBI helps identify the head of a 4,000-year-old mummy

In 2009, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts exhibited sarcophagi, statues and vases - the "secrets" of an Egyptian tomb that archaeologists discovered over nine decades ago in the city of Deir el-Bersha. Among the tomb artifact set, known as 10A, was a mummified head. However, the healers had no idea who it belonged to.

The tomb had been the final resting place of the city governor in the early Middle Egyptian Empire, named Djehutynakht and his wife, also called Djehutynakht. But when the tomb was found by archaeologists, they realized that it had already been plundered by thieves, and the head had been left wrapped over one of the sarcophagi.

Is it his or hers?

The researchers could not determine whether the head was male or female corpse. A computed tomography scan of the skull bones revealed that the jaw components that could identify the sex had been removed. DNA extraction from ancient Egyptian mummies was considered impossible, especially as Egypt's hot and dry weather conditions rapidly deteriorate DNA. However, the case was finally resolved with the help of the FBI.

According to the findings of Odile Loreille - a veteran FBI analyst who has recovered DNA from Titanic victims, ancient cave bears and two murdered Romanov children - the skull is male, meaning that it was probably the remains of Djehutynakht the governor.

Eurasian ancestry

"Collecting data from Egyptian mummies is one of the holy grails of ancient DNA, " said Pontus Skoglund, a geneticist at the Francis Crick Institute in London, who participated in the study. "It was very exciting to see that Odile achieved something that appeared to be authentic elder DNA."

But there were questions, including from Loreille, about extraction. Was this the first DNA to be extracted from an Egyptian mummy or was it contaminated? Surprisingly, while modern Egyptians are closely related to sub-Saharan Africans, the mitochondrial DNA extracted from the mummy indicated that the governor has Eurasian ancestry.

To confirm the results, the FBI team sent samples to Harvard and the Department of Homeland Security for further testing. These results also indicated Eurasian ancestry.