Jan Hildevert
Jason E Lobell
ENG 110
Many people have asked what race are the Ancient Egyptians and whether they are related to us in any way? Many years ago many scientist, and other people sparked up this question and were very curious about the race of the Egyptians. Many scientists and researchers used different studies such as DNA tests, the use of different artifacts, and the history that has been shown to us through the many sculptures, arts, and different languages. To determine this question scientists and researchers came up with saying that they were from the Eastern Mediterranean and Near East and on how ancient Egyptians were related to us in a way.
Ancient Egyptians were a civilization who were around from 3100 BC until 332 B.C.E. They civilized around Africa near the Nile River until later on they moved towards the Tigris, Euphrates Rivers which is now known as Iraq, and other parts of the world. The change in scenery is where it started the question and spiked curiosity on the race of Ancient Egyptians around the world during the 19th and 20th century. Because so many different Ancient Egyptians lived in different parts of the world it made it difficult for researchers to depict the race of the Ancient Egyptians. From author Phillip Perry he
mentioned, “A group of international researchers, using unique methods, have overcome the barriers to do just that. They found that the ancient Egyptians were most closely related to the peoples of the Near East, particularly from the Levant. This is the Eastern Mediterranean which today includes the countries of Turkey, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon”.
Finding out the Ancient Egyptians’ race was difficult for researchers, archaeogenetics, and scientists. Back then race wasn’t applicable to Ancient Egyptians because they depicted themselves through their common culture, language, civilization, and art. What was confirmed by different researchers and scientists was that the Ancient Egyptians were not white because the earlier civilizations of the Ancient Egyptians were from Africa or the middle east. The Egypt tours portal team had mentioned that there were many DNA tests, “A genetic study was conducted on 151 mummies in 2017 from northern Egypt using the highest-throughput DNA sequencing method and the DNA evidence suggested that lower (northern) Egyptians were closer in their DNA construction to middle easterners (Arab, Levantine, and Anatolian) and southern Europeans while the upper (southern) Egyptians were closer to northeast Africans like Nubians and Sudanese”. Including, some other civilizations in the long history of the Ancient Egyptians were Greeks and Romans which made researchers determine that they were brown skinned.
Finally, Ancient Egyptians are related to us due to their population migrating, being mixed, and spreading across the world. Many modern Egyptians traced their ancestry back to ancient Egyptians with them having a long history of mixing with other populations including Arabs, Greeks, Romans, Nubians, and others. While being genetically related to an Ancient Egyptian it is hard to know because of their culture and historical heritage. The Egyptians did influence and have an impact on the world with most cultures from now teaching and learning from fields like architecture, mathematics, medicine and literature to continue the influence in modern society.
Many people have asked the question of what the race of the ancient Egyptians were. With many scientists saying they were black others saying not but now we know that the ancient Egyptians were in fact black. From author Rosie Lesso she also explained how their were in fact many prominent black Ancient Egyptians including,“Queen Ahmose-Nefertari is also often identified as black, and according to contemporary Egyptologist Sigrid Hodel-Hoenes, her skin color was worshiped because it echoed the “color of both the fertile earth and the netherworld and death.” It is thought Lady Rai, a lady-in-waiting to Queen Nefertari was also black. Her mummy is in remarkably good condition and reveals her dark skin and braided hair”. Now that I have shown what the true race of the Ancient Egyptians were I would still see if there is more information regarding this topic if you’re still interested in this topic or something else regarding the Ancient Egyptians with what I mentioned regarding the connection or relatability regarding us and the Ancient Egyptians.
What I am looking to get out of my essay is to learn something new from a topic that I was interested in and try to research it more in depth so that I can find out more about the topic that I’m doing as well as finding new evidence or information to possibly add to my essay. I feel that my audience should be people who are interested in the topic of Ancient Egyptians or race. What I am most proud of about my essay is how I managed to find new information about my topic that I never knew before which made it easier to finish this essay and make it more interesting. By the end of my essay I should have gone over fully in depth of my topic where readers can have a true understanding of my topic, thesis, and for me to have gained new knowledge on my topic as well.
Perry, Phillip. “Black or white? Ancient Egyptian race mystery now solved” 16, January, 2022
Lesso, Rosie, MA Contemporary Art Theory, BA Fine Art. “Were Ancient Egyptians Black? Let’s Look at the Evidence” 9, February, 2022
https://www.thecollector.com/were-ancient-egyptians-black/
ETP Team, “The Race of Ancient Egyptians” 05, May, 2019
https://www.egypttoursportal.com/en-us/race-of-ancient-egyptians/
