Title
Ancient Ibis Mummies from Egypt: DNA Evolution
Funding Scheme
Human Frontier Science Grant
Researchers
- Professor David Lambert
- Eske Willerslev (Dept. of Ancient DNA and Evolution - Niels Bohr Institute and Institute of Biology - Copenhagen - Denmark)
- Barbara Holland (Dept. of Mathematics and Physics - University of Tasmania - Hobart - Australia)
- Salima Ikram (Dept. of Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology and Egyptology - American University in Cairo - Cairo - Egypt)
Duration
Awarded in May 2011
Grant
$1,200,000
Description
The catacombs of ancient Egypt contain literally millions of well-preserved Sacred Ibis (Threskiornis aethiopica) mummies. Since the Predynastic period (7,500 - 5,100yrBP) these birds have been regarded as manifestations of Thoth, God of wisdom and writing. Ibis have been a focus of worship ever since and by the Late Period (~2600yrBP) the numbers being mummified had reached the millions. At one site alone 10,000 mummies were interred in a single year. Furthermore, these mummies are common in many museums around the world and large numbers are still preserved in catacombs from at least five sites in Egypt. Using archaeological and Optically Stimulated Luminescence methods we can precisely age these ancient remains.
The research team aims to use ancient DNA and genomic methods to study both modes and rates of DNA evolution using this remarkable resource. In recent years, a number of ancient DNA studies have made significant contributions to our understanding of the processes that govern DNA change. However, these studies have been limited by a lack of large numbers of known-age remains from multiple time points. The Sacred Ibis mummies from ancient Egypt give us a unique opportunity to overcome this limitation.
Status
Current