First ever ancient DNA extracted from canopic jars

This article is from Ancient Egypt issue 134

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A team of European scientists has extracted human DNA from the contents of canopic jars for the first time.

Canopic jar remains are difficult to investigate using current molecular methods due to the often incomplete histories of the objects, and the presence of other compounds inside the jars that can hamper DNA extraction.

above A Middle Kingdom canopic jar from the Manchester Museum. Scientists have succeeded in extracting human DNA from the contents of canopic jars for the first time. — A Middle Kingdom canopic jar from the Manchester Museum. Scientists have succeeded in extracting human DNA from the contents of canopic jars for the first time. Image: Sarah Griffiths

The team analysed the contents of 90 jars from eight European museums, and was able to develop a technique allowing them to isolate both human DNA and DNA from bacterial pathogens.