(ORDO NEWS) — Archaeologists have uncovered the truth about more than a 3,000-year-old myth after they conducted a detailed analysis of the remains of an ancient people – the Hyksos, who lived in ancient Egypt. A report on the analysis of human remains was published in the journal PLOS ONE.
It was previously thought that the Hyksos, the mysterious nomadic people from the Levant, invaded Egypt over 3,600 years ago. The Levantines, as they are also called by scientists, were known as the only group of people who conquered northern Egypt. The loss by the pharaohs of northern Egypt and the appearance of the Hyksos there was considered the first “foreign capture” of Ancient Egypt.
Scientists have studied human remains from the capital of the Hyksos to find out their origin. A new study literally struck researchers. The results of the analysis showed that the Hyksos were not at all cruel invaders. Moreover, everything indicated that these people were a group of immigrants who moved to the centers of the Nile Delta in earlier times from all over the Middle East.
The descendants of these same immigrants multiplied and were able to rule northern Egypt in the second interim period. Thus, the Hyksos ruled the region of northern Egypt from 1638 BC. until 1530 BC
The results were obtained after four decades of excavation at Tell al-Daba, the ancient northern Egyptian city of Avaris. Avaris is located about 100 km from Cairo and was the capital of the Hyksos.
Led by Austrian archaeologist Manfred Bietak, the ruins showed no signs of destruction that imply that the Hyksos were invaders. Instead, archaeologists have discovered that since about 2000 BC. Levantine influence became more apparent in northern Egypt, which suggests that people brought their own culture to the country.
Thus, a study conducted using isotope analysis, led by archaeologist Chris Stantis, showed that the Hyksos were exclusively immigrants. Scientists have studied in detail the teeth of 75 people who were buried in Tell al-Daba during the Hyksos and the previous three centuries.
According to an isotopic analysis of the teeth of Tell al-Daba skeletons, it turned out that the food that the Hyksos ate was different from the local one, and just over half of the Levantines spent their childhood outside the Nile Valley.
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