The pottery wheel from Mesopotamia first appeared in Egypt at about the time the man lived, a period when the earliest pyramids began to spring up near modern-day Cairo, starting with the Step Pyramid of the pharaoh Djoser at Saqqara and later the Great Pyramid of the pharaoh Khufu at Giza.

The genome of a man who lived in Egypt over 4500 years ago offers a new window on the ancient society and hints at connections with Mesopotamia

Researchers sequenced ancient Egyptian DNA from a 4,500-year-old skeleton, revealing genetic links between early Egypt and Mesopotamia.