DNA analysis from the ancient dead became possible in the 1980s, when Dr. Svante Paabo, Leipzig School of Human Origins in Germany, analyzed DNA from several ancient samples. In 2010, Ti Ameny Net’s DNA was extracted from a sample taken from her pelvis. It was tested for diseases, such as tuberculosis and malaria, which were prevalent in ancient Egypt and would leave traces behind in the DNA. The results showed that she did not suffer from either disease, and she did not have any other obvious illness that may have contributed to her death.
The image to the right shows Dr. Kevin Hoover, Assistant Professor of Radiology at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, trying to extract a DNA sample from Ti Ameny Net’s leg, as her body rests on the bed of a CT scanner. This attempt in the tibia, the lower leg bone, was unsuccessful, but DNA technicians were able to extract DNA from a small puncture in her pelvis.
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