By Said M-Shidad Hussein

The Genetic Factor
Part VIII 

One of the factors that have led the former Egyptologists to believe that the Puntites were Somali, and even the ancient Egyptians were partly Puntites, was the physical anthropology. Although there are no big differences in physical appearances among the Cushitic populations in Northeast Africa, the Puntites are particularly identified with the Somalis while the ancient Egyptians depicted themselves as similar to the Puntites.

Moreover, the Egyptians persisted on describing Punt as the land of god, gods or ancestors. This readily means that an important section of Egyptians believed that they were originated from that land. In fact, the Egyptians had artistically displayed the racial types that were known to them such as Temehow (Libic or Mediterranean), Nemow (Asian or Semitic), and Nehesow (Nubian or African).

Interestingly, Puntites were the only people that had carefully been illustrated as the affinities of the Egyptians racially and culturally. Although it is not so far challenged scientifically, the physical features can still be regarded as a questionable criterion. However, the previously-addressed findings including linguistics, and new archaeological discoveries, suggest that the indication may not be questionable anymore.[i]

Similarly, genetic evidence supports the old assumption and the new findings. A new investigation on Y chromosome markers shed more light on the prehistoric linkage between the two peoples. Genotyping markers on Y chromosome in the Somalis, scientists have recently found that a special type of gene marker, E3b1 cluster y, define the Somalis. Findings from other investigations on Y chromosome markers in diverse populations that are relevant for the Somali case were compared to the findings in 201 male Somalis.

The frequency of the genotype (E3b1) in the Somalis is 77.6% (96.8% of it cluster y). Its frequency in other populations is as follows: the Oromos in the neighborhood of the Somalis 35.9%, Amharas 22.9%, mixed Ethiopians 22.4%, Egyptians 20.0%, Sudanese 17.5%, Iraqis 6.3%, Northern Africans 6.1%, Omanis 1.7%, Southern Europeans 0.5% – 5.1%, Turks 1.7%, and various Sub-Saharan Africans 0.7% and lower.[ii]

Thus, these populations share E3b1 with the Somalis in Y chromosome clusters mostly different from the Somali one (cluster y). After the Somalis, the highest frequency in cluster y is found in the Oromos, particularly those geographically related to the Somalis. In addition to the fact that the Oromos are generally the closest affinities of the Somalis, those in question have assimilated a large Somali population during the last four centuries.[iii]

On the bases of the available information, Somalia is the primary home of the E3b1, Ethiopia is the second, Egypt is the third while Sudan is the fourth. This means that outside the Afro-Asiatic populations in the Horn of Africa, the highest frequency of E3b1 is found in the living Egyptians which make them the closest group to the Somalis in this respect.

In general, before the study on the Somalis in 2004, it has been known that the modern Egyptians closely related to the populations in the Middle East, Horn of Africa, North Africa, with presence of South European and Nilo-Saharan genetic elements.

The E3b1 is the predominant gene marker in the Somali population but there are other types of gene determinants that contribute to the characterization of the Somali racial affiliation and go along with the direction of the predominant marker.

Although more work on E3b1 lineages in the Horn of Africa was in progress at the time of publishing the data we use here, the y chromosomes so far observed in the Somali population consist of E3b1 77.6%, sharing it with other Afro-Asiatics in lower frequency; 15% of K2, J and M17 which is characteristic in Eurasia; and less than 5% of A3, B, E3a, and E3b2 in the sub-Saharan (non-Afro-Asiatic) Africans.[iv]

The predominant gene component was introduced into the Somali population 5000-4000 years ago. The researchers base this date on estimation of the ‘Time back to the Most Recent Common Ancestor (TMRCA)’ assuming a generation time of 25 years. It is also estimated that the cluster began to expand sizably in the Somali population 1200 years ago.[v] This is understandable because over 80% of the living Somalis claim that they are descendants of paternally-related (patriarchal or matriarchal) families that lived around that time.

It appears that, like anthropologists on the Somali studies assume a generation time of 25 years for the ancestral lineages, the genotype scientists here also accept that number of years for the Y chromosome lineages. This is generally an acceptable standard.

But, most of the traditional ancestral lineages in Somalia show a generation time of 30 years or more. The difference between the traditional ancestral lineages and the standard one warrants a further investigation. If the generation time would be based on the later number, the TMRCA approximation would be 5000-6000 years for E3b1 cluster y. And even according to other estimation, cluster y originated in the Horn of Africa approximately 9600 years ago.[vi]

Another temporary problem is that, our information here does not include age estimates of E3b1 in the Egyptian population. However the position of Egypt in E3b1 geographic distribution and its frequency in the populations indicates that there were pre-historic Somalo-Egyptian connections.

Moreover, the Puntite factor was introduced into Egypt in the same general era that the Somali nationhood was evolved. Accordingly, the data suggest that a gene flow took place between the two people which survives in the ethnically-dynamic population of present-day Egypt. The data also suggest that, if the ancient Egyptians were about to share the E3b1 with a group or to receive it from them that are essentially the Somali since the marker is characteristic in the Somali and it is suggested that cluster y, at least, originated in the Horn.

READ MORE: THE ANCIENT KINGDOM OF PUNT Part VIII By Said

Said M-Shidad Hussein,
Puntland State University,
Garowe, Somalia
Email: saidshidad@gmail.com