Shomarka Keita, a biological anthropologist affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution and the Institute for Historical Biology, William and Mary, has written extensively on identity and biology in Egypt and Nubia. Egypt is in the northeastern corner of Africa, in essence a 930 mi linear oasis in the eastern Sahara. Due to the history of Egypt’s exploration and reception by the European gaze, it has traditionally been regarded as ‘Western’ or ‘Near Eastern’, divorced from its place of emergence and cultural connections with Africa. This lecture will address the origins of ancient Egyptian culture including aspects of its interconnections with Nubia. Evidence from linguistics, biology and archaeology will be explored.