Were ancient Egyptians black?
As I have noted here previously, it has become common for blacks (sub-Saharan Africans) to claim ancient Egypt as their own. Some busts and pictures of ancient Egyptians that have been found in the excavated tombs do show rather African features. Against that I have pointed out the light skin of the famous bust of Nefertiti
The matter would now seem pretty well resolved. With great effort, geneticists have extracted DNA from ancient Egyptian remains. Analysis of the DNA shows that the ancient Egyptians had little black ancestry. They were a lightly pigmented people like other Mediterraneans. Research report here
Colors can of course change over time but it is notable in the tomb paintings that most of the people are portrayed as light brown -- but also with a few of the characters being quite black. The contrast is strong and presumably realistic.
This painting by an ancient Egyptian artist shows Nubians bringing gold to the Pharaoh. Obviously differences in skin color registered in the minds of ancient Egyptians
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