If there is any water to this, HOLY HATHOR! I have deleted some of the more sensationalist information included in the article that was not on point, but could not resist keeping the information about Dorothy Eady, who believed she was a reincarnated Egyptian priestess, intact :)
Archaeologist believes he may have found remains of ancient Egyptian queen Nefertiti — hidden in King Tut’s tomb
Nefertiti — she’s an ancient Egyptian queen and the source of a fantastic mystery regarding the iconic remnants of long-lost royalty.
For decades, archaeologists have speculated on the location of the queen’s remains, the last royal mummy missing from the dynasty of the famous King Tutankhamun, better known as King Tut.
But now, an archaeologist claims that he has found her secret tomb in the Valley of the Kings, hidden just beyond a wall near the resting place of the boy-pharaoh.
Nicholas Reeves of the University of Arizona, theory is based on an analysis of detailed scans of Tutankhamun’s tomb. The scans reveal the texture of walls beneath their layers of paint, and Reeves believes he found a number of cracks indicating two previously concealed doors.
One of these doors would possibly lead to a storeroom, Reeves said. But the larger door on the north side of the burial chamber, he suggests, could lead to another room holding the remains of Nefertiti, believed by some to be the mother of Tutankhamun.
“I have been testing the evidence ever since, looking for indications that what I thought I was seeing was, in fact, not there,” Reeves told the BBC. “But the more I looked, the more information I found that I seemed to be looking at something pretty real.”
Archaeologists have expressed cautious excitement over Reeves’s conclusion, although they have yet to embrace it fully, as expected. The theory would take many more tests to confirm, although a radar scan could quickly reveal any hollows, an archaeologist told the Economist.
“If I’m wrong, I’m wrong. But if I’m right this is potentially the biggest archaeological discovery ever made.”
To find Nefertiti would be a huge win for archaeologists, and may be able to solve some of the mysteries of King Tut’s tomb. The queen, famed for her beauty and her uniquely realistic bust at the Egyptian Museum of Berlin, served as co-regent to King Akhenaten, her husband, and may have been a pharaoh after his death. That means the contents of her tomb, if it exists, would be just as fantastic as Tutankhamum’s — perhaps even more fantastic.
Tutankhamun is believed to have only ruled for nine years, taking power only as a young boy. His remains show that he was a fragile child, with buck teeth and a pronounced overbite. Thanks to rounds of royal inbreeding, he had a club foot and could only walk with a cane.
His reign was overshadowed by much more prominent pharaohs who came before him, including Ramses II, Khufu and his father Akhenaten. Still, the magnificence of the treasures found in his tomb has made it one of the most celebrated archaeological finds in the world. His famous gold funeral mask — which mysteriously depicts him more femininely than other pharaohs — is considered one of the most recognized artifacts ever.
There’s also the bizarre story of Dorothy Louise Eady, who served as a researcher at the Department of Egyptian Antiquities. Eady, better known as Omm Sety, openly believed that she was an ancient Egyptian priestess in a past life who had been reincarnated in the modern age.
Her beliefs, detailed in a number of biographies,were supposedly awakened in her after falling down stairs at 3 years old. She grew up dreaming about her experiences in ancient Egypt, and eventually moved to Egypt to become close friends with a number of prominent archaeologists. She made a number of Egyptological discoveries based on what she said were memories, not research.
At one point, she reportedly said she knew where the tomb of Nefertiti was located based on a conversation in another life with a pharaoh, according to a biography titled “Omm Sety’s Egypt.”
It’s in the Valley of the Kings, and it’s quite near to the Tutankhamun tomb,” she said, according to the biography. “But it’s in a place where nobody would ever think of looking for it. And apparently it is still intact.”
Eady died in 1981 at the age of 77.
Showing posts with label King Tut. Show all posts
Showing posts with label King Tut. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Argument for Nefertiti as Tutankhamun's Mother
Tut's DNA analysis is back in the news, and interesting it is.
From phys.org
A different take on Tut: Egyptian archaeologist shares theory on pharaoh's lineage
February 12, 2013 by Alvin Powell
In recent years, DNA analysis has shed light on the parents of Egypt's most famous pharaoh, the boy king Tutankhamun, known to the world as King Tut. Genetic investigation identified his father as Akhenaten and his mother as Akhenaten's sister, whose name was unknown.
French Egyptologist Marc Gabolde offered a different interpretation of the DNA evidence on Thursday. Speaking at Harvard's Science Center, Gabolde said he's convinced that Tut's mother was not his father's sister, but rather his father's first cousin, Nefertiti.
Nefertiti was already known to be Akhenaten's wife and in fact the two had six daughters. Gabolde believes they also had a son, Tutankhamun, and that the apparent genetic closeness revealed in the DNA tests was not a result of a single brother-to-sister mating, but rather due to three successive generations of marriage between first cousins.
"The consequence of that is that the DNA of the third generation between cousins looks like the DNA between a brother and sister," said Gabolde, the director of the archaeological expedition of Université Paul Valery-Montpellier III in the Royal Necropolis at el-Amarna. "I believe that Tutankhamun is the son of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, but that Akhenaten and Nefertiti were cousins."
Gabolde's talk, "Unknown Aspects of Tutankhamun's Reign, Parentage, and Tomb Treasure," was sponsored by Harvard's Semitic Museum and the Harvard Department of Anthropology. It was hosted by Peter Der Manuelian, the Philip J. King Professor of Egyptology.
Tutankhamun was a pharaoh some 3,300 years ago. He was made pharaoh at age 8 or 9 and ruled for about 10 years. In his talk, Gabolde covered some of the scarce known details of his life and his burial.
Tut's tomb, Gabolde said, was not intended as such. The real—and undiscovered—tomb, he said, was probably under construction when he died at 19, and is likely somewhere in the Valley of Kings, on the Nile. The place where he was actually buried was probably not intended for a royal burial but hurriedly prepared when Tut died unexpectedly, most likely of an infection that took hold when he broke his leg.
"Nobody could imagine he would die so young," Gabolde said.
Other details of Tut's life, which Gabolde has pieced together from carved images and inscriptions, include a military campaign in Syria, in which he likely didn't personally take part. Tut also was interested in Nubia, a region in southern Egypt and northern Sudan. Inscriptions on a fan that belonged to Tut showed him hunting ostriches, whose feathers were used to make the fan. In addition, Gabolde said, a staff found in Tut's tomb had inscriptions that showed it was made of a tall reed, cut by Tut himself in a city on the Nile delta.
Gabolde also traced an ornament that was found with Tut when he was discovered in 1922, but had since disappeared. Gabolde said he believes the golden hawk-head clasp, part of a broad collar worn by Tut, is in a private collection, sold by Tut discoverer Howard Carter to pay for surgery later in his life. The rest of the broad collar was stolen during World War II, Gabolde said.
From phys.org
A different take on Tut: Egyptian archaeologist shares theory on pharaoh's lineage
February 12, 2013 by Alvin Powell
In recent years, DNA analysis has shed light on the parents of Egypt's most famous pharaoh, the boy king Tutankhamun, known to the world as King Tut. Genetic investigation identified his father as Akhenaten and his mother as Akhenaten's sister, whose name was unknown.
French Egyptologist Marc Gabolde offered a different interpretation of the DNA evidence on Thursday. Speaking at Harvard's Science Center, Gabolde said he's convinced that Tut's mother was not his father's sister, but rather his father's first cousin, Nefertiti.
Nefertiti was already known to be Akhenaten's wife and in fact the two had six daughters. Gabolde believes they also had a son, Tutankhamun, and that the apparent genetic closeness revealed in the DNA tests was not a result of a single brother-to-sister mating, but rather due to three successive generations of marriage between first cousins.
"The consequence of that is that the DNA of the third generation between cousins looks like the DNA between a brother and sister," said Gabolde, the director of the archaeological expedition of Université Paul Valery-Montpellier III in the Royal Necropolis at el-Amarna. "I believe that Tutankhamun is the son of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, but that Akhenaten and Nefertiti were cousins."
Gabolde's talk, "Unknown Aspects of Tutankhamun's Reign, Parentage, and Tomb Treasure," was sponsored by Harvard's Semitic Museum and the Harvard Department of Anthropology. It was hosted by Peter Der Manuelian, the Philip J. King Professor of Egyptology.
Tutankhamun was a pharaoh some 3,300 years ago. He was made pharaoh at age 8 or 9 and ruled for about 10 years. In his talk, Gabolde covered some of the scarce known details of his life and his burial.
Tut's tomb, Gabolde said, was not intended as such. The real—and undiscovered—tomb, he said, was probably under construction when he died at 19, and is likely somewhere in the Valley of Kings, on the Nile. The place where he was actually buried was probably not intended for a royal burial but hurriedly prepared when Tut died unexpectedly, most likely of an infection that took hold when he broke his leg.
"Nobody could imagine he would die so young," Gabolde said.
Other details of Tut's life, which Gabolde has pieced together from carved images and inscriptions, include a military campaign in Syria, in which he likely didn't personally take part. Tut also was interested in Nubia, a region in southern Egypt and northern Sudan. Inscriptions on a fan that belonged to Tut showed him hunting ostriches, whose feathers were used to make the fan. In addition, Gabolde said, a staff found in Tut's tomb had inscriptions that showed it was made of a tall reed, cut by Tut himself in a city on the Nile delta.
Gabolde also traced an ornament that was found with Tut when he was discovered in 1922, but had since disappeared. Gabolde said he believes the golden hawk-head clasp, part of a broad collar worn by Tut, is in a private collection, sold by Tut discoverer Howard Carter to pay for surgery later in his life. The rest of the broad collar was stolen during World War II, Gabolde said.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Zahi Hawass Being Jacked by Egyptian Government
I'm no fan of Zahi Hawass. This is so bogus though, I don't even know where to begin. Right now at the Milwaukee Public Museum through April 22, 2012, an exhibit relating to Queen Cleopatra - from Egypt. Guess these corrupt new rulers are pissed off because they didn't get a cut of the money the second Tut exhibit has raised and is continuing to raise during it's journey around the USA.
Zahi Hawass, the former minister of state for antiquities faces charges of breaking Egypt's antiquities law when he agreed to display rare Egyptian objects in Australia and the US
Ahram Online, Monday 2 Apr 2012
General Prosecutor Abdel Meguid Mahmoud on Monday referred charges of wasting public money and stealing Egyptian antiquities against Zahi Hawass, former minister of state for antiquities to the Public Fund Prosecution office.
Nour El-Din Abdul-Samad, Director of Archeological Sites, had filed the accusations against Hawass, and requested that the objects in question be returned to the Egyptian Museum.
The Public Funds Prosecution office also received other charges accusing Hawass of wasting public money and exposing Egyptian antiquities to stealing in collaboration with former regime members.
Hawass is accused of sealing a deal with the American Geographical Society to display rare Egyptian antiquities in exhibitions across the United States and Australia, violating the law of protecting antiquities.
Hawass admitted in a television talk show that he had a 17 million dollar deal with the American Geographical Society with regard to a Tutankhamun exhibition to raise donations for Suzanne Mubarak's association, wife of former president Hosni Mubarak. Suzanne Mubarak's association was a private association not a state body, and as such Hawass was not legally allowed to use his position as a state minister to raise funds for it.
The charges relate to Hawass agreeing to transfer and display 143 objects from the Egyptian Museum to Washington DC in 2003. The antiquities have yet to be returned to the museum. [Tut, tut. They are still on exhibit and touring the USA -- they will be in Seattle starting in May, 2012 through January, 2013. Now if I can find this information out simply by doing a quick google search, don't ya think the geniuses running Egypt could do the same thing and read all about it, heh?]
These exhibitions violate the antiquities law that prohibits renting Egypt's heritage. [BULLSHIT. That is, pure and simply, BULLSHIT. Like I said, it's all about the money, and the fact that the boys now running Egypt ain't getting any from the millions generated by the tour of the Tut-related artifacts and exhibition. Too bad, so sad. All of this was put in place LONG before the 'revolution.']
Nour El-Din Abdul-Samad, Director of Archeological Sites, had filed the accusations against Hawass, and requested that the objects in question be returned to the Egyptian Museum.
The Public Funds Prosecution office also received other charges accusing Hawass of wasting public money and exposing Egyptian antiquities to stealing in collaboration with former regime members.
Hawass is accused of sealing a deal with the American Geographical Society to display rare Egyptian antiquities in exhibitions across the United States and Australia, violating the law of protecting antiquities.
Hawass admitted in a television talk show that he had a 17 million dollar deal with the American Geographical Society with regard to a Tutankhamun exhibition to raise donations for Suzanne Mubarak's association, wife of former president Hosni Mubarak. Suzanne Mubarak's association was a private association not a state body, and as such Hawass was not legally allowed to use his position as a state minister to raise funds for it.
The charges relate to Hawass agreeing to transfer and display 143 objects from the Egyptian Museum to Washington DC in 2003. The antiquities have yet to be returned to the museum. [Tut, tut. They are still on exhibit and touring the USA -- they will be in Seattle starting in May, 2012 through January, 2013. Now if I can find this information out simply by doing a quick google search, don't ya think the geniuses running Egypt could do the same thing and read all about it, heh?]
These exhibitions violate the antiquities law that prohibits renting Egypt's heritage. [BULLSHIT. That is, pure and simply, BULLSHIT. Like I said, it's all about the money, and the fact that the boys now running Egypt ain't getting any from the millions generated by the tour of the Tut-related artifacts and exhibition. Too bad, so sad. All of this was put in place LONG before the 'revolution.']
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Who's Your Daddy Revisited
So we thought we knew who Tut's daddy was, and the family line was now relatively firmly established, based on the last most comprehensive round of DNA analysis? Guess again, darlings...
Royal rumpus over King Tutankhamun's ancestry
14:09 21 January 2011 by Jo Marchant
Can we be sure which mummy was the daddy? When a state-of-the-art DNA analysis of Tutankhamun and other ancient Egyptian royals was published last year, its authors hailed it as "the final word" on the pharaoh's family tree. But others are now voicing doubts.
The analysis of 11 royal mummies dating from around 1300 BC was carried out by an Egyptian team led by Egypt's chief archaeologist Zahi Hawass. The project was overseen by two foreign consultants, Albert Zink of the EURAC Institute for Mummies and the Iceman in Bolzano, Italy, and Carsten Pusch of the University of Tübingen, Germany.
The researchers used the DNA data to construct a family tree of Tutankhamun and his immediate relatives. The study, published last February in the Journal of the American Medical Association (vol 303, p 638), concluded that Tutankhamun's father was the pharaoh Akhenaten, that his parents were brother and sister, and that two mummified foetuses found in Tutankhamun's tomb were probably his stillborn daughters – conclusions that have since become received wisdom.
But many geneticists complain that the team used inappropriate analysis techniques. Far from being definitive, the study is "not seen as rigorous or convincing", says Eline Lorenzen of the Center for GeoGenetics at the Natural History Museum in Copenhagen, Denmark. "Many of us in the DNA community are surprised that this has been published."
Degraded DNA
Ian Barnes, a molecular palaeobiologist at Royal Holloway, University of London, is also concerned. "In my experience it is not very easy to get these results," he says. "I can't do it, and I've spent a long time trying."
Zink and his colleagues used a genetic fingerprinting approach that involves testing variable regions of the genome called microsatellites, which are made up of short sequence repeats. The numbers of repeats vary between individuals, and by comparing the number of repeats across several microsatellites it is possible to work out whether or not individuals are related.
However, researchers rarely attempt this approach with ancient samples because the original DNA is likely to be degraded, and dwarfed by modern contamination. It's more common to sequence mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) – cells contain around a thousand times more copies of mtDNA than of genomic DNA, improving chances of finding large intact samples.
Zink and Pusch defend their choice, saying that they took extensive precautions to guard against contamination. For instance, they extracted samples from deep inside the mummies' bones, and genotyped lab staff to rule out contamination.
Not deep enough
But others doubt the precautions were sufficiently rigorous. Robert Connolly of the University of Liverpool, UK, who carried out blood typing of Tutankhamun's mummy in the 1960s, argues that it would be difficult to reach deep enough inside Tutankhamun's thin, fragile bones – or those of the two fetuses – to reach uncontaminated material.
Lorenzen adds that many people – not just the Hawass team – have handled the mummies since they were first unwrapped. The authors should have tested non-human samples from the tombs as negative controls, she says.
To judge the quality of the team's results, Lorenzen and others are asking for access to raw data not included in the Journal of the American Medical Association paper – but Zink is reluctant to oblige, fearing the data would spark "a lot of arguing" over technicalities.
However, Zink, Pusch and colleagues insist that they will soon be able to put any doubts to rest. They say they have also extracted the mtDNA that Lorenzen and others consider necessary for rigorous genetic analysis and are still working on the data. They hope to publish the results this year.
But the critics are still advising caution. "When working with samples that are so well-known, it is important to convince readers that you have the right data," says Lorenzen. "I am not convinced."
Royal rumpus over King Tutankhamun's ancestry
14:09 21 January 2011 by Jo Marchant
Can we be sure which mummy was the daddy? When a state-of-the-art DNA analysis of Tutankhamun and other ancient Egyptian royals was published last year, its authors hailed it as "the final word" on the pharaoh's family tree. But others are now voicing doubts.
The analysis of 11 royal mummies dating from around 1300 BC was carried out by an Egyptian team led by Egypt's chief archaeologist Zahi Hawass. The project was overseen by two foreign consultants, Albert Zink of the EURAC Institute for Mummies and the Iceman in Bolzano, Italy, and Carsten Pusch of the University of Tübingen, Germany.
The researchers used the DNA data to construct a family tree of Tutankhamun and his immediate relatives. The study, published last February in the Journal of the American Medical Association (vol 303, p 638), concluded that Tutankhamun's father was the pharaoh Akhenaten, that his parents were brother and sister, and that two mummified foetuses found in Tutankhamun's tomb were probably his stillborn daughters – conclusions that have since become received wisdom.
But many geneticists complain that the team used inappropriate analysis techniques. Far from being definitive, the study is "not seen as rigorous or convincing", says Eline Lorenzen of the Center for GeoGenetics at the Natural History Museum in Copenhagen, Denmark. "Many of us in the DNA community are surprised that this has been published."
Degraded DNA
Ian Barnes, a molecular palaeobiologist at Royal Holloway, University of London, is also concerned. "In my experience it is not very easy to get these results," he says. "I can't do it, and I've spent a long time trying."
Zink and his colleagues used a genetic fingerprinting approach that involves testing variable regions of the genome called microsatellites, which are made up of short sequence repeats. The numbers of repeats vary between individuals, and by comparing the number of repeats across several microsatellites it is possible to work out whether or not individuals are related.
However, researchers rarely attempt this approach with ancient samples because the original DNA is likely to be degraded, and dwarfed by modern contamination. It's more common to sequence mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) – cells contain around a thousand times more copies of mtDNA than of genomic DNA, improving chances of finding large intact samples.
Zink and Pusch defend their choice, saying that they took extensive precautions to guard against contamination. For instance, they extracted samples from deep inside the mummies' bones, and genotyped lab staff to rule out contamination.
Not deep enough
But others doubt the precautions were sufficiently rigorous. Robert Connolly of the University of Liverpool, UK, who carried out blood typing of Tutankhamun's mummy in the 1960s, argues that it would be difficult to reach deep enough inside Tutankhamun's thin, fragile bones – or those of the two fetuses – to reach uncontaminated material.
Lorenzen adds that many people – not just the Hawass team – have handled the mummies since they were first unwrapped. The authors should have tested non-human samples from the tombs as negative controls, she says.
To judge the quality of the team's results, Lorenzen and others are asking for access to raw data not included in the Journal of the American Medical Association paper – but Zink is reluctant to oblige, fearing the data would spark "a lot of arguing" over technicalities.
However, Zink, Pusch and colleagues insist that they will soon be able to put any doubts to rest. They say they have also extracted the mtDNA that Lorenzen and others consider necessary for rigorous genetic analysis and are still working on the data. They hope to publish the results this year.
But the critics are still advising caution. "When working with samples that are so well-known, it is important to convince readers that you have the right data," says Lorenzen. "I am not convinced."
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Isis Sends News: King Tut DNA Story in National Geographic
 |
| King Tut bust. National Geographic. Looks like Michael Jackson in later years. |
Master promoter of Egyptian antiquities (not that they need any promotion, ancient Egypt has always been a favorite with people everywhere) Zahi Hawass, Extreme High Mucky Muck of Egyptian Antiquities (he will probably have himself cloned so he never has to give up his position) wrote the National Geographic article.
Here is a nice cover article from the Summit Daily News
King Tut DNA findings
National Geographic reveals the mystery behind the boy-king
By Kimberly Nicoletti
September 5, 2010
And from the National Geographic website
Tut's Family Secrets
September 10, 2010 issue
Includes a neat graphic of Tut's family tree through his great-grandparents.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Al-Ahram Article on Marriage in Ancient Egypt
I am keeping in mind that there are probably millions of people in he world who would be shocked and offended, even angered, by the contents of this article. Women having rights? Women being able to divorce freely? Women being able to work independently outside the home and have their own property? Abominations! Al-Ahram was quite gutsy to publish this article.
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875
8 - 14 July 2010
Issue No. 1006
Donkey dowry
How did the ancient Egyptians manage their marital life? Nevine El-Aref ponders on the gender role of the ancient wife
Marriage and family were the core of ancient Egyptian society, and their practice of early marriage stemmed from their belief that a committed and happy family would lead to secure and contented children who would be the future adults of a stable society. (Image from article - Tutankhamun a/k/a King Tut and his wife, Ankhsenamun. In the article [click link above], if you click on the caption beneath the image you will be taken to a larger one which shows much more detail. The love and tenderness between this young couple that radiates from this image, even within the confines of Egyptian art, speaks even after 3,200 years.)
"Although we don't have any texts that mention marriage formalities, legal documents show clearly that married men and women had well-defined responsibilities," Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass says.
According to the history books, husbands and wives had several joint and separate marital activities. The bride might bring with her into the marriage domestic equipment, textiles and sometimes a donkey -- the main means of transport at the time. The groom built the house and gave his wife commodities and items of jewellery.
"Contracts defined property rights within the marriage, like qayma nowadays, were among the marriage rituals from the Third Intermediate Period and the New Kingdom," Hawass told Al-Ahram Weekly. Such contracts were between a husband and his father-in-law. There were also other contracts recording the material rights of the wife, sometimes even the amount of food and clothing her husband should provide her with annually. In the case of divorce, the wife usually received a third of the joint property as well as whatever she brought with her into the house. By the Late Period the wife as well as the husband could initiate divorce. "This right shocked the misogynist Greeks of that time," Hawass points out.
While a woman was allowed only one husband, a man could have more than one wife if he could afford it. "But perhaps because of the influence of the ideal example of the divine couple Isis and Osiris, most marriages were monogamous," Hawass suggests, adding that a man or a woman could remarry in case of divorce or widowhood.
Although not uncommon, divorce was a private matter between a married couple. The causes of divorce might be inability to conceive, abuse, adultery, infertility, or wanting to marry another woman. If the divorce were contested, the partner was interrogated before the local court. Property contracts detailing a woman's share of joint property in the case of divorce were safeguards so that she would not be left destitute or a burden on her father's household, to which she would presumably return. "They also must have been a deterrent to the hasty repudiation of a spouse," Hawass says.
Women were not forced to sit at home and raise children. On the contrary they had the right to work and did so in several domains, except for the military and government. Spinning, weaving and domestic work were common jobs among ancient Egyptian women, and when Hawass discovered the Pyramid builders' necropolis on the Giza Plateau he discovered that women played their role in the construction of the Pyramids. He told the Weekly that according to objects found there women cooked for the builders, ground grain and baked bread. They also nursed sick or injured workmen and dealt with field operations and broken limbs. Throughout the course of history women sought employment as wet nurses, manicurists, musicians, singers and priestesses.
"In fact," Hawass says, "women were silent but very well interpreted."
© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875
8 - 14 July 2010
Issue No. 1006
Donkey dowry
How did the ancient Egyptians manage their marital life? Nevine El-Aref ponders on the gender role of the ancient wife
"Although we don't have any texts that mention marriage formalities, legal documents show clearly that married men and women had well-defined responsibilities," Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass says.
According to the history books, husbands and wives had several joint and separate marital activities. The bride might bring with her into the marriage domestic equipment, textiles and sometimes a donkey -- the main means of transport at the time. The groom built the house and gave his wife commodities and items of jewellery.
"Contracts defined property rights within the marriage, like qayma nowadays, were among the marriage rituals from the Third Intermediate Period and the New Kingdom," Hawass told Al-Ahram Weekly. Such contracts were between a husband and his father-in-law. There were also other contracts recording the material rights of the wife, sometimes even the amount of food and clothing her husband should provide her with annually. In the case of divorce, the wife usually received a third of the joint property as well as whatever she brought with her into the house. By the Late Period the wife as well as the husband could initiate divorce. "This right shocked the misogynist Greeks of that time," Hawass points out.
While a woman was allowed only one husband, a man could have more than one wife if he could afford it. "But perhaps because of the influence of the ideal example of the divine couple Isis and Osiris, most marriages were monogamous," Hawass suggests, adding that a man or a woman could remarry in case of divorce or widowhood.
Although not uncommon, divorce was a private matter between a married couple. The causes of divorce might be inability to conceive, abuse, adultery, infertility, or wanting to marry another woman. If the divorce were contested, the partner was interrogated before the local court. Property contracts detailing a woman's share of joint property in the case of divorce were safeguards so that she would not be left destitute or a burden on her father's household, to which she would presumably return. "They also must have been a deterrent to the hasty repudiation of a spouse," Hawass says.
Women were not forced to sit at home and raise children. On the contrary they had the right to work and did so in several domains, except for the military and government. Spinning, weaving and domestic work were common jobs among ancient Egyptian women, and when Hawass discovered the Pyramid builders' necropolis on the Giza Plateau he discovered that women played their role in the construction of the Pyramids. He told the Weekly that according to objects found there women cooked for the builders, ground grain and baked bread. They also nursed sick or injured workmen and dealt with field operations and broken limbs. Throughout the course of history women sought employment as wet nurses, manicurists, musicians, singers and priestesses.
"In fact," Hawass says, "women were silent but very well interpreted."
© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved
Friday, June 25, 2010
One More Time - What Really Was It That Killed King Tut?
From Isis:
King Tut died of blood disorder: German researchers
Wed Jun 23, 1:14 pm ET
BERLIN (AFP) – Legendary pharaoh Tutankhamun was probably killed by the genetic blood disorder
sickle cell disease, German scientists said Wednesday, rejecting earlier research that suggested he died of malaria.
The team at the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in the northern city of Hamburg questioned the conclusions of a major Egyptian study released in February on the enigmatic boy-king's early demise.
That examination, involving DNA tests and computerised tomography (CT) scans on Tutankhamun's mummy, said he died of malaria after suffering a fall, putting to rest the theory that he was murdered.
But the German researchers said in a letter published online Wednesday by the Journal of the American Medical Association that closer scrutiny of his foot bones pointed to sickle cell disease, in which red blood cells become dangerously misshaped.
"We question the reliability of the genetic data presented in this (the Egyptian) study and therefore the validity of the authors' conclusions," the letter said.
"(The) radiological signs are compatible with osteopathologic lesions seen in sickle cell disease (SCD), a hematological disorder that occurs at gene carrier rates of nine percent to 22 percent in inhabitants of Egyptian oases."
Tutankhamun's death at about 19, after 10 years of rule between 1333 to 1324 BC, has long been a source of speculation.
One of the most common genetic disorders, sickle cell disease causes blood cells to take the shape of a crescent instead of being smooth and round, thereby blocking blood flow and leading to chronic pain, infections and tissue death.
The researchers called for further DNA tests on Tutankhamun's mummy for a definitive cause of death.
King Tut died of blood disorder: German researchers
Wed Jun 23, 1:14 pm ET
BERLIN (AFP) – Legendary pharaoh Tutankhamun was probably killed by the genetic blood disorder
sickle cell disease, German scientists said Wednesday, rejecting earlier research that suggested he died of malaria.
The team at the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in the northern city of Hamburg questioned the conclusions of a major Egyptian study released in February on the enigmatic boy-king's early demise.
That examination, involving DNA tests and computerised tomography (CT) scans on Tutankhamun's mummy, said he died of malaria after suffering a fall, putting to rest the theory that he was murdered.
But the German researchers said in a letter published online Wednesday by the Journal of the American Medical Association that closer scrutiny of his foot bones pointed to sickle cell disease, in which red blood cells become dangerously misshaped.
"We question the reliability of the genetic data presented in this (the Egyptian) study and therefore the validity of the authors' conclusions," the letter said.
"(The) radiological signs are compatible with osteopathologic lesions seen in sickle cell disease (SCD), a hematological disorder that occurs at gene carrier rates of nine percent to 22 percent in inhabitants of Egyptian oases."
Tutankhamun's death at about 19, after 10 years of rule between 1333 to 1324 BC, has long been a source of speculation.
One of the most common genetic disorders, sickle cell disease causes blood cells to take the shape of a crescent instead of being smooth and round, thereby blocking blood flow and leading to chronic pain, infections and tissue death.
The researchers called for further DNA tests on Tutankhamun's mummy for a definitive cause of death.
*******************************************
The fight here seems to be whether Tut had sufficient "sub-Saharan ancestry" - that is - from black Africa -- to inherit the genetic variation that causes sickle cell anemia; see Wikipedia info which is written in plain English and agrees with other things I've read on the subject. This is a genetic defect which affects predominately black Africans -"sub-Saharans." The Germans seem to be saying Tut did have this genetic variance and, therefore, at least some of his ancestry is from black Africa. Official Egypt hasn't addressed the subject and, by implication, is therefore saying that the Germans don't know their shit from shinola.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
King Tut Loved His Fashionable Footwear!
This from Isis - thanks 'Sis!
King Tut Wore Orthopedic Sandals
By Rossella Lorenzi | Wed Apr 7, 2010 04:54 AM ET
King Tutankhamun might have worn some sort of orthopedic shoes specially designed to cope with his club foot condition, an investigation into the pharaoh's footwear has suggested.
Published in the book, "Tutankhamun's Footwear: Studies of Ancient Egyptian Footwear," the research is the first detailed analysis of the 3,300-year-old footwear since King Tut's mummy and treasure-packed tomb were discovered by Howard Carter in 1922.
Even though the mummy had been X-rayed several times, it was only recently, during a major genetic investigation into King Tut's family, that researchers found a series of malformations in the pharaoh's feet.
Apart from a foot bone disorder known as Kohler disease II, King Tut might have had seriously deformed feet which left him hobbling around with the use of a cane.
Indeed, the second toe in King Tut's right foot lacked the middle bone, making it shorter, while the left foot was clubbed, rotating internally at the ankle. The foot condition might have required appropriate shoes with a tight strap in order to avoid them being dragged over the floor.
Indeed three pairs of shoes found in King Tut's tomb have horizontal straps just below the toes. One of the pairs also features semi-circular panels at the shoe's sides.
"These features are not known in any other footwear, sandal or shoe alike," book author Andre Veldmeijer, a Dutch archaeologist who specializes in ancient Egyptian leatherwork, footwear and cordage, told Discovery News in an exclusive interview.
Over 80 pieces of footwear of different sizes were buried with the boy king. Some are much deteriorated, with just fragments or isolated straps remaining. Others, however, have survived in decent condition.
Veldmeijer studied 81 specimens, including simple sewn sandals as well as other elaborately decorated, gold ornamented, brightly colored open shoes. "They were very colorful, shiny shoes. Some are really unique as they combine shape, special materials and new manufacturing techniques," Veldmeijer said.
Veldmeijer believes it is unlikely that the most elaborate shoes, complete with gemstone inlays and gold sheets, ever touched the ground. "King Tut might have been carried around wearing them. Some shoes, such as the elaborate marquetry veneer sandals, might have been carried by a servant," Veldmeijer said. [Image: a rendition of the Narmer Palette, c. 3300 BCE, the images on both sides shows the smaller figure of the King's sandal-bearer directly behind the King (he's the tallest figure on both sides, in one he's wearing the crown of Upper Egypt, in the other the crown of Lower Egypt.]
On the contrary, the seemingly simple sewn sandals, made of palm leaf, grass and papyrus, were the most important items. "They were a status symbol, only used by those elite who were rewarded by the king and royalty. These sandals were so important that they were even imitated in gold," Veldmeijer said.
According to the archaeologist, the group of smallest size footwear might have fit King Tut when he was 10, the approximate age when he became king in 1333 B.C, while the largest could have been worn just before his death at age 19. "This suggest that only the shoes he wore as a king were buried with him. Indeed, many sandals show wear, including the print of King Tut's foot on the sole," Veldmeijer said.
Two pair of open shoes were made to be extra comfortable, with the middle part of the sole stuffed to be more soft on the plantar. Together with a German specialist in reproduction of ancient footwear, Veldmeijer is now testing the "orthopedic" shoe hypothesis by remaking King Tut's leather open shoes.
"We are collaborating with a professor in anatomy to see how deformed the foot was and how the shoes would have helped," Veldmeijer said.
According to Salima Ikram, professor of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo, the speculation is interesting. "It is entirely feasible that tighter straps on Tut's shoes were due to a possible club foot, as these would hold them in place and enable easy maneuvering," Ikram told Discovery News.
King Tut Wore Orthopedic Sandals
By Rossella Lorenzi | Wed Apr 7, 2010 04:54 AM ET
King Tutankhamun might have worn some sort of orthopedic shoes specially designed to cope with his club foot condition, an investigation into the pharaoh's footwear has suggested.
Published in the book, "Tutankhamun's Footwear: Studies of Ancient Egyptian Footwear," the research is the first detailed analysis of the 3,300-year-old footwear since King Tut's mummy and treasure-packed tomb were discovered by Howard Carter in 1922.
Even though the mummy had been X-rayed several times, it was only recently, during a major genetic investigation into King Tut's family, that researchers found a series of malformations in the pharaoh's feet.
Apart from a foot bone disorder known as Kohler disease II, King Tut might have had seriously deformed feet which left him hobbling around with the use of a cane.
Indeed, the second toe in King Tut's right foot lacked the middle bone, making it shorter, while the left foot was clubbed, rotating internally at the ankle. The foot condition might have required appropriate shoes with a tight strap in order to avoid them being dragged over the floor.
Indeed three pairs of shoes found in King Tut's tomb have horizontal straps just below the toes. One of the pairs also features semi-circular panels at the shoe's sides.
"These features are not known in any other footwear, sandal or shoe alike," book author Andre Veldmeijer, a Dutch archaeologist who specializes in ancient Egyptian leatherwork, footwear and cordage, told Discovery News in an exclusive interview.
Over 80 pieces of footwear of different sizes were buried with the boy king. Some are much deteriorated, with just fragments or isolated straps remaining. Others, however, have survived in decent condition.
Veldmeijer studied 81 specimens, including simple sewn sandals as well as other elaborately decorated, gold ornamented, brightly colored open shoes. "They were very colorful, shiny shoes. Some are really unique as they combine shape, special materials and new manufacturing techniques," Veldmeijer said.
On the contrary, the seemingly simple sewn sandals, made of palm leaf, grass and papyrus, were the most important items. "They were a status symbol, only used by those elite who were rewarded by the king and royalty. These sandals were so important that they were even imitated in gold," Veldmeijer said.
According to the archaeologist, the group of smallest size footwear might have fit King Tut when he was 10, the approximate age when he became king in 1333 B.C, while the largest could have been worn just before his death at age 19. "This suggest that only the shoes he wore as a king were buried with him. Indeed, many sandals show wear, including the print of King Tut's foot on the sole," Veldmeijer said.
Two pair of open shoes were made to be extra comfortable, with the middle part of the sole stuffed to be more soft on the plantar. Together with a German specialist in reproduction of ancient footwear, Veldmeijer is now testing the "orthopedic" shoe hypothesis by remaking King Tut's leather open shoes.
"We are collaborating with a professor in anatomy to see how deformed the foot was and how the shoes would have helped," Veldmeijer said.
According to Salima Ikram, professor of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo, the speculation is interesting. "It is entirely feasible that tighter straps on Tut's shoes were due to a possible club foot, as these would hold them in place and enable easy maneuvering," Ikram told Discovery News.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Isis Interregnum
Isis has sent me links to several interesting stories this past week - sorry I did not post them last night, I got too involved in watching "Who Do You Think You Are?" and "Kitchen Nightmares." I just love Gordon Ramsey - minus the vulgarity :)
This first story is absolutely unbelievable - except that it is, unfortunately, true. Once again Islam demonstrates that it never progressed beyond the Dark Ages - has probably regressed! Disgusting and sad at the same time - killing someone for "telling a fortune" - geez. Talk about a religion with an inferiority complex. If Allah is the Almighty God, He's not going to be afraid of whatever it is that fortune tellers predict because His Truth will ultimately prevail. Of course, if Allah is a phoney-baloney god, it's no wonder the Mullahs are upset with the t.v. guy.
TV presenter gets death sentence for 'sorcery
'By Mohammed Jamjoom, CNN
March 19, 2010 10:30 a.m. EDT
(CNN) -- Amnesty International is calling on Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah to stop the execution of a Lebanese man sentenced to death for "sorcery."
In a statement released Thursday, the international rights group condemned the verdict and demanded the immediate release of Ali Hussain Sibat, former host of a popular call-in show that aired on Sheherazade, a Beirut based satellite TV channel.
According to his lawyer, Sibat, who is 48 and has five children, would predict the future on his show and give out advice to his audience.
The attorney, May El Khansa, who is in Lebanon, tells CNN her client was arrested by Saudi Arabia's religious police (known as the Mutawa'een) and charged with sorcery while visiting the country in May 2008. Sibat was in Saudi Arabia to perform the Islamic religious pilgrimage known as Umra.
Sibat was then put on trial. In November 2009, a court in the Saudi city of Medina found Sibat guilty and sentenced him to death.
According to El Khansa, Sibat appealed the verdict. The case was taken up by the Court of Appeal in the Saudi city of Mecca on the grounds that the initial verdict was "premature."
El Khansa tells CNN that the Mecca appeals court then sent the case back to the original court for reconsideration, stipulating that all charges made against Sibat needed to be verified and that he should be given a chance to repent.
On March 10, judges in Medina upheld their initial verdict, meaning Sibat is once again sentenced to be executed.
"The Medina court refused the sentence of the appeals court," said El Khansa, adding her client will appeal the verdict once more.
The case has been covered extensively by local media. According to Arab News, an English language Saudi daily newspaper, after the most recent verdict was issued, the judges in Medina issued a statement expressing that Sibat deserved to be executed for having continually practiced black magic on his show, adding that this sentence would deter others from practicing sorcery. Arab News reports that the case will now return to the appeals court in Mecca.
CNN has not been able to reach Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Justice for comment.
A new King Tut exhibit at the Met --
Tutankhamun's Funeral - A New King Tut Exhibition at New York's Met
Submitted by Ann on Thu, 03/18/2010 - 11:14
In 1908, more than a decade before the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb, American retired lawyer and archaeologist Theodore Davis made a remarkable discovery. While excavating in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, he unearthed about a dozen large storage jars. Their contents included broken pottery, bags of natron, bags of sawdust, floral collars, and pieces of linen with markings from years 6 and 8 during the reign of a then little-known pharaoh named Tutankhamun. The significance of the find was not immediately understood, and the objects entered the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art as a mystery. It was only several years later, after further excavations and study, that the Museum’s Herbert E. Winlock was able to identify them: the small cache contained the remains from the embalming and funeral of King Tut. These objects now get their own exhibition - Tutankhamun's Funeral - which runs at New York's Met until November 6th.
Wild Horses! No - not the Rolling Stones' song covered by Susan Boyle and countless other singers -- the real deal - mustangs. Turns out babies aren't the only ones who respond to rhythms:
Wild Horses Respond to Native American Drumming
Analysis by Jennifer Viegas | Thu Mar 18, 2010 01:44 PM ET
... One sunny afternoon, when they had finished their tasks, the students and a few elders within their group brought a tribal drum to the site, much to the surprise of the instructors and staff.
"It seemed to just be a spontaneous happening," Starr told me.
The students sat around the instrument and began to chant and drum.
"When this happened, the horses followed the drums and, mesmerized, made a semi-circle around the students," Starr said. "Most of the kids were so involved in the drumming that they didn't notice, even though the horses had gathered just 12 to 20 feet away. It was so moving that many of us watching were crying." ...
This first story is absolutely unbelievable - except that it is, unfortunately, true. Once again Islam demonstrates that it never progressed beyond the Dark Ages - has probably regressed! Disgusting and sad at the same time - killing someone for "telling a fortune" - geez. Talk about a religion with an inferiority complex. If Allah is the Almighty God, He's not going to be afraid of whatever it is that fortune tellers predict because His Truth will ultimately prevail. Of course, if Allah is a phoney-baloney god, it's no wonder the Mullahs are upset with the t.v. guy.
TV presenter gets death sentence for 'sorcery
'By Mohammed Jamjoom, CNN
March 19, 2010 10:30 a.m. EDT
(CNN) -- Amnesty International is calling on Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah to stop the execution of a Lebanese man sentenced to death for "sorcery."
In a statement released Thursday, the international rights group condemned the verdict and demanded the immediate release of Ali Hussain Sibat, former host of a popular call-in show that aired on Sheherazade, a Beirut based satellite TV channel.
According to his lawyer, Sibat, who is 48 and has five children, would predict the future on his show and give out advice to his audience.
The attorney, May El Khansa, who is in Lebanon, tells CNN her client was arrested by Saudi Arabia's religious police (known as the Mutawa'een) and charged with sorcery while visiting the country in May 2008. Sibat was in Saudi Arabia to perform the Islamic religious pilgrimage known as Umra.
Sibat was then put on trial. In November 2009, a court in the Saudi city of Medina found Sibat guilty and sentenced him to death.
According to El Khansa, Sibat appealed the verdict. The case was taken up by the Court of Appeal in the Saudi city of Mecca on the grounds that the initial verdict was "premature."
El Khansa tells CNN that the Mecca appeals court then sent the case back to the original court for reconsideration, stipulating that all charges made against Sibat needed to be verified and that he should be given a chance to repent.
On March 10, judges in Medina upheld their initial verdict, meaning Sibat is once again sentenced to be executed.
"The Medina court refused the sentence of the appeals court," said El Khansa, adding her client will appeal the verdict once more.
The case has been covered extensively by local media. According to Arab News, an English language Saudi daily newspaper, after the most recent verdict was issued, the judges in Medina issued a statement expressing that Sibat deserved to be executed for having continually practiced black magic on his show, adding that this sentence would deter others from practicing sorcery. Arab News reports that the case will now return to the appeals court in Mecca.
CNN has not been able to reach Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Justice for comment.
A new King Tut exhibit at the Met --
Tutankhamun's Funeral - A New King Tut Exhibition at New York's Met
Submitted by Ann on Thu, 03/18/2010 - 11:14
In 1908, more than a decade before the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb, American retired lawyer and archaeologist Theodore Davis made a remarkable discovery. While excavating in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, he unearthed about a dozen large storage jars. Their contents included broken pottery, bags of natron, bags of sawdust, floral collars, and pieces of linen with markings from years 6 and 8 during the reign of a then little-known pharaoh named Tutankhamun. The significance of the find was not immediately understood, and the objects entered the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art as a mystery. It was only several years later, after further excavations and study, that the Museum’s Herbert E. Winlock was able to identify them: the small cache contained the remains from the embalming and funeral of King Tut. These objects now get their own exhibition - Tutankhamun's Funeral - which runs at New York's Met until November 6th.
Wild Horses! No - not the Rolling Stones' song covered by Susan Boyle and countless other singers -- the real deal - mustangs. Turns out babies aren't the only ones who respond to rhythms:
Wild Horses Respond to Native American Drumming
Analysis by Jennifer Viegas | Thu Mar 18, 2010 01:44 PM ET
... One sunny afternoon, when they had finished their tasks, the students and a few elders within their group brought a tribal drum to the site, much to the surprise of the instructors and staff.
The students sat around the instrument and began to chant and drum.
"When this happened, the horses followed the drums and, mesmerized, made a semi-circle around the students," Starr said. "Most of the kids were so involved in the drumming that they didn't notice, even though the horses had gathered just 12 to 20 feet away. It was so moving that many of us watching were crying." ...
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Largest Statue of Thoth Yet Discovered
There has been a LOT of press out of Egypt and about discoveries in Egypt the last six weeks or so - just amazing. Zahi is on a real blitzkrieg. Wonder why. It couldn't have anything to do with those anti-Jewish comments he made -- well, whatever. He's doing a good job for Egypt, and I will not discount that.
I honestly cannot tell if this news release is a rehash of recent news or if it is news of totally new discoveries. The information about the red granite statue of Thoth, though, is news to me!
Statue of King Tut's grandfather unearthed
Posted 4 hours 7 minutes ago
Egyptian archaeologists have discovered two red granite statues in Luxor, including one of Tutankhamun's grandfather Amenhotep III, who reigned about 3,350 years ago, Egypt's antiquities chief said.
The second statue was of the ancient Egyptian god of wisdom Thoth, Zahi Hawass said. At four metres high, it is one of the biggest statues of the deity yet discovered.
The statues, both more than 3,000 years old, were found at the funerary temple of Amenhotep III in Kom el-Hetan on Luxor's west bank.
Last month scientists said DNA tests and CT scans on a number of mummies indicated teenage King Tutankhamun was born of an incestuous marriage between Akhenaten and his sister, both the offspring of Amenhotep III.
Some of ancient Egypt's biggest monuments were constructed during the reign of Amenhotep III during the 18th Dynasty.
The pharaoh's funerary temple, the largest religious complex in ancient Egypt, was destroyed by floods.
The Colossi of Memnon, two stone statues of the pharaoh reaching 18 metres high, are all that remain of the complex.
-Reuters
I honestly cannot tell if this news release is a rehash of recent news or if it is news of totally new discoveries. The information about the red granite statue of Thoth, though, is news to me!
Statue of King Tut's grandfather unearthed
Posted 4 hours 7 minutes ago
Egyptian archaeologists have discovered two red granite statues in Luxor, including one of Tutankhamun's grandfather Amenhotep III, who reigned about 3,350 years ago, Egypt's antiquities chief said.
The second statue was of the ancient Egyptian god of wisdom Thoth, Zahi Hawass said. At four metres high, it is one of the biggest statues of the deity yet discovered.
The statues, both more than 3,000 years old, were found at the funerary temple of Amenhotep III in Kom el-Hetan on Luxor's west bank.
Last month scientists said DNA tests and CT scans on a number of mummies indicated teenage King Tutankhamun was born of an incestuous marriage between Akhenaten and his sister, both the offspring of Amenhotep III.
Some of ancient Egypt's biggest monuments were constructed during the reign of Amenhotep III during the 18th Dynasty.
The pharaoh's funerary temple, the largest religious complex in ancient Egypt, was destroyed by floods.
The Colossi of Memnon, two stone statues of the pharaoh reaching 18 metres high, are all that remain of the complex.
-Reuters
Thursday, February 18, 2010
King Tut Follow-Up
From Isis.
Discovery Channel
Controversy Arises Over King Tut Findings
February 18, 2010
Dr. Zahi Hawass, the head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, unveiled new evidence for King Tut's lineage and cause of death at a packed press conference today.
Hawass confirmed the principal conclusions made in a paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. He said that Tutankhamuns father was most likely the "heretic" king, Akhenaten, whose body is now almost certainly identified with the mummy from KV 55 in the Valley of the Kings.
King Tut's mother, who still cannot be identified by name, is the "Younger Lady" buried in the tomb of Amenhotep II (KV 35).
The mummy of the "Elder Lady" from the same tomb can now be conclusively identified as Tutankhamun's grandmother, Queen Tiye.
Hawass added that new light was shed on the cause of death for Tutankhamun with the discovery of DNA from the parasite that causes malaria; it is likely that the boy king died from complications resulting from a severe form of this disease.
"We found evidence from DNA that proves he had very severe malaria. He was ill, weak, walked on a cane," Hawass was reported to say.
"When he was 19 and got malaria, he fell….When he fell, and was weak from malaria, he died," he added.
Study author Ashraf Selim, professor of radiology at Cairo University, told Discovery News that malaria could have been indeed the cause of death for King Tut.
"The type of malaria found is what is sometimes refered to as malignant malaria as being the most viscious of all types and certainly might have lead to his death," Selim said.
However, Selim does not rule out some other interacting causes.
"The fracture of his thigh bone might have had complications like septiceamia (blood stream infection ) and fat embolism (fat in the blood reaching the lungs). Both can lead to the death of an individual," the researcher said.
However, some outside mummy experts contacted by Discovery News are sceptical, and question the claim that malaria and bone necrosis might have caused King Tut's demise.
Franck Rühli, Head Applied Anatomy and head of the Swiss Mummy Project at the University of Zurich. He participated in the CT scan analysis of Tutankhamun in 2005.
This is a major work in Egyptian mummy studies. It proves the value of modern methods such as CT and molecular testing. Yet, one needs to be cautious in stating any definite medical diagnosis. There is still a range of possible interacting causes for King Tut’s cause of death: bone infection is possible, yet without the internal organs this assessement is always incomplete. The present condition of the mummy will never allow not to medically rule out all possibilities.
Stephen Buckley, University of York. His research projects include the Tomb KV35 in the Valley of the Kings.
It is surprising that DNA should survive in these mummies given the very harsh conditions the bodies have been subjected to over the last 3000 years. I’m referring, for example, to the methods of embalming, the relatively high temperatures and oxidising environments. Hopefully, closer independent scrutiny by ancient DNA experts might help explain these very surprising results.
Gino Fornaciari, director of palaeopathology at the University of Pisa in Italy.
It is a scientifically rigorous study. Indeed, that type of malaria might have caused his death. However, the diagnosis of bone necrosis is not clear from the published images. There is also the possibility that the necrosis was a consequence of malaria, caused by the malaria infection itself.
Discovery Channel
Controversy Arises Over King Tut Findings
February 18, 2010
Dr. Zahi Hawass, the head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, unveiled new evidence for King Tut's lineage and cause of death at a packed press conference today.
Hawass confirmed the principal conclusions made in a paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. He said that Tutankhamuns father was most likely the "heretic" king, Akhenaten, whose body is now almost certainly identified with the mummy from KV 55 in the Valley of the Kings.
King Tut's mother, who still cannot be identified by name, is the "Younger Lady" buried in the tomb of Amenhotep II (KV 35).
The mummy of the "Elder Lady" from the same tomb can now be conclusively identified as Tutankhamun's grandmother, Queen Tiye.
Hawass added that new light was shed on the cause of death for Tutankhamun with the discovery of DNA from the parasite that causes malaria; it is likely that the boy king died from complications resulting from a severe form of this disease.
"We found evidence from DNA that proves he had very severe malaria. He was ill, weak, walked on a cane," Hawass was reported to say.
"When he was 19 and got malaria, he fell….When he fell, and was weak from malaria, he died," he added.
Study author Ashraf Selim, professor of radiology at Cairo University, told Discovery News that malaria could have been indeed the cause of death for King Tut.
"The type of malaria found is what is sometimes refered to as malignant malaria as being the most viscious of all types and certainly might have lead to his death," Selim said.
However, Selim does not rule out some other interacting causes.
"The fracture of his thigh bone might have had complications like septiceamia (blood stream infection ) and fat embolism (fat in the blood reaching the lungs). Both can lead to the death of an individual," the researcher said.
However, some outside mummy experts contacted by Discovery News are sceptical, and question the claim that malaria and bone necrosis might have caused King Tut's demise.
Franck Rühli, Head Applied Anatomy and head of the Swiss Mummy Project at the University of Zurich. He participated in the CT scan analysis of Tutankhamun in 2005.
This is a major work in Egyptian mummy studies. It proves the value of modern methods such as CT and molecular testing. Yet, one needs to be cautious in stating any definite medical diagnosis. There is still a range of possible interacting causes for King Tut’s cause of death: bone infection is possible, yet without the internal organs this assessement is always incomplete. The present condition of the mummy will never allow not to medically rule out all possibilities.
Stephen Buckley, University of York. His research projects include the Tomb KV35 in the Valley of the Kings.
It is surprising that DNA should survive in these mummies given the very harsh conditions the bodies have been subjected to over the last 3000 years. I’m referring, for example, to the methods of embalming, the relatively high temperatures and oxidising environments. Hopefully, closer independent scrutiny by ancient DNA experts might help explain these very surprising results.
Gino Fornaciari, director of palaeopathology at the University of Pisa in Italy.
It is a scientifically rigorous study. Indeed, that type of malaria might have caused his death. However, the diagnosis of bone necrosis is not clear from the published images. There is also the possibility that the necrosis was a consequence of malaria, caused by the malaria infection itself.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
What killed you? And oh - by the way - who's your Daddy?
King Tut is back in the news. It seems he's hardly ever out of it - nor is Zahi Hawass, who certainly knows the meaning of milking a story for every single word it's worth in the international press. Mr. Hawass, I've got news for you - you can be good at your job without being such a schmuck. The most important aspect of this story is confirmation that Tut was, indeed, the son of fabulous Pharaoh Akhenaton - but that got buried in this story. I do hope, however, that this will once and for all put paid to all of those conspiracy theory stories out there about how Tut was murdered. He was weakened by a terrible injury - a broken leg - and suffering from malaria. Even today millions die from malaria. So, enough already.
Thanks to Isis for this news:
Malaria, genetic diseases plagued King Tut
(Story from CNN)
The legendary Egyptian "boy king" Tutankhamun, commonly known as King Tut, died of conditions including malaria and complications from a leg fracture, according to a study published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Tutankhamun's tomb was discovered in 1922, but his life remains shrouded in mystery, and not much is known about him. He ruled during the 18th Dynasty, from 1336-1327 B.C., according to the Web site Egyptology Online, and is believed to have died young. Forensic analysis of his mummy has put his age of death at about 17 to 19 years.
In the study published this week, researchers used anthropological, radiological and genetic testing to examine Tut and 10 other bodies mummified over a two-year period during Tut's dynasty.
Previously, based on historical records and earlier digs, Zahi Hawass, the lead investigator of the study, had said Tut could have been the son of Amenhotep III, a successful and popular king of the 18th Dynasty, who was later known as Akhenaten.
Through DNA, Hawass' researchers determined that was indeed the case, and that Tut was married to his sister. Scientists believe that genetics and inherited diseases played a role in Tut's health because of inbreeding within the family.
"We know there were weaknesses in these mummies, perhaps even cardiovascular problems," Hawass said.
When researchers scanned Tut's mummy, they found he not only had severe kyphoscoliosis, or curvature of the spine, but also suffered from a toe malformation known as oligodactyly. The condition made his left foot swell, and it would have caused excruciating pain when he walked.
"In ancient drawings we see Tut shooting arrows, not standing, but sitting in a chariot. This was unusual," Hawass said. "In his tomb, we also found 100 walking sticks. Originally we thought they represented power. But they were ancient crutches that he obviously used. He could barely stand."
Hawass said by taking his prior research and combining it with his most recent findings, the cause of Tut's death became pretty clear to him.
"The purpose of the CT scan (in 2005) was to see if he was murdered, because earlier X-rays had found there was a hole in his skull," Hawass said. "But we found the hole was made during mummification. However, we did find a large fracture in his left femur that probably contributed to his death."
Hawass theorized a fall could have hastened Tut's death. But DNA testing also showed evidence of plasmodium falciparum, a protozoan parasite that causes malaria in humans. The parasite has been found in many other mummies, as well. Hawass said he believes the combination of the serious fracture and the deadly parasite killed the young king.
"This is very exciting that we can take modern technology and learn more about Egyptian history," said Howard Markel, a medical historian at the University of Michigan's Center for the History of Medicine.
"Mummies are very powerful tools," he said. "We can learn a lot from the dead, how illnesses evolve."
More coverage at Guardian.co.uk: Frail boy-king Tut died from malaria, broken leg
Frail - my ass! This kid was not frail in any sense of the word other than having a severe physical disability and genetic disorders due to inbreeding. Both things he was born with, both things he could not help - and certainly he seemed to have overcome to the best of his ability, given the constraints of medical treatment and medical knowledge at the time. Who the hell can fight a genetic disease? No one. We're in the 21st century and we still cannot save people with genetic diseases. In many cases, we can't even make their lives much more comfortable for the time that they are with us. So, Tut stands as an example to all of us.
Thanks to Isis for this news:
Malaria, genetic diseases plagued King Tut
(Story from CNN)
The legendary Egyptian "boy king" Tutankhamun, commonly known as King Tut, died of conditions including malaria and complications from a leg fracture, according to a study published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Tutankhamun's tomb was discovered in 1922, but his life remains shrouded in mystery, and not much is known about him. He ruled during the 18th Dynasty, from 1336-1327 B.C., according to the Web site Egyptology Online, and is believed to have died young. Forensic analysis of his mummy has put his age of death at about 17 to 19 years.
In the study published this week, researchers used anthropological, radiological and genetic testing to examine Tut and 10 other bodies mummified over a two-year period during Tut's dynasty.
Previously, based on historical records and earlier digs, Zahi Hawass, the lead investigator of the study, had said Tut could have been the son of Amenhotep III, a successful and popular king of the 18th Dynasty, who was later known as Akhenaten.
Through DNA, Hawass' researchers determined that was indeed the case, and that Tut was married to his sister. Scientists believe that genetics and inherited diseases played a role in Tut's health because of inbreeding within the family.
"We know there were weaknesses in these mummies, perhaps even cardiovascular problems," Hawass said.
When researchers scanned Tut's mummy, they found he not only had severe kyphoscoliosis, or curvature of the spine, but also suffered from a toe malformation known as oligodactyly. The condition made his left foot swell, and it would have caused excruciating pain when he walked.
"In ancient drawings we see Tut shooting arrows, not standing, but sitting in a chariot. This was unusual," Hawass said. "In his tomb, we also found 100 walking sticks. Originally we thought they represented power. But they were ancient crutches that he obviously used. He could barely stand."
Hawass said by taking his prior research and combining it with his most recent findings, the cause of Tut's death became pretty clear to him.
"The purpose of the CT scan (in 2005) was to see if he was murdered, because earlier X-rays had found there was a hole in his skull," Hawass said. "But we found the hole was made during mummification. However, we did find a large fracture in his left femur that probably contributed to his death."
Hawass theorized a fall could have hastened Tut's death. But DNA testing also showed evidence of plasmodium falciparum, a protozoan parasite that causes malaria in humans. The parasite has been found in many other mummies, as well. Hawass said he believes the combination of the serious fracture and the deadly parasite killed the young king.
"This is very exciting that we can take modern technology and learn more about Egyptian history," said Howard Markel, a medical historian at the University of Michigan's Center for the History of Medicine.
"Mummies are very powerful tools," he said. "We can learn a lot from the dead, how illnesses evolve."
More coverage at Guardian.co.uk: Frail boy-king Tut died from malaria, broken leg
Frail - my ass! This kid was not frail in any sense of the word other than having a severe physical disability and genetic disorders due to inbreeding. Both things he was born with, both things he could not help - and certainly he seemed to have overcome to the best of his ability, given the constraints of medical treatment and medical knowledge at the time. Who the hell can fight a genetic disease? No one. We're in the 21st century and we still cannot save people with genetic diseases. In many cases, we can't even make their lives much more comfortable for the time that they are with us. So, Tut stands as an example to all of us.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
The Gault Site
Until I read this article, I had no idea that the Gault site had been a "pay to dig" site or that it had been subject wholesale to looting. 1929 - this dude Pearce is considered a revered figure in archaeology? More like a looter himself - just like Woolley (Ur) and Carter (King "Tut's" tomb, Egypt) and the other so-called "archaeologists" of that era. They were all out to find gold treasure trove, like Schliemann had a few generations before at Troy. I'm more of an archaeologist than they ever were - and I have no formal training whatsoever! (Image: Clovis point, Gault site)
The second interesting point of this article is that it points to pre-Clovis peoples here in North and South America and, specifically, at the Gault site. Well - duh! Archaeological evidence of this has been uncovered at other sites scattered across North American for at least the past 20 years (maybe even longer than that). However, vested interests and reputations are at stake - it would NOT do to admit one was a bit hasty in interpreting existing evidence at the time, oh no! Can't do that - what would happen to the textbook contract and all the papers written IGNORING all available evidence at the time? In this day and age of the internet and instant communications, can that kind of academic arrogance continue to stand?
The Gault site
Written by Chris Dyer Friday, 16 January 2009
The Gault Site, located northeast of Florence off FM 2843, is considered one of the premier archeological discoveries in North America. James E. Pearce, known as the Father of Texas archeology, excavated the site in 1929. Texas’ first professional archaeologist, Pearce also served as the chairman of the University of Texas’ anthropology department in the 1920s and was instrumental in founding the Texas Memorial Museum in Austin.
Pearce-led excavations, spanning eight weeks at the Gault Site — named because of its original location on the farm of Henry and Jodie Gault — revealed a wealth of information. For the next 60 years, collectors and looters gained access to the site and focused their search for valuable artifacts on the upper deposits. For a while, archaeologists believed that all of the levels of human occupation at Gault had been destroyed.
Up until 1998 the location had been operated, on and off, as a commercial pay-to-dig site where anyone could dig, sometimes for as little as $10 a day. Property ownership changed hands and the pay-to-dig days were over. In 1990, a collector discovered two incised stones sandwiching a Clovis point. Luckily, the looters and collectors had left the site’s deeper layers containing Clovis deposits relatively undisturbed.
Clovis culture defines a period of thousands of years (from 9,000 to 13,500 years ago), and does not just define the people at Gault. The term encompasses all people using Clovis technology, first discovered in Clovis, N.M. The archaeologists at Gault are studying all the different patterns of human activity, which span many thousands of years, and comparing the data to other sites all over the continent to better understand the Clovis culture as a whole.
“The Gault School is interested in the larger question of the peopling of the Americas — who were the first peoples, what were they like and where did they come from?” Clark Wernecke, director of the Gault School of Archaeological Research in Austin, said. “Discoveries at Gault, right here in Central Texas, include 65 percent of all known excavated Clovis materials and play an important part in this discussion. If we were to discover artifacts below the Clovis strata, that part becomes even more important.”
Wernecke said an estimated 1.7 million artifacts, 600,000 of which are Clovis age, have been recovered from Gault.
Archeological evidence reveals that the most common food source at Gault was small amphibians and turtles, and people lived at the site for extended periods of time. This contradicts the idea that all people of the Clovis culture were nomadic and survived solely by following herds of mammoth and other large game across the continent. Remains of mammoth turn up at Gault, but not as frequently as evidence of a host of other food sources.
Archaeologists are focusing their efforts on excavating areas below the Clovis layer and are attempting to determine if Gault will yield evidence of people who lived in Central Texas prior to 13,500 years ago. Deep tests conducted at the site have repeatedly turned up evidence of pre-Clovis occupation.
The Gault Project team wants to construct an interpretive center at the site, complete with walking trails where people can learn about Central Texas’ history and environment.
The site is open by appointment, and Gault staff and volunteers give guided tours. To volunteer or schedule a tour or field trip, visit http://www.gaultschool.org/.
Chris Dyer is the director of The Williamson Museum, 716 S. Austin Ave., Georgetown.
*************************
Some information on the Gault Site - and photographs.
Friday, December 19, 2008
King Tut's Father Identified
At least, Zahi Hawass says so :)
King Tut's Father ID'd in Stone Inscription
Rossella Lorenzi, Discovery News
Dec. 17, 2008 -- An inscribed limestone block might have solved one of history's greatest mysteries -- who fathered the boy pharaoh King Tut.
"We can now say that Tutankhamun was the child of Akhenaten," Zahi Hawass, chief of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, told Discovery News.
The finding offers evidence against another leading theory that King Tut was sired by the minor king Smenkhkare.
Hawass discovered the missing part of a broken limestone block a few months ago in a storeroom at el Ashmunein, a village on the west bank of the Nile some 150 miles south of Cairo.
Once reassembled, the slab has become "an accurate piece of evidence that proves Tut lived in el Amarna with Akhenaten and he married his wife, Ankhesenamun," while living in el Amarna, Hawass said.
The text also suggests that the young Tutankhamun married his father's daughter -- his half sister.
"The block shows the young Tutankhamun and his wife, Ankhesenamun, seated together. The text identifies Tutankhamun as the 'king's son of his body, Tutankhaten,' and his wife as the 'king's daughter of his body, Ankhesenaten,'" Hawass said.
"We know that the only king to whom the text could refer as the father of both children is Akhenaten, himself. We know from other sources that Ankhesenamun was the daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti. Now, because of this block, we can say that Tutankhamun was the child of Akhenaten as well," Hawass said.
Found among other sandstone slabs in the storeroom of El Ashmunein's archaeological site, the block was used in the construction of the temple of Thoth during the reign of Ramesses II, who ruled around 1279-1213 B.C.
But the block wasn't freshly cut by the workers of the temple. Instead, it was recycled and brought there from el Amarna, along with some other thousand blocks, originally used to build the Amarna temples.
Now known as el Amarna, the city was once called Akhetaten after the "heretic" pharaoh Akhenaten (1353-1336 B.C.) had established the capital of his kingdom, introducing a monotheistic religion that overthrew the pantheon of the gods to worship the sun god Aton.
When Akhenaten died, a state decree was issued to purposefully destroy Amarna and its building materials were distributed for use elsewhere.
According to Hawass, the block comes from the temple of Aton in Amarna and the forms of the inscribed names clearly date it to the reign of Akhenaten.
The best-known pharaoh of ancient Egypt, King Tut has been puzzling scientists ever since his mummy- and treasure-packed tomb was discovered in 1922 the Valley of the Kings by British archaeologist Howard Carter.
Only a few facts about his life are known.
While he lived in el Amarna, his name was Tutankhaton ("honoring Aton" -- the sun god). When he ascended the throne in 1333 B.C., at the age of nine, and moved to Thebes, he changed his name to Tutankamun ("honoring Amun" -- a traditional cult). As the last male in the family, his death in 1325 B.C. at age 19 ended the 18th dynasty -- probably the greatest of the Egyptian royal families -- and gave way to military rulers.
Mapping out the lineage of the Egyptian pharaohs is one of Hawass's latest challenges. King Tut has been either credited to be the son of Akhenaten or the offspring of Amenhotep III, who was Akhenaten's father.
Doubts also remain about King Tut's mother. Scholars have long debated whether he is the son of Kiya, Akhenaten's minor wife, or Queen Nefertiti, Akhenaten's other wife.
Egyptian researchers are currently carrying out DNA testing on two mummified fetuses found in King Tut's tomb, believed to be his offspring.
"If the fetus DNA matches King Tut's DNA and Ankhesenamun's DNA, then we would know that they shared the same mother," Hawass said.
According to Swiss anatomist and paleopathologist Frank Ruhli, head of the Swiss Mummy Project at the University of Zurich, Hawass' finding is very important.
"It supports one of my favorite theories about King Tut's parentage. DNA of proven relatives would help if it matches with the one of King Tut," Ruhli told Discovery News.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Senet Game Recovered from 5,000 Year Old Tomb
5,000-year-old cemetery found in S Egypt
http://www.chinaview.cn/ 2008-07-06 05:59:34
CAIRO, July 5 (Xinhua) -- An Egyptian archeological mission has unearthed a 5,000-year-old royal burial ground in southern Egypt, the official MENA news agency reported on Saturday.
The cemetery was discovered in Umm el-Ga'ab area, south of the historical city of Abydos in Sohag governorate, about 400 km south of Cairo, said the report.
The burial ground, which contains 13 tombs, is believed to be of senior royal employees or people who contributed to the construction of the cemetery.
The team of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities also found objects of an ancient Egyptian game called "Senet," which resembles chess.
MENA said this is the second time the "Senet" game has been discovered. The first one was found in the tomb of boy King Tutankhamen near the southern Egyptian city of Luxor.
Editor: Yan Liang
*************************************************************
********************** It seems incredible that this is only the second time Senet has been discovered in an ancient Egyptian tomb, but come to think of it, I believe all examples I've seen in museum exhibits did come from Tut's tomb, including a beautiful very small painted ivory game board in the 2006 exhibit at the Field Museum in Chicago (see photo - this is the board we saw). More than one senet board was recovered from Tut's tomb - I believe at least 4 boards were found in the tomb. This board, however, is NOT showing senet - it's showing the twenty-squares game! Senet has 30 squares! Perhaps it's on the other side of the board; it was not uncommon for Egyptian game boards to have the twenty-squares game on one side the Senet on the other side.
Here is the announcement from AFP.
http://www.chinaview.cn/ 2008-07-06 05:59:34
CAIRO, July 5 (Xinhua) -- An Egyptian archeological mission has unearthed a 5,000-year-old royal burial ground in southern Egypt, the official MENA news agency reported on Saturday.
The cemetery was discovered in Umm el-Ga'ab area, south of the historical city of Abydos in Sohag governorate, about 400 km south of Cairo, said the report.
The burial ground, which contains 13 tombs, is believed to be of senior royal employees or people who contributed to the construction of the cemetery.
The team of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities also found objects of an ancient Egyptian game called "Senet," which resembles chess.
MENA said this is the second time the "Senet" game has been discovered. The first one was found in the tomb of boy King Tutankhamen near the southern Egyptian city of Luxor.
Editor: Yan Liang
*************************************************************
********************** It seems incredible that this is only the second time Senet has been discovered in an ancient Egyptian tomb, but come to think of it, I believe all examples I've seen in museum exhibits did come from Tut's tomb, including a beautiful very small painted ivory game board in the 2006 exhibit at the Field Museum in Chicago (see photo - this is the board we saw). More than one senet board was recovered from Tut's tomb - I believe at least 4 boards were found in the tomb. This board, however, is NOT showing senet - it's showing the twenty-squares game! Senet has 30 squares! Perhaps it's on the other side of the board; it was not uncommon for Egyptian game boards to have the twenty-squares game on one side the Senet on the other side.Here is the announcement from AFP.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
