King Tut Died of Sickle Cell Disease, not Malaria

Note: AP reports that the letter read ""We question the reliability of the genetic data presented in this (the Egyptian) study and therefore the validity of the authors' conclusions," but I can't find that published anywhere on JAMA?

Figured that one out (thank you, Ellie!). AP is quoting another letter related to the study on JAMA, from Eline Lorenzen and Eske Willerslev (center for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark), which indeed reads " We question the reliability of the genetic data presented in this study and therefore the validity of the authors' conclusions. Furthermore, we urge a more critical assessment of the ancient DNA data in the context of DNA degradation and contamination." 

Let it be known - we are FULLY aware that the Great King and Prophet of Peace was murdered and hung from a tree at the foot of Mt. Sinai by the wicked Priest Panehesy, who was his father's (Akenaten) Chief Priest of Aten. He was murdered because he attempted to bring harmony between the exiled King his father (Akenaten a.k.a. Amenhotep IV), and the Amun Priest of Africa (Egypt is in Africa). Your attempts to concile and cover up this fact are futile for Great God is truth and you can never defeat the truth. Question: were there ANY Africans (Blacks) involved with this study of one of the Greatest African (Black) Pharoahs of all time, or was it exclusively studied by the INVADERS from Arabia who claim Egytpian Heritage today?

LOL

I think you might have it a tad incorrect. Maybe not, but hear me out first:

Yes, Panehesy (biblical Phineas) was indeed the expelled pharaoh's (Echnaton, biblical "Father Nathan", "King Saul" the Sun King and maybe "Moses" too) Wicked priest. You can read about Phineas in the OT for details, just remember it's 8th century BC Jewish priestly authors 'twisted' it just a bit.

And yes, indeed, there must have been friction between the Aten priests and the Amun (Amen) priests. That is something you can probably research and read contemporary accounts of, my friend.

But the "hung from a tree".......you are making the same mistake Fundie Christians make: it was a ceremonial "Crucifixion" and Resurrection. Not a real one. See if you can find the link from late April or early May showing the painted coffin lids from the early dynasties, all the way back to the 2350 BC's, and it showed a man's head on top of a "cross", exactly like an Ankh. (I would just give you the link, but the ones I had have oddly "expired" in less than 60 days. Anyway, you can search, maybe find a link still active.) Look in May of this year on search engines for "painted tombs found with mummies" and see if you can find active link: you will be amazed.

The "Cross" looks like a Christian cross, and a tree trunk combined. Only instead of the "loop" on top, it had a rather happy looking Resurrected Pharaoh's face. No body, just the face on top of the Cross. He looks very happy, because he is going to join his heavenly father now!!!

A Ceremony. Which is why the pyramid tombs were empty: the priests would sneak in, take the body of the deceased pharaoh, rebury it in the real tombs, then they could lead the "Faithful" into the Pyramid tombs, where the dead "Godman"'s body, wrapped in linen and there for "Three Days", was now "gone." See, pharaoh went to heaven!! Now pass the collection plate.

This is the ceremony of "Raising Lazerus" from the Dead.... get it? L' Azerus= The Osiris. The Risen God. There is a very cool scene in Rome carved into granite, circa 300 AD, of "Jesus" holding a Magi wand, and waving it over a MUMMY WRAPPED IN LINEN, with it labeled "Jesus raising Lazerus."

It is an ancient theme...even the OT and NT have versions of the same ceremony. Also, I believe the "piercing of Jesus' side" was in reality the ceremony the Egyptian "Apis Bull" priests performed. You are aware of the Apis Bull Cult? THOUSANDS of them mummified.

Herodotus tells of their ceremony: the priests would pick a bull calf with a white mark on it (a star on it's forehead, maybe?), and treat it like royalty. Then, when the "right" time came for a sacrifice, the bull would be stabbed by the priest in the side......and then mummified, while the new Apis Bull started his reign.

Sound familiar?

Tut's grandmother, Ty, was a beautiful Black woman. Really she could walk down the street today, and one would think she looked better than 99% of any other woman around. No one is hiding any African heritage, Taseti. Of course some Black African blood ran through their veins...what other reality could there be?

But not exclusive Black African blood. Nefertiti, Tut stepmother, I think, was a Hittite princess, from the Black Sea area. She would be of "Amazon" blood: white-skinned, more so than most Egyptians. Goodness, remember, Pharaoh had wives like we have socks. Easily, they could have had South American wives, wives from Eurasia, and these were not Africans. Yes, South America, or somebody better tell me who was supplying coca and tobacco to ancient Egypt.

I strongly suspect that early modern humans evolved from hominids locally into modern humans, then dispersed after the last ice age @ 10,000 BC. Some of these would have mingled with modern humans leaving Africa, and they would have met in the Middle East. I strongly suspect that some Asian hominids also evolved into modern humans at this time, and some of them would have found their way to Egypt eventually.

I strongly suspect Isis was a mutant Asian woman, a MODERN HUMAN at a time of transition from hominid to completely modern human. And the "Daughters of Isis" had that gene....and they were married off to other "royal families" to spread the Genes of Isis...Genesis. For certain, I DO NOT believe that the hominids we KNOW spread throughout the world, returned to Africa then evolved into "modern" humans...what gibberish is that? HOMINIDS sailed the seas! To Crete, to Indonesia ("Hobbits"), and over to Australia. And what, they returned to Africa to evolve? The scientists better look closer at this theory, it stinks.

Not "aliens" breeding with earthly mates like you hear so many theorize, but HOMINIDS evolving into MODERN HUMANS. And, with DNA proof now of interbreeding with Neanderthals.....maybe they gave us the "Heracles/Hercules/Sampson" myths?

Anyway....When Moses was deposed, er, Echnaton, Nefertiti wrote appeals to the Hittite king to send her a son to marry to keep the throne. The Amarna Letters. She was not Black. Light brown, yes. That would be the "white" of that time period.

But for certain, the images of Tut's sandal soles, depicting Black skinned African he conquered, should tell you all you need to know about how he viewed Upper Nile rivals. Most likely Tut was mostly Black African genes, which is why Hawass refuses to allow "outsiders" to test. Or, some had "Jewish" genes from Hyksos times.

Say, did you see the British Museum's website on the temple of Ramses II found in Idj-taui? (Judah). Very near the old Hyksos capital of Avaris: this IS "Solomon's temple", no doubt in my mind. Ramses II= Solomon.

Avaris, where the proto"Israelites" sprang from. Placed there by the Hittite king with "Ya" in his name (Thudhaliya II = Thoth and Ya), and court officers named "Rabi." Try "hittites.info" website for really interesting articles and photos.

These Hyksos, they worshiped a god named Seti. And there are temple wall carvings in the desert of Horus fighting Seti in an epic battle...at Meggido. It depicts Ramses II fighting with Seti/Ba'al. (Ba'al simply means "lord.") Lord Seti. It is a typical "God with the upraised arm" depiction, showing Horus bashing the head of Set(h) with his mace.

Jesus vs Satan in the desert? Yes. Here is the origin of that myth.

They are MYTHS, my friend, and you will do well to always keep that in mind. They originate in the stars......

And to those that laugh: yuck it up: you probably still think there was some ancient "kingdom" called "Israel." There WAS NOT. You probably still think there was a David or Solomon. There was NOT.

So laugh it up while you cling to lies, deception and myths.

I do not think they know 100% for sure.

Gosh! A barrage of Gullah acholarship!

Farang,

Like you I used to sit enthralled watching The Flintstones. But you've got a way with words.

Taseti, are you using the royal 'we', the multiple personalities 'we', or the "I have a tapeworm" 'we'? Inquiring minds want to know...

Marco, " I think you might have it a tad incorrect." The Flintstones plots were much more believable than Farang's. But it is the best comment I've heard yet on HK. ;-)

“SCD (SICKLE CELL Disease), while inherited at birth, is most likely to result in fatal complications between childhood and early adulthood…Aappaarently Hawass was asked if SCD was possible…A family tree of King Tut, suggested by Hawass himself, appears to further the German team's case.” Now even if the test comes back negative, Hawass has already confirmed that both Tut’s parents had to have the trait, therefore, both are Afrikan!”

Euhm... no, Somosuno, not necessarily. "The genetic predisposition for (sickle-cell disease) can be found in regions where malaria frequently occurs, including ancient and modern Egypt."

Marco, wrt Farang's drawn out comment and your Flintstones response (LOL), the saying "if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullsh*t" comes to mind ;) He had yet to realise that doesn't really work as well as he'd think. I didn't even bother to finish reading that uhm.. theory. LOL @ Hal :) I think Farang is "a tad" delusional.

Thanks Ann, for pointing that out (re CSD). It is a mutation or error in a certain gene, it is usually found in black people, but is also rarely found in places like India, Italy, Greece and Latin America. There are also other mutations that are thought to have evolved because of malaria.

Aside from that, I don't think he had CSD anyway. Also, I would like Somosuno then to explain the blonde and red-haired mummies, like Tiye (Tut's gran) with her wavy red hair. And that goes for Farang too. In fact, Farang, that goes DOUBLE for you. You must be thinking of someone else. You talk like you've seen her, but clearly you've never seen her mummy.

Also, tests found plasmodium FALCIPARUM, which is cerebral malaria, the most lethal of the malarial parasites and responsible for most deaths. Even today, you need urgent medical attention - it tends to have a rapid onset; you can die within hours and it's a serious medical emergency, even if you're an adult. Some people survive, but with brain damage. (I had to do some malaria research a while back.)

Timmann & co's reasoning is flawed: "Tutankhamun died aged 19, making a malaria-related death improbable."

It does not make it impossible. It is true that children are more easily affected, but people who live in malaria-endemic areas are able to build up an immunity to malaria, when they leave for a long time and come back, they have to take precautions as if they had no immunity, because it diminishes. Children simply haven't had the chance to build up their immunity.

People with increased risks of death are women, especially pregnant women, people over 65 and people with compromised immune systems. Given Tutankhamun's other health problems (a club foot and 130 walking sticks in his tomb, etc.), it's safe to say he wasn't the strongest person to start with. And like I said, falciparum infections are VERY serious.

It can cause malarial retinopathy, pulmonary edema, blackwater fever and renal failure among other things. It's UGLY and deadly. Malaria is often mistaken for flu and clinical symptoms can overlap with septicaemia or pneumonia. As an example, that pulmonary edema - that would be fluid on the lungs, so there you go - it could be mistaken for pneumonia.

Then there are also new questions as to whether a hippo did not perhaps kill him, due to chest injuries etc.

Also, Timmann and his colleagues do not have any actual proof, only suspicions because of some symptoms which may be similar. Think about it, how many diseases cause you to have a headache and nausea? So I'm with Dr. Hawass on this one. Nice article though :)

It seems some people just love to jump to conclusions and take credit. You can't mistake that BLACK GOO they used in EMBALMING for skin color, you know.

I guess Somosuno got all desperate and excited and didn't know about this newsreport in which Hawass said he was NOT African. It was short, so I pasted it below (emphasis and [brackets] mine):

- Tutankhamun was not black: Egypt antiquities chief -

"AFP. Cairo - Egyptian antiquities supremo Zahi Hawass insisted Tuesday that Tutankhamun was not black despite calls by US black activists to recognise the boy king's dark skin colour.

"TUTANKHAMUN WAS NOT BLACK, AND THE PORTRAYAL OF ANCIENT EGYPTIAN CIVILISATION AS BLACK HAS NO ELEMENT OF TRUTH TO IT," Hawass told reporters.

"EGYPTIANS are not Arabs and ARE NOT AFRICANS despite the fact that Egypt is in Africa," he said, quoted by the official MENA news agency.

Hawass said he was responding to several demonstrations in Philadelphia after a lecture he gave there on September 6 where he defended his theory.

Protestors also claimed images of King Tut were altered to show him with lighter skin at the "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs" exhibit which leaves Philadelphia for London on September 30.

The exhibition sparked an uproar when it kicked off in Los Angeles in June 2005 when black activists demanded that a bust of the boy king be removed because the statue portrays him as white. [I think those activists are racist.]

The face of the legendary pharaoh, who died around 3,300 years ago at the age of just 19, was reconstructed in 2005 through images collected through CAT scans of his mummy.

The boy king's intact tomb caused an international sensation when it was discovered by Briton Howard Carter in 1922 near Luxor in southern Egypt."

Oops. Correction: I meant *SCD* not CSD

Guess I was laughing too much :)

Farang said: "It is a typical "God with the upraised arm" depiction, showing Horus bashing the head of Set(h) with his mace."

Does that mean that thousands of years from now, people will find a picture of Hitler and think he was a god?

"L'Azerus= The Osiris" - so not only did they speak languages like Ancient Egyptian, they also spoke French?

A "mutant Asian woman"? Isis? Seriously? What does a mutant Asian woman look like exactly? And please don't tell me "like Isis"! LOL

So now Nefertiti is a Hittite from the Amazon?? Actually, they consider Nefertiti to be his mother, not his stepmother, and considering the fact that they say Tut's mum (pun intended) and dad were brother and sister, would imply that Akenaten would be a Hittite prince from the Amazon, huh? So then actually that whole royal line came from the Amazon...

And Genesis is actually a GREEK word:

genesis - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Genesis \Gen"e*sis\, n. [L., from Gr. ge`nesis, fr. the root of
     gi`gnesqai to beget, be born; akin to L. genus birth, race.
     See Gender.]
     [1913 Webster]
     1. The act of producing, or giving birth or origin to
        anything; the process or mode of originating; production;
        formation; origination.
        [1913 Webster]
 
              The origin and genesis of poor Sterling's club.
                                                    --Carlyle.
        [1913 Webster]
 
     2. The first book of the Old Testament; -- so called by the
        Greek translators, from its containing the history of the
        creation of the world and of the human race.
        [1913 Webster]

WOW. This was fun. I'm glad I checked this article out.

Just a few things to add:

First of all, the very deadly plasmodium falciparum malaria parasite was found in Tutankhamun. That is where the 'died due to malaria' thing comes from. SCD is there to prevent malaria - the parasites die because they cannot live in the sickle cells, so the moment they entered his body, they would have died and would not have had a chance to multiply and make him sick.

Second of all, the Germans were making assumptions, they did not do any tests. Since SCD is a genetic disease, it would have shown up in the DNA tests. On the other hand, falciparum did show up in tests.

And aside from that, if his parents were brother and sister (hence the defects) as they have said is the case according to genetic testing, and his Y-DNA is 99.6% Western European, then how the hell could he be African? The mummies in his maternal line (eg Tiye) had long red hair, not frizzy black hair. It's impossible for Tutankhamun to be black.

@ ANN

Hi Ann, nice article. I think if SCD shows up around the mediterranean, and in Latin America, we must remember that blacks went there rather recently eg Brazil. Also remember that the Moors invaded Europe and occupied it for 800 years, until people like Holger Danske, Charles Martel and Ferdinand of Spain kicked them out. The last of them left Spain in 1492 (Reconquista). This legacy lives on in for instance the fact that to this day the word "moor" refers to "murder" in some European languages. Then there was also the brutal Barbary Pirates who used to raid European towns and attack ships and used their captives as slaves. An estimated 1.25 million Europeans are said to have been captured by these muslim pirates from North Africa.

Europeans, Asians and especially people of Mediterranean descent are more likely to suffer from thalassemias, which also seem to be able to prevent malaria. Another anti-malarial evolutionary trait is G-6-PD enzyme deficiency, which can also be found in people of Mediterranean or Asian descent.

No one knows what exactly happened then.

I agree with tonyta, no one can tell for sure what happened thousands years ago.

Agreed! It is too old to determine correctly.

<p>African-American Specific Alleles:&nbsp; FY-Null &ndash; GDB 728415 and AT3.<br />
<br />
http://racialreality.blogspot.com/2005/08/uselessness-of-blood-groups.html<br />
FY-Null / = FY (a-b-) (Duffy-null)<br />
<br />
&quot;The Duffy system is also a single locus with two antigens, Fy a and Fy b. The only rare phenotype is Fy (a-b-), which has a higher frequency in countries where there is a high incidence of Plasmodium falciparium malaria. This phenotype gives a degree of immunity to the disease because the malarial parasite requires Duffy antigens to enter the red cells. Duffy antibodies are almost exclusively IgG. This system is named after the family of the antibody producer, Duffy.&quot; (BloodBook.com)</p>
<p><br />
<br />
When you say, &quot;no, Somosuno, not necessarily 'The genetic predisposition for (sickle-cell disease) can be found in regions where malaria frequently occurrs, including ancient and modern Egypt.' how does this negate King Tut from inheriting the traits from his parents?&nbsp; You obviously missed the racial inference in suggesting death by sickle cell.<br />
<br />
I thought Egypt was in Africa.</p>
<p>GM and KM allotypes<br />
<br />
&quot;Fulani and Masaleit, sympatric tribes in eastern Sudan, are characterized by marked differences in susceptibility to Plasmodium falciparum malaria. To determine whether the two tribes differ in the frequency of immunoglobulin GM/KM allotypes, which are associated with immunity to several pathogens, serum samples from 50 Fulani and 50 age- and sex-matched Masaleit subjects were allotyped for several GM/KM determinants. The distribution of GM phenotypes as a whole, as well as a particular combination of KM and GM phenotypes, differed significantly between the two tribes (P = 0.03). These data suggest that GM allotypes may contribute to the genetic aetiology of malaria.&quot; (Pandey et al. 2007)<br />
<br />
aetiology = causation.<br />
&nbsp;</p>

<p>Your article swept me away with its vast information and great writing. Thank you for sharing your views with such passion. I like your views.</p>