Tag: King tut unwrapped

King Tut Scottish? How far can DNA theories stretch?

Mockup of King Tut in Tartan slash Scottish Dress. Yeah right! When the latest Tutankhamun study was published in Jama, there were quite a few outcries that although the study looked into the direct ancestry of King Tut, it fully ignored the pointers to the pharoah’s racial ancestry, possibly hidden in the pharaoh’s DNA. As usual, Dr Zahi was accused of many things, most notable charges of ‘hiding that King Tut was black/white/purple.’ Now a retired physicist took the time to write down some of the DNA test results exposed in the Discovery Channel programme that featured the study’s results and concluded the data shown in the docu reveals Tut’s haplogroup as R1b, one of the most common Y-chromosome haplogroups in Europe, especially the United Kingdom. So, err… was Tutankhamun Scottish, rather than black or white?

From the data exposed in the documentary ‘King Tut Unwrapped’ (start watching at about 1:50 in this video), Whit Athey concluded from the DNA data shown on the documentary that Tutankhamun must have the haplogroup R1b,associated with the male Y chromosome, and common in Ireland, Scotland, western England, France, Iberia and Scandinavia, according to Athey, European through and through. Really?

The exposure of this data was flagged before, with many speculating it was not Tutankhamun’s DNA, but rather test sequences run for the benefit of the documentary. Kate Phizackerley, KV64.info blogger(and a must read if you’re interested in all things Tut), believes the data is genuine, but that Mr Athey’s interpretation might be (way) to quick.

She points out the uncertainty of determining ancestry using the Y chromosome, and that even if R1b is Tut’s haplogroup, that does not necessarily mean he’s European.Some sub-branches of the R1b haplogroup today are mainly found in Sub-Sahara Africa: This branch of R1b is very strongly represented in the Chadric population of Western Sub-Saharan Africa with more than 95% of Cameroonian Ouldemes having an R1b? haplogroup. What is even more striking is that 28% of male the Berbers from Siwa in Egypt still have an R1b? Haplogroup. There is another concentration of R1b in central Aurasia. Phizackerley believes that, if R1b Is indeed Tut’s haplogroup, migrations when the Sahara changed from fertile savannah to desert might account for this.

It is far harder to claim moral ownership of Nefertiti’s bust if most modern Egyptians are themselves genetic incomers rather than direct descendants – at least down the male line.

She calls for the mitochondrial DNA, passed down the maternal line, results to be released (pretty please, Dr Zahi?),as mtDNA is far less likely to mutate than the Y-DNA. The mtDNA would offer a clearer picture of Tutankhamun’s racial ancestry.

But won’t Dr Hawass try to postpone releasing this data as long as possible? For if people keep speculating (Black/White/UK), these ‘ancestry theories’ keep the King Tut hype alive, creating a whole lot of extra, free publicity for Egyptology (and the Egyptology tsar’s books and TV docussuch as Chasing Mummies).Also, as Kate Phizackerley points out, the data is likely to prove that most modern Egyptians are not closely related to the Amarna Royal family, something that could become a major argument in the whole repatriation debate: It is far harder to claim moral ownership of Nefertiti’s bust if most modern Egyptians are themselves genetic incomers rather than direct descendants – at least down the male line.

Personally, I believe King Tut being Scottish as likely as Jesus having visited Cornwall and Somerset. I do want tothink that the Amesbury Archer was born in the French Alps and crossed the Channel to settle at Stonehenge about 4000 years ago. But then again,I also like to believe that he put down a better time for the crossing than those of us who travelled by Eurostar last week.

Mummy Frenzy with Joyce Filer – Forensic Aspects of Ancient Egypt… and King Tut!

Great news for anybody* who missed out on the previous ‘Mummy CSI’ study days with Joyce Filer, as there is another one coming up. A bonus – on top of the normal forensic aspects of ancient Egypt schedule – is an entire day dedicated to the remains of King Tut and the results of the recently published Tutankhamun DNAstudy.

The findings from the King Tut study have been widely covered and debated since they were published (some interesting responses on the lineage results on Kate Phizackerley’s and Dylan Bickerstaffe’s blogs, and discussion of Tut’s foot on Em Hotep!) but if you want it all explained in real time, with the chance to ask questions – and without Dr Hawass staring – you must attend Joyce Filer’s ‘Tut-Ankh-Amun’ Study Day on May 29th. “All?” you say? In the space of six hours (with a break for afternoon refreshments) you’ll find out which medical conditions King Tutankhamun suffered from, what tests were used in the research and which of his family members have been identified. Of course, there’s room to debate the latter, as well as King Tut’s possible causes of death.

Too much Tut? You can also learn about the latest advances in ‘mummy forensics’ in general and test your own ‘operation’ skills if you attend ‘Forensic Aspects of Ancient Egypt’ on the 19th of June. Hot items on the mummy-menu include:how to identify the age at death and gender of a mummy or skeleton, the fascinating practice of facial reconstructions, and identifying diseases in Egyptian mummies, amongst details of other scientific techniques.

If you want to be well prepared (or at least as prepared as I am) for those two study days, try to track down the complete JAMAarticle and read up on King Tut’s medical history. And just to make sure, do check whether or not you’ll faint upon seeing a ‘live’ mummy. They aren’t all as cute as the Hammer ones. 😉

* Especially for me. I swear on my mummy – may he cut the power (again) if I don’t attend – we’ll be present.

Tracing King Tut’s Family Tree in London

Tutankhamun has always captured popular imagination, and been a major draw for museums. The British Museum’s 1972 exhibition of artefacts from his tomb smashed all expectations in the box office, drawing over 1.6 million visitors over its nine month duration. The pharaoh nicknamed ‘King Tut‘ has been the source of more speculation, satire and popular culture references than any other male king of Egypt. Last week pathologists announced the results from their studies into the genetic relationship of eleven mummies from the Egyptian New Kingdom (mid 16th to early 11th centuries BC), including those of the legendary pharaoh Tutankhamun.

The genetic testing revealed the identities of three generations before him, his great grandparents (Yuya and Thuya, the two best preserved of the mummies in terms of facial recognition), his grandparents (Amenhotep III and Tiye) and his unidentified father (known for now as KV55) and mother (KV35YL). The study – airing as ‘King Tut Unwrapped’ – did reveal that Tutankhamun’s parents were part of one of the notorious incestuous marriages of Egyptian royalty. There is speculation that this unidentified mother (and Aunt) was Kiya. Kiya was the favourite of one of the most notorious of pharaohs and strongest candidate to be the mummy found in KV55: Akhenaten.

We have come tantalisingly close, through this study, to answering one of the enduring mysteries of Egyptology. Who is the mummy known as ‘KV55’? Before this investigation, KV55 was considered too young to have been Akhenaten. However, this study found that the mummy could have died at around 60 years old. Found amongst the other tombs of the Amarna period, could it be Akhenaten – the king whose successors tried to wipe him from history? Akhenaten forced through religious reform, ending the worship of all other Egyptian gods apart from one: Aten. His status as the ‘heretic’ king may have lead to his reburial in Thebes, after his original tomb had been desecrated.

The British Museum has a fragment of a statue depicting Akhenaten. Even though only the lips and nose are intact, archaeologists can still be confident that the statue depicts Akhenaten due to the unusual artistic style which was trademark of his era. With full lips and long face, it was thought for many years that he suffered from a genetic disorder which had led to a deformed physical appearance; this study has finally been able to put that theory to bed.

Perhaps one day the whole family – KV55, Tutankhamun and all – will make the trip to be seen together at the British Museum and the other leading museums of the world. In the meantime, we can still see artefacts relating to some of these ancient rulers within Britain. The British Museum holds in their collection a stela with the image of Akhenaten portrayed in the Amarna style. He sits in a relaxed pose, seated, with a protruding chin and rotund little belly. Curiously, he also has what seem to be developed breasts, leading to speculation he suffered from Gynecomastia – male breast growth which is also now disproven and currently accepted as another stylistic fad. Above him in this picture, the Sun casts down its rays, the gift of Aten. Is this figure themummy KV55? The evidence is mounting.

Unlike Akhenaten, Amenhotep III is well represented in the archaeological record and within British museums. He was cast in a relief dating to after his death in the style preferred in the time of Akhenaten. He sits alongside Queen Tiye, mother of the elusive KV55, in a familial pose characteristic of the Amarna period, where Kings celebrated their marriages and family status.

More impressive perhaps are the two colossal works in the museum’s collection. One is an almost three metre high head, without the full lips that the Amarna kings preferred. Why the inconsistency? It was common practise for pharaohs to usurp monuments to other kings. Rameses II rededicated some of Amenhotep’s sculptures to himself, and in doing so the peculiar physical features were corrected, the lips ‘trimmed’ and the paunch in the gut reduced to conform to what the great propagandist Pharaoh Rameses II believed was the ideal – or perhaps better suited his vanity.

The colossal head wears the crown of both Egyptian kingdoms. Cut from smooth granite it is in superb condition apart from the loss of the goatee beard (and the rest of the body, of course). A different head of Amenhotep III was reunited, in replica, with the accompanying body on the original site in Egypt, just under a year ago. The ruler was one of the pioneers of colossal sculpture. One of the most impressive artefacts from the Amarna period and the ancestors of Tutankhamun within the UK is a limestone bust, around a metre and a half tall. The torso, head, face and headdress featuring a coiled cobra – are very well preserved, and it wears a Mona Lisa type smile of contentment.

Finally, we have a seated black statue of Amenhotep III, 235 centimetres tall, albeit made of fragments and recreated parts. Hundreds of these statues would have been commissioned to commemorate his death, and they would have once watched over the place of his burial complex.

Now that genetics has unravelled the connections between the mummies, the intertwining of these influential lives has been revealed. It is fascinating that after so many eras and generations the mists of time are clearing. The eighteenth dynasty, which stuttered after the death of the ‘Golden King’ Tutankhamun, is now of more interest than ever before. The more complete picture we have before us now would be superbly complimented by an in-depth exhibition to present these people through their monuments together, as they were tied together to each other by blood, a great family remembered millennia after their deaths.

More information on the most recent ‘King Tut family’ research in Discovery Channel’s ‘King Tut Unwrapped’ documentary, which will air on March 3 & 4 in the UK, here’s a photo preview. If we’ve overlooked any of King Tut relatives who have artefacts currently in London or Oxford, !Surprised by so many Amenhotep IIIheads? Yet another one has recently surfaced in Luxor. No King Tut treasures on display in London (as far as we know, feel free to correct) but of course, you can have an up-close look for yourself in King Tut Virtual.

Colossal Head from Statue of King Tut’s Granddad Found at Amenhotep III Funerary Temple Site

Head of gigantic Amenhotep III statue discovered at Luxor A multi-national team of Egyptian and European archaeologists excavating at the site of Amenhotep IIIs enormous funerary temple in the Kom El-Hettan area of Luxors West Bank have uncovered the 3,000-year-old head of a massive statue of the 18th Dynasty pharaoh, the king of Egyptian kings, whom DNA testing has recently proven was Tutankhamuns grandfather.

The find made by the Colossi of Memnon and Amenhotep III Temple Conservation Project was announced on Monday by Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosni. Measuring 2.5 metres, made from solid red granite and depicting Amenhotep III wearing the Upper Egyptian white crown, it has been described by Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass as a masterpiece of highly artistic quality.

Old Big Head

The head, added Hawass, is a portrait of the king with very fine youthful sculptured features. It was sheared from the body statue at the chin and neck. The body statue fragments of which are currently in restoration is believed to show Amenhotep III in a standing position, with his hands crossed over his chest and holding the royal insignia.

It is a masterpiece of highly artistic quality and shows a portrait of the king with very fine youthful sculptured features.

Leader of the project at Amenhotep IIIs funerary temple Dr. Hourig Sourouzian said that more of the statue may still lie in the rubble of the enormous ruined monument, one of the biggest man-made structures in ancient history. Measuring 700 metres long and 500 metres wide, and covering an area of 350,000 square metres it was ten times larger than any other mortuary monument in Egypt.

Investigation and restoration of Amenhotep IIIs funerary temple is expected to take upwards of 20 years (you can see Dr Sourouzian discussing the daunting task in this Heritage key video interview). 84 colossi statues have been unearthed there already, among them representations of King Amenhotep III and his wife, Queen Tiye.

Grandpa Amenhotep

Queen Tiyes mummy was recently identified by Dr Hawass and a team of scientists as part of a painstaking medical and archaeological endeavor the results of which were revealed last week in the Discovery Channel documentary King Tut Unwrapped to map the family history of Tutankhamun. The project also determined that Amenhotep III ninth pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, ruler of Egypt between 1390 BC and 1352 BC was King Tuts grandfather. The boy king is believed to have been born of an incestuous marriage between Akhenaten and his sister, both the offspring of Amenhotep III.

Amenhotep was the wealthiest and most powerful of all the pharaohs of ancient Egypt. In a list compiled by American business and financial bible Forbes in 2008, he was ranked as the 12th richest person in human history.

King Tut Further Unwrapped – The Family of Tutankhamun Project

It’s only 24 hours since all Tut broke lose, and additional information is still gradually being released (confirming my theory that the main bulk of the information was leaked too early ahead of the press conference). That, or it took the released information a while to percolate through my brain. The following bits are new or extra info (to me) from the official SCApress release.

My grey mass failed to process the fact that this study is part of the ‘Family of Tutankhamun Project’ rather than the ‘Egyptian Mummy Project’. Somehow, limiting the scope does make sense, despite the Onion’s report on the extinction of the Egyptian mummies*. The other half of that same grey mass neglected to apprehend that rather than the protozoan Plasmodium falciparum being observed in King Tut’s DNA, traces of the malaria parasite’s DNA were discovered in Tut.

The SCA release states that:

“Two types of DNA analysis were performed on samples taken (see how they do this, red) from the bones of these mummies: analysis of specific nuclear DNA sequences from the Y chromosome, which is passed directly from father to son, to study the paternal line; and genetic fingerprinting from the autosomal DNA of the nuclear genome that does not directly decide a persons sex. To authenticate the DNA results, the analyses were repeated and independently replicated in a newly equipped ancient DNA laboratory staffed by a separate group of personnel.”

I’m glad to see the ‘separate group of personnel’ written here, as that wasn’t explicitly mentioned in previous reports (which were thoroughly processed by said grey mass). The neural structure does wonder:”If we have thoroughly tested the 18th dynasty’s DNA, then why absolutely no mentioning of any ethnic ancestries? At least some data must have been found?”

A special award goes to the person that decided on the use of the words ‘conclusively’ (putting an end to doubt or question) and definitely (known for certain). The report claims absolutely that:

The mummy found in KV55 is Tutankhamun‘s father** (Even though his age at death is now estimated to be between 45 and 55, rather than 20 to 25, it is only ‘almost certain’ that this was Akhenaten. I guess it also can ‘almost certainly’ not be Smenkhkare any more)
The ‘Elder Lady’ from KV35 is Queen Tiye, who is Yuya and Thuya‘s daughter.

Yet, I’m not entirely confident that ‘positively identified’ means there is no possible argument against the fact that the ‘Younger Lady’ from KV35 is Tutankhamun’s mother. The assumption that the two fetuses found hidden away in KV62 are Tut’s kids is even more hasty. But then again, that claim is just as likely as the mummy KV21Abeing the most likely mother of these likely children and thus likely Tutankhamun’s wife, making her probably (that was quite enough ‘likelies’ in one sentence) a royal mummy. At least she’s not under superstition of being male, as was Tutankhamun’s likely mother for a while. Aren’t we all looking forward to the removal of the ‘protected’ status on King Tut’s wikipedia entry, so we can start updating it?:p

What I did not fail to notice, not just in the SCA’s press release, is that the research is quite clearly sponsored by Discovery Channel. For those nagging about the big ‘hype’ factor of this and ‘King Tut Unwrapped’ (photo preview here), please know that I’m not on your side. I’m perfectly happy with this arrangement. UNESCO is not needed to help fund the research and can spend some more on errr.. what about Colchester’s Roman Circus? 😉 Taxes do not need to rise because a growing number of mummies are in need of trips to the mummy-hospital and with Discovery Channel sponsoring, the majority of the results are made freely (cost of the bandwith) accessible to all. A sweet deal altogether?

With that to ponder () I leave you, as Ihave some ‘likely’ removing to do on various Heritage Key directory pages.

*No, the grey mass did not fail to notice that the Onion is indeed one big joke.
**I thought that – although the probability is extremely high – a DNApaternity test is never 100% conclusive.

King Tut Unwrapped – Tutankhamun Mummy Forensics to Air on Discovery Channel

When I wrote that it was most likely we’d see more conlusive information on King Tut’s pedigree on TV first, I obviously was wrong, partly. Spoiler alert:yes, King Tut died at age 19 of (in order) a failing immune system, a leg fracture and malaria, but for the the fine details, and juicy imagery, you’ll need to tune in to Discovery Channel’s ‘King Tut Unwrapped’. The network – which sponsored Egypt’s ‘mummy lab’ – promises us an unprecedented forensic investigation into the life and times of King Tut that reveals the identity of Tut’s parents and grandparents, details on his cause of death and new details of his reign. Here are some more reasons to definitely watch the show.

“The life and death of King Tut continues to hold a special power and mystery for people all over the world,” said Clark Bunting, president and general manager, Discovery Channel. I would never dare disagree, and like to add that his afterlife seems to be working out pretty well! 😉

King Tut’s family tree

The road to understanding the Tut tree (18th Dynasty) begins with filling out his parents’ branches. Based on historical records and previous digs, Dr. Hawass determined King Tut’s father could be one of three great Egyptian pharaohs: the successful and popular ~~second~~ ninth king of the 18th Dynasty Amenhotep III; the radical and controversial Akhenaton aka ‘The Heretic King’, who moved Egypt into the age of monotheism, or the little-known Smenkhare who reigned just prior to Tutankhamun’s rule.

When Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon discovered King Tut’s tomb, who could have forseen that almost a century later KV62 would be the site for the cutting edge of forensic Egyptology? To effectively solve the mystery of Tut’s parentage, the team needs to test Tut’s DNA and compare this to his possible family members. Carefully, to avoid contamination, some bone marrow is extracted from the mummified leg. This first-ever DNA extraction from Tut’s mummy sets into motion a series of cross-reference studies to identify the Boy King’s family.

Specimens now abound for testing, but the expert team assembled at Discovery Channel’s DNA lab at the Cairo Museum faces challenge upon challenge in connecting the forensic dots. In order to test the ancient DNA, Dr. Carsten M. Pusch and Professor Albert Zink work with Dr. Yehia Zakaria Gad of the Department of Medical Molecular Genetics at Cairo’s National Research Center to perform, for the first time, microsatellite-based DNA-fingerprinting on familial Egyptian mummies.

There is triumph in the lab but that is only the start of the Tut family odyssey. With successful DNA sequencing of Tut’s father (Akhenaten, for those not following the news), Hawass is able to pursue leads that will eventually point to confirming the mummy of King Tut’s mother as well as identifying his great-grandparents Yuya and Thuya.

Tutankhamun died of…

Part two of ‘King Tut Unwrapped’ uses never-before-examined evidence from Tut’s mummy to conclude what caused his death and how that information sheds new light on his reign as a military, religious and political leader. Results from the DNAresearch and CT-scans reveal that the young pharoah suffered from various maladies and diseases, a combination of which eventually caused his demise.

Of course, no Ancient Egypt documentary would be complete without Egyptology superstar Dr. Zahi Hawass playing a leading role. From the pristine interiors and precision work of the DNA lab to dusty, unpredictable dig sites in the field, Dr. Hawass takes the viewer on an intense, deeply personal journey for the truth.

“Discovery is honoured once again to work with Dr. Zahi Hawass. Dr. Hawass’ trailblazing leadership has successfully fused traditional, methodical archeology with cutting-edge, advanced forensics. This is a new chapter in Egyptology firmly establishing Cairo as a center for innovation and scholarship,” said Clark Bunting. I wonder, did the Curse of the Mummy affect the high-tech equipment again? 😉

‘King Tut Unwrapped‘ premires Sunday, February 21 at 8pm ET in the US. Part two is on Monday, February 22 at 8pm ET. For your ‘local air dates’, check out our publication entry, or Discovery.com. For the UK, that’s March 3th & 4th 2010.