King Tut's grandmother, Queen Tiye, has been identified by DNA tests. A press conference
held at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010, revealed the young
king's parentage and cause of death. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
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Molecular Egyptology, a scientific use of anthropology, body scans and genetic testing have determined that his grandmother was Queen Tiye, and his parents were brother and sister. (We already knew Tut also married his sister.)
King Tut suffered from several ailments; however, an infection from a broken leg and malaria now point to be his causes of death, more than 3,000 years ago at the age of 19.
Eleven mummies dating from 1410-1324 BC were studied for a period of two years. They were selected as being possible relatives of the king. In addition, five other royal mummies from 1479-1550 BC were tested.
Ever since Howard Carter discovered King Tutankhamun's tomb (KV 62) in the sands of Egypt 88 years ago, mystery, speculation and mummy curses have been bandied about. Earlier theories discussed whether he was murdered or fell, causing his death. He has a hole in the back of the head (see slideshow) that might have led to these incorrect conclusions. It was discovered that the hole was made so that liquids used in the mummification process could be poured into his body.
Dr. Zahi Hawass of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities led the studies and found that King Tut had avascular bone necrosis, which causes deterioration of bone due to poor blood supply. This condition alone would not likely cause death, but DNA testing showed he also had malaria. "These results suggest avascular bone necrosis in conjunction with the malarial infection as the most likely cause of death of Tutankhamun."
A leg fracture found in the mummy during a CT scan cleared up another misconception. When Howard Carter discovered the tomb in 1922, he accidentally broke the mummy into 18 pieces while trying to remove the mask and gold jewelry that adorned him. The scan proved that the king had sustained an accident shortly before death that led to this break in the leg. It was determined he also had a club foot.
All of this would explain the presence of 100 walking sticks found in the tomb. It was previously thought that these were royal staffs or symbols of power, but now scientists believe they were simply used as canes or ancient crutches. Dr. Hawass added, "In ancient drawings we see Tut shooting arrows, not standing, but sitting in a chariot. This was unusual. He could barely stand."
Tut's father, Akhenaten, entombed in KV 55, had married his mother who was also his sister (found in KV 35YL). His grandmother, Queen Tiye was also found in KV 55.
With all of this DNA talk, is anyone else thinking about a mummy Jurassic Park? A NY Times article dated today confirms I am not the only one. It states: "Human genetic material, largely undamaged after 2,400 years, has been extracted from an Egyptian mummy and has been grown in the laboratory." This is the first time ancient human DNA has been cloned, and results of the study will be out tomorrow.
While this is clearly for the benefit of scientific and medical research, and I don't believe anyone is busy installing roller coasters in a New Kingdom Park, it is a huge scientific step that leaves some people slightly uneasy.
A visit to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo is a dream of any lover of history and world culture. The trip from New York to Cairo takes approximately 12 hours. Orbitz has flights in March with Air France for $875 including tax, round trip. If Egypt is out of your budget, hop on the LIRR and check out the great Egyptian artifacts at the Brooklyn Museum. Also, Discovery Center Times Square will open its King Tut Exhibition on April 23, 2010.
For more info: Dr. Zahi Hawass
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Comments
Fascinating info. I had no idea they kept in the family so to speak. ;-)
Isn't it bizarre how certain famous figures are just big old inbreds! Look at Roosevelt, and now Tut...for shame :)
Cool info and great little-known fact.
Fascinating! I think that was pretty common among ancient civilizations' "royalty" -- know the Hawaiian ali'i did a lot of inter-marrying.
You learn something new every day! It's amazing what they can discover (infer?) using modern technology.
Love all the ancient Egyptian stuff ... thanks for the update
wow great info.
Wow, what a great article. I never knew that information about his family history or about his health issues. It really was fascinating to learn about it.
You got to watch that royalty.
Great article, Nance. Amazing details of King Tut and the fact that his parents were brother and sister. Great job.
Amazing the things science can find out these days.
know that looks nasty
**-_ iit look liike sh(ee) was burt _-**
iit wass nicce talkinq to yuu
lo^3 ,
** dhope.ass.kiid**
Awsome.
... im doing a very hard research on king tut and hes parents in i hope this website give me some good infermation
L0^3,
rakia
king tuts kool i saw his mummy exibit today dat was awesome
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