Em Hotep! » Akhenaten

The Blogroll Roundup: Critiquing the JAMA Article

Shemsu Sesen — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 22:13:06 +0000

So much for the evil god Set keeping his mouth shut—people just seem to insist on questioning authority. The JAMA article is jammed with answers, but queries continue. Assembled here for your pleasure and edification are the best examples of critical questioning culled from the Egyptological blogosphere.

Tangled roots, the passed-over prince, aging them bones, lack of control, and Kate Phizackerley’s Quest for Accuracy.

Mark Rose, the online editor for the Archaeological Institute of America and co-writer (with Heather Pringle) of Archaeology Magazine’s blog, Beyond Stone and Bone, was one of the first to look a bit askance at the media coverage of the new analysis of Tutankhamun. “I suspect they are overdoing it a bit,” he said with regard to their characterization of the Boy King as a frail young man (“Tut: Disease and DNA News”).

Mark was also fast out of the gate to call attention to the age problem with the mummified skeleton from KV55 that was identified by the JAMA article as Akhenaten. Initial analysis of the mummy based on dental and skeletal analysis suggested a time-of-death in the early 20’s, whereas Akhenaten is believed to have lived into his 30’s.

In making the attribution of Akhenaten to KV55, the JAMA report simply says:

The mummy in KV55 was previously thought to be in his 20s when he died. However, our new computed tomography investigation revealed that he lived to be much older. (JAMA, Table 1, footnote b, p. 640).

In “Time for the Great Pyramid”, Mr. Rose states that he is working on a piece about the results of the JAMA study, set to run in the May/June issue of Archaeology Magazine. He hopes to get some answers regarding questions he (and we) has about the DNA analysis and CT scan/tomography.

Mark was also kind enough to offer in the Comments section to take his readers’ questions to Dr. Carsten Pusch when he interviews him. In particular, he stated that he has been following Kate Phizackerley’s articles (below) very closely and will present some of her questions to Pusch.

Incidentally, I have passed on some of your questions, Gentle Readers, as well as a few of my own. Mark’s offer in effect places us just one handshake away from one of the primaries of the JAMA article. Behold the power of the Internet!

Kate Phizackerley, of News from the Valley of the Kings, began her own contribution practically before the ink on the JAMA report was dry. Beginning with the question of how accurately geneticists can generalize from the data, given the incest issue, Kate went on to pen the first published scholarly critique of the study’s conclusions.

Kate’s work has become the nerve center of the critical analysis of the JAMA study on the Egyptological blogosphere. Much of it has already been linked from Em Hotep, but for the sake of this compendium I have assembled all of her relevant articles to date:

The Consanguinity Problem, February 24, 2010
An example of my consanguinity concerns, February 28, 2010
DNA Shows that KV55 Mummy Probably Not Akhenaten, March 02, 2010—Kate’s opus magnum detailing her doubts regarding the identification of KV55 as Akhenaten
Genetic Sudoko, March 3, 2010
Questions Roundup and a Combative Zahi, March 7, 2010
Akhenaten Museum Planned, March 11, 2010
I’ll do a larger DNA table when I get chance – implications for Egyptological, March 13, 2010
More on Tutankhamun Family DNA, March 26, 2010

Mummies expert Dylan Bickerstaffe has also referenced Kate’s work on the blog section of his website, Exploring Ancient Lands. In “HAVE THE DNA TESTS PROVED AKHENATEN WAS TUTANKHAMUN’S FATHER? Or have they told us something else?” Dylan raises a brow over the methodology of the study as it was detailed in JAMA. He is especially concerned over why the study was not conducted blind, as is typically done to prevent the researchers’ expectations from biasing their conclusions.

Dylan also questions why the control group was so small, and why mummies from other periods were not included to help monitor accuracy. As he puts it, “Thus if Tutankhamun turns out to be descended from a Ptolemaic mummy, you know you have a problem!” And then there is the matter of why KV21A and KV21B were in the study rather than the control group.

Speaking of inclusions and exclusions, Tim Reid of The Egyptians wonders why the mummy of a young boy from KV35 was not included in the study at all. In “The Forgotten Boy,” Tim points out that there are good reasons to suspect that the mummy could be that of Prince Webensenu, a son of Amenhotep II. The article details some of the adventures and misadventures of the occupants of KV35, and includes some informed speculation about the identity of Smenkhkare, a name that continues to haunt the JAMA study in various and sundry ways.

And while not a blog, Egyptian Dreams is an Egyptology forum with very knowledgeable moderators and participants. For a number of excellent threads on the JAMA study check out the Evidence from Amarna section. Some of the threads you will want to explore include:

King Tut’s Feet Fatale: Did Frail Feet Fell the Famous Pharaoh?

Shemsu Sesen — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 17:07:58 +0000

Was King Tut a warrior king or “one sick kid”? Even as the Family of Tutankhamun Project was publishing its findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association that the Boy King was a frail young man who needed a cane to walk, Egyptologist W. Raymond Johnson was publishing his evidence that Tut was an active young man who rode chariots into battle.

So which is the true Tut? What if both versions are accurate? Could this perfect storm of physical challenges and adventurous behavior have led Tutankhamun to a heroic but early grave?

When Howard Carter discovered Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 he was surprised by the number of canes that had been interred with the young pharaoh. Finding a walking stick in a royal tomb was not unusual by itself. According to Dr. Emily Teeter of the Oriental Institute, walking sticks were “primarily decorative, and every well-dressed Egyptian man carried a cane — just like a man in the 1940s with a pocket square” (Source: Los Angeles Times: King Tut’s mundane death).

Tutankhamun leaning onto a walking stick

But Tut had 130 of them, many of which show signs of use. Tutankhamun is sometimes depicted using a cane, and there are images of him seated while participating in activities such as hunting, where one would expect to see him standing. These, plus the abundance of canes provided for his use in the afterlife, have always hinted at some sort of foot problem, but the extent of his mobility issues has always been a matter for speculation (JAMA, p. 645).

The recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (“Ancestry and Pathology in King Tutankhamun’s Family.” Hawass, Zahi, Yehia Z. Gad, Somaia Ismail, et al, JAMA. 2010; 303(7):638-647) summarizing the two-year forensic study on Tutankhamun and other Eighteenth Dynasty royals has shed light on this question. As part of the on-going Family of Tutankhamun Project, the study sought to identify certain unnamed mummies who were thought to be members of Tutankhamun’s bloodline, along with their pathological profiles, with special attention going to the Boy King.

The JAMA article paints a picture of a young man with a variety of foot problems, the cumulative effect of which would have caused him considerable pain and difficulty in getting around. Taken individually his foot maladies are not too bad, but for poor Tut, they formed a perfect storm.

Freiberg-Kohler’s Disease

Some of Tutankhamun’s problems were more readily observable than others. He suffered from a mild clubfoot on his left side, along with mild scoliosis, which would have given him some problems but would have been fairly manageable in an otherwise healthy young man. Both of these conditions were common in the other mummies of the study. But Tut had other problems with his left foot.

With the aid of tomographic imaging, the researchers detected a bone condition called Freiberg-Kohler’s disease in Tutankhamun’s left foot. Freiberg-Kohler’s is a bone disease, but its catalyst is actually a circulatory condition. It begins when blood flow to the end of one (or more) of the metatarsals becomes compromised. The metatarsals are the long bones of the feet that connect the highest part of the arch to the toes.

Usually the second and/or third metatarsals are affected, and the condition manifests on the end that points toward the toes. In a healthy metatarsal, the end of the bone is rounded and rests against cartilage that serves as a shock absorber between the metatarsal and the proximal phalange, the adjacent toe bone.

But as the blood flow to the end of the metatarsal is cut off, the bone material begins to die, a process called bone necrosis, or osteonecrosis. Living bone is spongy and flexible, but dead bone is brittle and more susceptible to breakage and collapse. As the bone at the end of the metatarsal dies, it begins to crack and split.

As more of the bone dies, the end of the metatarsal begins to collapse. The round surface begins to dimple inward and what would be normal pressure from usage becomes an unending series of minor traumas. As more bone dies, the crown of the metatarsal continues to crush inward as the edges are forced outward, forming a trumpet shape.

With continued wear and tear the edges of the metatarsal head wear down, flattening the end of the bone. By this point the cartilage between the metatarsal and the toe bone has become disconnected. The cartilage and chips of bone become loose bodies that irritate and damage the surrounding tissue, and the already-damaged metatarsal may begin to rub directly against the toe bone.

As the living part of the bone attempts to heal and compensate for the dead part, the metatarsal develops areas of unusual thickness and density. This causes problems because the foot is a pretty complex mechanism with a lot of moving parts that depend on each other having specific shapes and sizes. When one or more of these parts change, the whole machine suffers.

The deformed metatarsal puts even more stress on the surrounding tissue. Muscle and connective tissue become inflamed, fluid begins to build up and exert pressure, and loose cartilage and bone fragments may become absorbed, leaving sensitive areas completely unprotected.

If caught early, Freiberg-Kohler’s disease can usually be corrected with physical therapy. So long as it does not proceed to the latter stage even untreated Freiberg-Kohler’s seems to clear up on its own, as very few adults ever present with the condition. Although not an ideal form of therapy, most sufferers simply favor the other foot, giving the bad one time to heal before too much damage is done. For Tutankhamun, however, this strategy didn’t work so well.

A Perfect Storm of Podialogical and Political Problems

In Tutankhamun’ case, both the second and third metatarsals of his left foot were affected by Freiberg-Kohler’s, and the analysis showed that he was still suffering from serious complications at the time of his death. His club-footedness may or may not have predisposed him for Freiberg-Kohler’s, although it is certainly not a prerequisite for the condition. But causative or not, his already compromised foot didn’t help matters.

The combination of these problems resulted in an accumulation of defects in Tut’s left foot that would have caused sharp pain when he placed any weight on it. The tomographic images showed that there was marked soft tissue damage along with bone necrosis and deformity, especially in the second metatarsal. Out of sheer reflex, Tutankhamun would have avoided putting weight on his left foot. But our unfortunate pharaoh had problems in the other foot as well.

Tutankhamun suffered from hypophalangism in his right foot, which means he was missing toe bones. This can be challenging under the best of circumstances because it results in an unnatural distribution of stress throughout the foot. By shifting his weight from his painful left foot onto his fragile right foot, Tut was literally stacking problem upon problem upon problem.

As mentioned above, Freiberg-Kohler’s is treatable with physical therapy, but in Eighteenth Dynasty Egypt this would have probably been no more sophisticated than walking with assistance and avoiding standing as much as possible. The combination of dysfunction in both feet would have made taking things easy highly advisable. But as a haughty young king, a living god, Tutankhamun would probably have been loath to take even these minimal precautions. Pharaohs did not show weakness.

Tutankhamun seated while bird hunting

Indeed, images of Tutankhamun seated while hunting suggest a young man struggling against his challenges while appearing as nonchalant as possible. Other images show Tut participating in similar activities without such restraint. One might interpret this as the king having good days and bad days, but the condition of his mummy’s feet suggest he probably didn’t have many good days but chose to exert himself anyway.

The analysis of Tutankhamun’s mummy revealed that he was flatfooted in his right foot, which makes perfect sense if he was regularly placing extra weight on it. Tut’s right foot wasn’t even suited to bear its normal share of weight, so the added burden was simply too much on the arch. But even if Tutankhamun had wanted to lead a more reserved lifestyle, he may have had no choice but to flex.

Consider his political situation for a moment. He came to the throne at a young age which raised concerns about his competency from the beginning. It had fallen upon him to reverse the unpopular policies of his father, Akhenaten, which undoubtedly exerted a constant pressure for Tut to prove himself—changing his name from Tutankhaten to Tutankhamun, for instance. He probably felt a need to assert at least a symbolic independence from his ambitious advisor, Ay, who many believe was really calling the shots.

Tut as a marauding sphinx (Photo courtesy of ThutmoseIII)

In this atmosphere Tut may have, in a combination of youthful indiscretion and a very real need to minimize his weaknesses, pushed himself to dangerous limits. The evidence published in the JAMA report shows a young man with many physical challenges.

But some of the iconography seems to show a robust young king sowing his royal wild oats. Which is the real Tut? Could he have been both, and could this perfect storm of hindrances and determination have played a role in his death?

One Sick Kid, Warrior King, or Both?

Freiberg-Kohler’s disease undoubtedly caused Tutankhamun a good deal of pain and mobility issues, and while its underlying causes are unknown, its manifest effects were not good. “Necrosis is always bad,” advises Dr. Carsten Pusch, one of the co-authors of the JAMA report, “ because it means you have dying organic matter inside your body” (Source: National Geographic Daily News: “King Tut Mysteries Solved: Was Disabled, Malarial, and Inbred”). But it would not have directly caused Tut’s death.

The bone necrosis caused by Freiberg-Kohler’s is aseptic, which means that by itself it does not result in infection, which is the real threat of dead matter in the body (see Kinderradiologie-online: “Kohler’s Disease II, Bilateral Freiberg-Kohler Disease”). Dr. Albert Zink, another of the JAMA authors, stated emphatically that it was not a fatal condition by any stretch (Source: University of Tubingen: Tutankhamun’s parents identified).

So as painful and malformed as Tutankhamun’s left foot may have been at the time of his death, there was nothing about the condition itself that was life-threatening. But overall, the JAMA article reports that King Tut was indeed, as Emily Teeter summarized, “one sick kid” (Source: Physorg: “Tut’s ills won’t kill fascination, historians say”).

So this returns us to the question, What if Tut pushed through his physical challenges, possibly a bit too far? In two articles published pretty much simultaneously with the JAMA report, one in Archaeology and the other in KMT (citations below), Dr. W. Raymond Johnson, director of the Oriental Institute Epigraphic Survey, describes evidence of Tutankhamun living rather dangerously.

A relief of Tutankhamun at Luxor Temple (Photo by Crucifixion)

Dr. Johnson has spent the last twenty years transcribing narrative imagery from the walls of Luxor Temple and from talatat-style blocks recovered from the area, many of which deal with Tutankhamun and his deeds. The descriptions portray Tut as “much more active than was thought, and [he] may have led military campaigns against the Syrians and Nubians before he died” (Source: Archaeology: “Warrior Tut”).

Dr. Johnson’s work with the battle narratives of King Tut have brought to light scenes depicting the young king riding a chariot in an assault on a Syrian-style citadel, participating in battles with Nubians and Asiatics, and otherwise behaving in ways a frail young king ought not to act. Charioteering on a battlefield is tricky business. Whether actually mixing it up in battle or just making an appearance to rally the troops, Tutankhamun would have been encumbered with armor and weapons and performing athletics for which he was not well suited.

Dr. W. Raymond Johnson thinks that images such as this, taken from a chest found in Tutankhamun’s tomb, are accurate depictions of an active young pharaoh

Something to keep in mind is that during Tutankhamun’s day there really were no minor wounds. Any cut which broke the skin could result in an infection, and there were no antibiotics. While it is true that Tutankhamun was buried with a fully stocked pharmacy (see the JAMA article appendix), ancient medicine was more about management than cure. They could reduce pain, lower fevers, and had some relatively effective local antiseptics, but trauma and infections were either survived or not.

One of the top theories regarding the cause of King Tut’s death points to a vicious leg injury he sustained in the days just before he died. The wound, incidentally, was a compound fracture of his left thigh, the same side as his clubfoot and necrotic bones. The broken thigh ripped through muscle and skin, opening a gash that would have resulted in a really nasty infection and almost certain death, which seems to be supported by the forensic evidence.

Did Tut eschew his walking sticks for throwing sticks, only to learn his limits the hard way? Whether indulging in the popular pastime of hunting on the Giza Plateau, a terrain fraught with hazards for man and horse alike, or gallivanting about battlefields, Tutankhamun would have encountered many opportunities to take a bad fall.

Replicas of throwing sticks found in Tutankhamun’s tomb, which would have been used for hunting (Photo by Dr. Günter Bechly)

It is easy to imagine a brash young pharaoh handing his cane to a servant as he climbed aboard his chariot, insisting on taking the reins himself. Tut was surrounded by decorated military leaders such as Ay and Horemheb, both of whom would eventually take turns at the throne. Perhaps Tut was cognizant of their ambitions and wanted to show that he, too, could lead an army, just as he is depicted doing at Luxor Temple. Dr. Johnson raises a similar question:

The recent analysis of Tutankhamun’s mummy which indicates traumatic injury to his leg—possibly the result of a chariot accident—that appears to have led to infection and premature death gives one pause. Could Tutankhamun’s tragic accident have occurred during a military campaign? (Source: Kmt: “Tutankhamun-Period Battle Narratives at Luxor.” Vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 20-33:Winter 2009-10.)

Dr. Johnson’s question is all the more plausible in light of the even more recent analysis of Tutankhamun’s feet. The conclusions in the JAMA report show that if Tut had participated in dangerous activities such as charioteering he would have been extremely vulnerable to the type of accident that seems to have felled him.

The heart craves certitude, but science speaks in probabilities. Simply put, we can outline likely scenarios, but we will never know what killed King Tut. He may have died from an infected wound received in an attempt to prove himself at war or sport. Then again, he may have fallen from weakness brought on by a lethal case of malaria, or when a duplicitous courtier whacked him in the back of the head. Maybe, as some still suggest, the broken leg occurred with Howard Carter’s rough handling of the mummy.

Dr. Johnson closes both of his articles with the observation that we may never know what killed Tutankhamun, at least not from the narratives themselves, because it would be impolitic to document the accidental death of a pharaoh, a living god. That would count double if the living god’s death was the result of a frail young man acting like a badass.

Then again, given his challenges, maybe he really was a badass.

The Mummies Gallery

Shemsu Sesen — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 05:30:14 +0000

Meet the mummies of the Family of Tutankhamun Project! If you are looking for a mummy-by-mummy summary of the recent JAMA article, then you are in luck!

In The Mummies Gallery we will take a look at each of the mummies in both the study and control groups and pull together the familial and pathological data for easy referencing.

Before we meet the mummies, I should point out that the purpose of this article is only toprovide an easily readable summary of the data in the Journal of the American Medical Association report (“Ancestry and Pathology in King Tutankhamun’s Family.” Hawass, Zahi, Yehia Z. Gad, Somaia Ismail, et al, JAMA. 2010;303(7):638-647). In this article I will not be critiquing or challenging the work, but neither do I wish to communicate that I am in 100% agreement. For the current article, I am but the humble messenger.

The JAMA report is understandably heavy with medical jargon which I have attempted to present in non-technical terms. However, I am not a physician, so when in doubt, double check my work. If you find mistakes, please by all means report them in the Comments section! You will be doing us all a favor!

As stated above, I will not be taking positions in this article on the data presented, but that does not mean I will not do so in future articles. You, however, are encouraged to provide as much exegesis as you feel compelled to share. Where you disagree with the data, speak your mind. The whole purpose of The Mummies Gallery is to promote intelligent discussion by putting the JAMA report into layperson’s terms as much as possible.

I should also point out that I will not be delving too deeply into the genetic analyses in this current work. Again, I reserve the right to do so in the coming weeks, but there is enough data to wade through by just sticking to the JAMA report’s conclusions. Methodology shall be taken up, if at all, elsewhere.

Finally, I want to point out that there is a lot of repetition because I wanted each mummy to serve as a stand-alone entry. In other words, I want the reader to be able to zip straight to a specific mummy and take in all the data in a glance without having to search through the full article to find the definition of a particular term. However, even in the repetition there are subtle differences from mummy to mummy, so just because a paragraph starts off the same way it did for the last mummy, don’t assume the entire paragraph was cut-and-pasted!

So, without further adieu, I present the who’s-who of the chosen few of the Eighteenth Dynasty!

Tutankhamun (Study Group)

Identification and Kinship

Tutankhamun’s identity was known prior to the study.

Genetic fingerprinting on Tutankhamun was analyzed by a software package called GenoProof which calculates the likelihood of paternity and/or kinship. A probability of more than 99.73% is regarded as “practically proven.”

The GenoProof analysis of Tutankhamun’s genetic fingerprints showed:

KV55 (Akhenaten) is 99.99999981% likely to be Tutankhamun’s father.
KV35YL is 99.99999997% likely to be Tutankhamun’s mother.
Tutankhamun is 99.97992885% likely to be the father of Fetus 1
Tutankhamun is 99.99999299% likely to be the father of Fetus 2

Cells in human males have one Y chromosome and one X chromosome. The Y chromosome, present only in men, is passed from father to son and is used to trace paternal genetic lines. The Y chromosomal DNA from Tutankhamun was used to identify the mummy from KV55 (Akhenaten) as his father, and Amenhotep III as his paternal grandfather.

Tutankhamun’s mother, KV35YL, is possibly either Nebetah or Beketaten, two of Amenhotep III’s daughters not known to have married their father, making them possible wives of Akhenaten. Nefertiti and Kiya have been excluded as candidates for Tutankhamun’s mother. Whoever KV35YL proves to be, the JAMA report states that she is a full sister of Akhenaten, making her a daughter of Amenhotep III. Neither Nefertiti nor Kiya are believed to be daughters of Amenhotep III.

Blood type is a categorization of blood based on the structure of red blood cells. Blood tests have been conducted on both Tutankhamun and KV55 (Akhenaten) and it was determined that both were in the A2 human blood group. Blood categorization is further subdivided by analysis of a pair of genetic markers called antigens. There are 46 different antigens, and both Tutankhamun and Akhenaten had the M and N antigens. Thus, sharing the A2 blood type with the MN antigen pair suggests a close familial relationship between KV55 and Tutankhamun. (See Nunn, John F. Ancient Egyptian Medicine. London: Red River Books, 2002. P. 84.)

Congenital Disorders

Cleft and highly arched palate, mild left clubfoot, crowded teeth, recessed (short) lower jaw, mild scoliosis, slightly hunched back.
Tut’s flat-shaped skull (brachycephalism) is attributed to a family trait rather than defect or disease.
Missing bone segments in left foot.
A diagnosis of gynecomastia—female-like breasts—or Marfan syndrome, a genetic condition which can also manifest in enlarged breasts, was not possible due to the condition of Tutankhamun’s mummy, which lacks the frontal part of the chest. However, the normal development of Tutankhamun’s penis tends to cast doubt on any condition that would elevate estrogen (female hormones) or lessen testosterone (male hormones).

Acquired Disorders

Freiberg-Kohler’s disease in the left foot, resulting in bone deterioration and collapse at the ends of the metatarsals—the long bones of the foot. This would have been a painful condition which would have probably required the young pharaoh to use a cane. Although the condition results in bone death, it is aseptic, which means it would not normally result in an infection.
The combination of club footedness, missing bone segments, and Freiberg-Kohler’s disease in the left foot, along with flat-footedness in the right foot, would have resulted in serious mobility issues for Tutankhamun.
Malaria tropica, multiple infections. The presence of multiple strains of malaria tropica in Tutankhamun is open to interpretation. He may have survived one or more full-blown infections, or it may have never progressed to a symptomatic stage. It may have played a role in his death, or he may have never even known he was infected.
Compound fracture to the left thigh. Of all the probable causes of Tutankhamun’s death, this seems the most likely. It occurred shortly before his death, as evidenced by the lack of healing, and was probably not postmortem due to the presence of embalming fluids in the fracture. It would have resulted in the bone tearing through the muscle and skin, and would have caused a severe infection.

Yuya (Study Group)

Identification and Kinship

Yuya’s identity was known prior to the study.

Genetic fingerprinting on Yuya was analyzed by a software package called GenoProof which calculates the likelihood of paternity and/or kinship. A probability of more than 99.73% is regarded as “practically proven.”

The GenoProof analysis of both Yuya’s and Thuya’s genetic fingerprints showed they are 99.99999929% likely to be the parents of KV35EL (Tiye)

Congenital Disorders

Yuya’s head is slightly longer than normal (Dolichocephaly), which is attributed to a family trait rather than defect or disease.
Yuya has fingers which are long and slender in relation to the width of his palm (Arachnodactyly), which may be a result of the embalming process or a natural variant rather than a disorder.

Acquired Disorders

Non-infective dental abscesses.
Like Tutankhamun, Yuya shows evidence of multiple infections with malaria tropica which may or may not have ever developed into full-blown malaria. The fact that Yuya lived to an advanced age suggests that he either acquired the disease late in life, survived an earlier bout/bouts, or may have developed partial immunity from environmental exposure (see JAMA, p. 646).
Incisional hernia. As the name suggests, this is a hernia where the tissues of the abdomen, and sometimes even abdominal organs, push through the muscle layer where an incision has occurred. The result is a painful bulge at the spot under the skin where the tissue breaks through. An incisional hernia is usually a postoperative complication resulting from abdominal surgery. While it is not outside the realm of possibility that Yuya had undergone some form of medical procedure, the presence of incisional hernias in seven of the sixteen mummies in the study seems suspicious. It is possible that what is being called an incisional hernia is a postmortem result of the embalming process.

Thuya (Study Group)

Identification and Kinship

Thuya’s identity was known prior to the study.

Genetic fingerprinting on Thuya was analyzed by a software package called GenoProof which calculates the likelihood of paternity and/or kinship. A probability of more than 99.73% is regarded as “practically proven.”

The GenoProof analysis of both Thuya’s and Yuya’s genetic fingerprints showed they are 99.99999929% likely to be the parents of KV35EL (Tiye)

Congenital Disorders

Severe scoliosis with hunched back, recessed (short) lower jaw.

Acquired Disorders

Non-infective dental abscesses, hardening of the arteries.
Thuya has fingers which are long and slender in relation to the width of her palm (Arachnodactyly), which may be a result of the embalming process or a natural variant rather than a disorder.
Malaria tropica infection which may or may not have ever developed into full-blown malaria. The fact that Thuya lived to an advanced age suggests that she either acquired the disease late in life, survived an earlier bout, or may have developed partial immunity from environmental exposure (see JAMA, p. 646).
Incisional hernia. As the name suggests, this is a hernia where the tissues of the abdomen, and sometimes even abdominal organs, push through the muscle layer where an incision has occurred. The result is a painful bulge at the spot under the skin where the tissue breaks through. An incisional hernia is usually a postoperative complication resulting from abdominal surgery. While it is not outside the realm of possibility that Thuya had undergone some form of medical procedure, the presence of incisional hernias in seven of the sixteen mummies in the study seems suspicious. It is possible that what is being called an incisional hernia is a postmortem result of the embalming process.

KV55—Akhenaten (Study Group)

Identification and Kinship

The idenification of Akhenaten was a key element of the Family of Tutankhamun Project because he ties the two previous generations to the two following generations.

Genetic fingerprinting on KV55 was analyzed by a software package called GenoProof which calculates the likelihood of paternity and/or kinship. A probability of more than 99.73% is regarded as “practically proven.”

The GenoProof analysis of KV55’s genetic fingerprints showed:

KV55 is 99.99999981% likely to be the father of Tutankhamun.
Amenhotep III is 99.99999999% likely to be KV55’s father.
Amenhotep III and KV35EL (Tiye) are 99.99999964% to be KV55’s parents.

Cells in human males have one Y chromosome and one X chromosome. The Y chromosome, present only in men, is passed from father to son and is used to trace paternal genetic lines. The Y chromosomal DNA from the KV55 mummy was used to identify it as the son of Amenhotep III and the father of Tutankhamun.

Blood type is a categorization of blood based on the structure of red blood cells. Blood tests have been conducted on both KV55 (Akhenaten) and Tutankhamun and it was determined that both were in the A2 human blood group. Blood categorization is further subdivided by analysis of a pair of genetic markers called antigens. There are 46 different antigens, and both Tutankhamun and Akhenaten had the M and N antigens. Thus, sharing the A2 blood type with the MN antigen pair suggests a close familial relationship between KV55 and Tutankhamun. (See Nunn, John F. Ancient Egyptian Medicine. London: Red River Books, 2002. P. 84.)

Congenital Disorders

Cleft and highly arched palate, scoliosis, recessed (short) lower jaw, crowded teeth, facial asymmetry.
No proof was found of gynecomastia, Marfan syndrome, or any other congenital disorder which would have resulted in Akhenaten having a feminine body type as depicted in Amarna-style reliefs and statuary. These depictions seem to be defined by artistic, religious, and political conventions rather than Akhenaten’s actual appearance.
A diagnosis of gynecomastia—female-like breasts—was not possible due to lack of observable tissue. Akhenaten’s mummy is actually a mummified skeleton.

Acquired Disorders

Abnormal bone growth in the sinus cavity, degenerative bone loss and abnormal bone growth in the femurs.

Amenhotep III (Study Group)

Identification and Kinship

Amenhotep III’s identity was known prior to the study.

Genetic fingerprinting on Amenhotep III was analyzed by a software package called GenoProof which calculates the likelihood of paternity and/or kinship. A probability of more than 99.73% is regarded as “practically proven.” The GenoProof analysis of Amenhotep III’s genetic fingerprints showed:

Amenhotep III is 99.99999999% likely to be KV55’s (Akhenaten’s) father.
Amenhotep III and KV35EL (Tiye) are 99.99999964% to be KV55’s (Akhenaten’s) parents.
KV55 (Akhenaten) is 99.99999981% likely to be Tutankhamun’s father, making Tutankhamun Amenhotep III’s grandson.

Cells in human males have one Y chromosome and one X chromosome. The Y chromosome, present only in men, is passed from father to son and is used to trace paternal genetic lines. The Y chromosomal DNA from Amenhotep III was used to identify the mummy from KV55 (Akhenaten) as his son, and Tutankhamun as his grandson.

Congenital Disorders

Recessed (short) lower jaw, highly arched palate, clubfoot.

Acquired Disorders

Non-infective dental abscesses, progressive bone degeneration, erosions in the inner structure of the right side of the skull, degeneration of spinal disks.

KV35YL (Study Group)

Identification and Kinship

Genetic fingerprinting on KV35YL was analyzed by a software package called GenoProof which calculates the likelihood of paternity and/or kinship. A probability of more than 99.73% is regarded as “practically proven.”

The GenoProof analysis of KV35YL’s genetic fingerprints showed KV35YL is 99.99999997% likely to be Tutankhamun’s mother

KV35YL is not considered to be Nefertiti because the genetic fingerprinting shows that she is a full sister of Akhenaten (KV55), making her a daughter of Amenhotep III. Since Nefertiti is not listed anywhere as a daughter of Amenhotep III, this seems to rule out KV35YL being Nefertiti. Likewise, Kiya is not attested as a daughter of Amenhotep III, so she can be marked off the list. Of Amenhotep III’s daughters, neither Nebetah nor Beketaten are known to have married their father, making them possible wives of Akhenaten, and thus, viable candidates for KV35YL.

It should be noted, however, that GenoProof data supporting the likelihood that KV35YL and KV55 were full siblings was not provided in the JAMA report. It is not clear if this is a limitation of the test itself, or if the case for siblinghood between KV35YL and KV55 (Akhenaten) is not as strong as other relationships proposed in the JAMA article. If the latter, then there may be room for some doubt about the positions in the above paragraph, and KV35YL may yet be identified as Nefertiti.

Congenital Disorders

Scoliosis, recessed (short) lower jaw, crowded teeth, facial asymmetry.

Acquired Disorders

Trauma (likely fatal) to the face and cranium.

KV35EL—Tiye (Study Group)

Identification and Kinship

The identification of Queen Tiye was one of the major accomplishments of the project.

Genetic fingerprinting on KV35EL was analyzed by a software package called GenoProof which calculates the likelihood of paternity and/or kinship. A probability of more than 99.73% is regarded as “practically proven.”

The GenoProof analysis of KV35EL’s genetic fingerprints showed:

Yuya and Thuya are 99.99999929% likely to be the parents of KV35EL (Tiye)
Amenhotep III and KV35EL (Tiye) are 99.99999964% to be KV55’s (Akhenaten’s) parents.

Congenital Disorders

Mild scoliosis, misshapen ears.
Tiye has fingers which are long and slender in relation to the width of her palm (Arachnodactyly), which may be a result of the embalming process or a natural variant rather than a disorder.

Acquired Disorders

Thyroid dysfunction\goiter.
Incisional hernia. As the name suggests, this is a hernia where the tissues of the abdomen, and sometimes even abdominal organs, push through the muscle layer where an incision has occurred. The result is a painful bulge at the spot under the skin where the tissue breaks through. An incisional hernia is usually a postoperative complication resulting from abdominal surgery. While it is not outside the realm of possibility that Tiye had undergone some form of medical procedure, the presence of incisional hernias in seven of the sixteen mummies in the study seems suspicious. It is possible that what is being called an incisional hernia is a postmortem result of the embalming process.

Fetus 1 (Study Group)

Identification and Kinship

Genetic fingerprinting on Fetus 1 was analyzed by a software package called GenoProof which calculates the likelihood of paternity and/or kinship. A probability of more than 99.73% is regarded as “practically proven.”

The GenoProof analysis of Fetus 1’s genetic fingerprints showed Tutankhamun is 99.97992885% likely to be the father of Fetus 1

Complete genetic data sets for Fetus 1 could not be obtained after repeated attempts. Part of the ongoing work of the project involves more rigorous examination of mitochondrial (maternal) DNA, which could provide more data about Fetus 1.

Congenital Disorders

No detectable congenital disorders.

Acquired Disorders

Stillbirth.

Fetus 2 (Study Group)

Identification and Kinship

Genetic fingerprinting on Fetus 2 was analyzed by a software package called GenoProof which calculates the likelihood of paternity and/or kinship. A probability of more than 99.73% is regarded as “practically proven.”

The GenoProof analysis of Fetus 2’s genetic fingerprints showed Tutankhamun is 99.99999299% likely to be the father of Fetus 2

Complete genetic data sets for Fetus 2 could not be obtained after repeated attempts. Part of the ongoing work of the project involves more rigorous examination of mitochondrial (maternal) DNA, which could provide more data about Fetus 2.

Congenital Disorders

Mild scoliosis

Acquired Disorders

Stillbirth.

KV21A (Study Group)

Identification and Kinship

Complete genetic data sets for KV21A could not be obtained after repeated attempts. Part of the ongoing work of the project involves more rigorous examination of mitochondrial (maternal) DNA, which could provide more data about KV21A.

KV21A could possibly be Ankhesenamun, but will require further analysis to be sure. The possibility that she is Ankhesenamun was certainly not ruled out.

Congenital Disorders

Scoliosis, clubfeet.

Acquired Disorders

None diagnosed.

KV21B (Study Group)

Identification and Kinship

Complete genetic data sets for KV21B could not be obtained after repeated attempts. Part of the ongoing work of the project involves more rigorous examination of mitochondrial (maternal) DNA, which could provide more data about KV21B.

Congenital Disorders

Scoliosis, clubfeet.

Acquired Disorders

None diagnosed.

CCG61065 (Control Group)

Identification and Kinship

Identifying the mummies of the control group was not a stated goal of the current phase of the study, and genetic information on the control group was not provided in the JAMA article. Mummy CCG61065, previously thought to be that of Thutmose I, remains unidentified.

Congenital Disorders

Scoliosis, hunched back, misaligned pelvis.
CCG61065’s head is slightly longer than normal (Dolichocephaly), which is attributed to a family trait rather than defect or disease.

Acquired Disorders

Malaria tropica. It seems unlikely that CCG61065 was suffering from full-blown malaria at the time of his death, as he died of an arrow wound, a fairly good sign that he died in battle. Someone suffering from malaria tropica, the most severe form of malaria, is not going to have much fight in him.
Incisional hernia. As the name suggests, this is a hernia where the tissues of the abdomen, and sometimes even abdominal organs, push through the muscle layer where an incision has occurred. The result is a painful bulge at the spot under the skin where the tissue breaks through. An incisional hernia is usually a postoperative complication resulting from abdominal surgery. While it is not outside the realm of possibility that CCG61065 had undergone some form of medical procedure, the presence of incisional hernias in seven of the sixteen mummies in the study seems suspicious. It is possible that what is being called an incisional hernia is a postmortem result of the embalming process.
Traumatic arrow wound, presumed to be fatal, to the chest.

Thutmose II (Control Group)

Identification and Kinship

Thutmose II’s identity was known prior to the study.

Although in the control group, Thutmose II was not included in the genetic control group.

Congenital Disorders

Scoliosis, hunched back, hollow feet (high arches), recessed (short) lower jaw, crowded teeth, misshapen ears.
Thutmose II’s head is slightly longer than normal (Dolichocephaly), which is attributed to a family trait rather than defect or disease.

Acquired Disorders

Calcified heart valves
Incisional hernia. As the name suggests, this is a hernia where the tissues of the abdomen, and sometimes even abdominal organs, push through the muscle layer where an incision has occurred. The result is a painful bulge at the spot under the skin where the tissue breaks through. An incisional hernia is usually a postoperative complication resulting from abdominal surgery. While it is not outside the realm of possibility that Thutmose II had undergone some form of medical procedure, the presence of incisional hernias in seven of the sixteen mummies in the study seems suspicious. It is possible that what is being called an incisional hernia is a postmortem result of the embalming process.

Ahmose-Nefertari (Control Group)

Identification and Kinship

Ahmose-Nefertari’s identity was known prior to the study.

Although in the control group, Ahmose-Nefertari was not included in the morphological control group

Congenital Disorders

None reported in the JAMA article.

Acquired Disorders

None reported in the JAMA article.

Hatshepsut (Control Group)

Identification and Kinship

Hatshepsut’s identity was known prior to the study.

Congenital Disorders

Recessed (short) lower jaw

Acquired Disorders

Slipped disk (L5-S1).
Infective dental abscesses. Hatshepsut’s abscesses were serious enough to have caused fatal blood poisoning (septicemia). This may have caused or contributed to her death. In the very least, her final days were not pleasant.
Probable metastatic bone cancer of the left hip/pelvis. As with her dental abscesses, Hatshepsut’s cancer was serious enough to have caused or contributed to her death.

Sitra-In (Control Group)

Identification and Kinship

Sitra-In’s identity was known prior to the study.

Congenital Disorders

Scoliosis, hunched back, misshapen ears.

Acquired Disorders

Incisional hernia. As the name suggests, this is a hernia where the tissues of the abdomen, and sometimes even abdominal organs, push through the muscle layer where an incision has occurred. The result is a painful bulge at the spot under the skin where the tissue breaks through. An incisional hernia is usually a postoperative complication resulting from abdominal surgery. While it is not outside the realm of possibility that Sitra-In had undergone some form of medical procedure, the presence of incisional hernias in seven of the sixteen mummies in the study seems suspicious. It is possible that what is being called an incisional hernia is a postmortem result of the embalming process.

Families and Frailties of the Eighteenth Dynasty

Shemsu Sesen — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 01:29:31 +0000

Was King Tut murdered? Did Akhenaten have both a male and female physiology? Did incest and inbreeding lead the Eighteenth Dynasty down a genetic dead end? Last month the Family of Tutankhamun Project attempted to answer these questions—and more—with the publication of a two-year forensic study of sixteen mummies of the Eighteenth Dynasty.

This article is the first of several in which we will attempt to put the research into layperson’s terms. First we will take a look at the what, who, where, why and how of the study itself.

The study was conducted as part of the Family of Tutankhamun Project, a mission aimed at identifying the mother and wife of Tutankhamun, along with matching names to other anonymous Eighteenth Dynasty mummies. This particular phase of the project began in September, 2007, and was concluded in October, 2009.

The results of the two-year study were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) as “Ancestry and Pathology in King Tutankhamun’s Family” (Zahi Hawass, Yehia Z. Gad, Somaia Ismail, et al, JAMA. 2010;303(7):638-647), and was made available in electronic form beginning February 16, 2010, from www.jama.com.

The research was sponsored by the Discovery Channel, which in turn was allowed to premier the findings in a two-part series called King Tut Unwrapped, which aired on Sunday, February 21, and Monday, February 22, 2010. Discovery Channel has posted clips from the program here.

Who and Where?

The project brought together seventeen researchers from Egypt, Germany, and Italy, and included some of the top names in Egyptology, anthropology, human genetics, radiology, and mummy forensics. The tests were carried out at two labs in Cairo, primarily by Egyptian scientists at the insistence of Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities and director of the project.

Zahi Hawass (Photo courtesy of Archeologo)

“I am not against foreigners,” Hawass explained, “I simply wanted more equality” (Source: AFP: “Zahi Hawass, media-savvy guardian of Egypt’s past”). Hawass has made the promotion of native Egyptologists a part of his mission. However, even his “all Egyptian” teams are often more international than they are presented.

The genetic analysis team was headed up by anthropologist Albert Zink, of the European Academy of Bozen/ Bolzano (EURAC), and Carsten Pusch, a human geneticist from Tübingen University.

Dr. Zink is also the head of the Institute for Mummies and the Iceman, a EURAC program founded in 2007 to serve as a clearing house for all scientific data on Ötzi, a 5,300-year-old mummy found in the Ötztal Alps in 1991. Dr. Pusch is the head of the Institute of Anthropology and Human Genetics at Tübingen University and is a world-renown expert in neurobiology and hereditary human diseases.

Ötzi the Iceman (Courtesy of Mesa Community College)

Dr. Paul Gostner, head of the Department of Radiology at Bolzano General Hospital at Bolzano, Italy, helped with the diagnosis of Tut’s illnesses. Dr. Gostner has also helped with the analysis of Ötzi, and is co-author of “The Iceman: Discovery and Imaging” (Radiology, March 2003, pp. 614-629).

On the Egyptian side, Dr. Yehia Zakaria Gad, of the Department of Medical Molecular Genetics at Cairo’s National Research Center, supervised the DNA lab at the Egyptian Museum where the work was conducted. Dr. Gad was a key member of the team credited with identifying the mummy of Queen Hatshepsut and is Egypt’s Top Doc on human genetics, both ancient and modern.

To summarize the places and people involved in the research:

Supreme Council of Antiquities, Cairo, Egypt (Zahi Hawass, PhD, and Hisham Elleithy, MA)
Institute of Human Genetics, Division of Molecular Genetics, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany (Rabab Khairat, MSc, Markus Ball, MSc, and Carsten M. Pusch, PhD)
Department of Radiodiagnostics, Central Hospital Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy (Paul Gostner, MD)
Institute for Mummies and the Iceman, EURAC, Bolzano, Italy (Albert Zink, PhD)
National Research Center, Cairo, Egypt (Yehia Zakaria Gad, MD, Somaia Ishmail, PhD, Hany Amer, PhD, Naglaa Hasan, MSc, and Amal Ahmed, BPharm)
Ancient DNA Laboratory, Egyptian Museum, Cairo, Egypt (Yehia Zakaria Gad, MD, Somaia Ishmail, PhD, Dina Fathalla, MSc, Rabab Khairat, MSc, Naglaa Hasan, MSc, and Amal Ahmed, BPharm)
Learning Resource Center, Kasr Al Ainy Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt (Fawzi Gaballah, PhD, Mohamed Fateen, MD, and Sally Wasef, MSc)

Objectives

The study is distinguished by the fact that, rather than making inferences about the subjects based on diagnosing artifacts, the research directed its focus on the people themselves. For instance, rather than making assumptions about the physical attributes of Akhenaten, the study began with identifying his mummy through genetic fingerprinting then proceeded to conduct a detailed physiological study.

According to the article in JAMA, the specific objectives of the study were:

To introduce a new approach to molecular and medical Egyptology, to determine familial relationships among 11 royal mummies of the New Kingdom, and to search for pathological features attributable to possible murder, consanguinity, inherited disorders, and infectious diseases. (p 638)

Introducing a New Approach

The new approach refers to both the tools employed and the subjects made available. Many of the tools and methods employed by Egyptologists were perfected centuries ago and still serve their purpose. But the Computer Age has resulted in a new generation of tools and processes to help Egyptologists and archaeologists know where to look, what to look for, and how to interpret what they find.

Mummy forensics, like criminal forensics, is a science which has been developing since the Victorian Age. Like its hardboiled cousin, mummy forensics has benefitted from the technological boom, especially in the realm of genetics. Analysis of ancient DNA is a young discipline, but this study could mark its entry into puberty.

The Cairo Museum (Photo by Keith Payne)

Ground Zero for the study was a laboratory set up in the basement of the Cairo Museum. The lab, which was also funded by the Discovery Channel and equipped by Applied Biosystems, was specifically designed to analyze ancient DNA. Staffed with scientists and doctors from the Department of Medical Molecular Genetics at Cairo’s National Research Center, the lab is the frontline of forensic Egyptian mummy studies. Work was also carried out in a lab at Cairo University.

The new approach also refers to the subjects of the study. According to Dr. Hawass, this is the first time royal Egyptian mummies have been sampled for DNA analyses (Source: “Press Release – The Discovery of the Family Secrets of King Tutankhamun”).

The scientists who conducted the study have high hopes for the application of genetic fingerprinting in identifying mummies and fleshing out the family trees of Egypt’s ancient dynasties. “This will open to us a new era,” Hawass told National Geographic Daily News (Source: “King Tut Mysteries Solved: Was Disabled, Malarial, and Inbred”).

Familial Relationships—The Study Group

Ten mummies were selected for the study based on their known or suspected relation to Tutankhamun, for a total of eleven in the study group. Besides Tut, the identities of only three other mummies in the study group were known—Tut’s grandparents or great-grandparents, Yuya and Thuya, and Amenhotep III, father of Akhenaten.

Among the suspected relatives were two miscarried fetuses that were discovered in Tutankhamun’s tomb, thought to have been his children. Producing a genetic profile for either or both of these young princesses was a priority because if they did prove to be Tutankhamun’s offspring then Dr. Hawass hoped to use their genetic fingerprints to identify the mummy of Ankhesenamun, Tut’s sister-wife.

Also in the study group were two unnamed noblewomen discovered in tomb KV21, known only as KV21A and KV21B, one of whom could possibly be Ankhesenamun. Two other anonymous noblewomen included in the study, recovered from tomb KV35, are known as KV35YL, the Younger Lady, and KV35EL, the Elder Lady. One of the goals of the study was to determine if either of the latter noblewomen could be the famous bride of Akhenaten, Nefertiti.

The final mummy in the control group came from tomb KV55 and was suspected to be the mummy of either Akhenaten or Smenkhkare. The mummy from KV55 was an important link because, if he did prove to be Akhenaten, then he could link the two generations before him to the two generations that followed. Five generations of Tut’s family were plotted by the study.

In all there were sixteen mummies in the study—eleven in the study group and five in the control group. The details of all sixteen mummies will be outlined in the up-coming article, The Mummies Gallery.

Maladies Inherited and Acquired

The study also sought to determine what genetic conditions, infectious diseases, and violent traumas may have bedeviled the Eighteenth Dynasty royals. Of the many pathologies detailed in the study, the media seem to have had a morbid fascination with the role of incest. Although intermarriage and interbreeding were evident in the test group, the significance of this rather lurid detail may have been overstated for shock value.

For example, Times Online grabbed attention with the headline “Incest was true curse of Tutankhamun.” According to their story, “The boy king was the product of an incestuous relationship that may have led to a weakened constitution and his early death, the first DNA study of the pharaoh’s remains has concluded.” But did the study actually reach this conclusion?

In the appendix to the JAMA article, under the heading Pathology in the Royal Mummies, the writers state that bone diseases such as flat and club feet, cleft palate, scoliosis, hunched back, bone and joint degeneration and tumors were all observed. The appendix further indicates that these conditions seemed to accumulate pretty rapidly in the five generations of the study group. But what were the actual conclusions regarding the relations between the ailments and consanguinity?

Further research will show if this is suggestive of a disadvantageous genetic background resulting from interfamilial marriage in the royals. As can be seen in the genetically distant mummy control group (ie, TT320-CCG61065, TT320-CCG61066, KV60A, KV60B), there is also an obvious high frequency of disorders of the spine and feet. This makes it highly unlikely that the discussed conditions are indeed inherited. (JAMA appendix)

In other words, the frequency of bone disorders was suspiciously high in the family of Tutankhamun, high enough to warrant further study. But many of the same disorders were also frequent in the control group. The control group is a control group specifically because it is not related to the family of Tutankhamun. Observing the same conditions in both groups suggests intermarriage may not have been a significant contributor to the conditions observed in the study group.

Another misstatement of the Times Online article has to do with an affliction of King Tut’s royal tootsies, Freiberg-Kohler’s disease. Talking about the results of the genetic fingerprinting, the article states that Tutankhamun:

…suffered from several disorders as a result of his family history. These included a painful, degenerative bone condition known as Koehler’s disease and a club foot which meant that the pharaoh was “a young but frail king who needed canes to walk” (Source).

While his club footedness may or may not have had a genetic cause, Freiberg-Koehler’s disease almost certainly did not. While we do not know exactly what causes Freiberg-Koehler’s disease, a degenerative bone disease of the foot, there is nothing in the literature to suggest a genetic connection, incestuous or otherwise.

There is, however, one bit of trivia I am surprised the media did not pick up on: Freiberg-Koehler’s disease is generally an affliction of teenage girls. This leads us to another concern of the study, whether or not the men of the Eighteenth Dynasty, Akhenaten in particular, suffered from some condition which resulted in a feminine body type.

Do these curvy and maternal depictions of Akhenaten reflect reality or something more symbolic? (Photo by Gerbil)

Akhenaten, and to a lesser degree, Tutankhamun, are sometimes depicted with features such as female breasts and voluptuous hips. It has also been suggested that there is something abnormally unmanly about Akhenaten’s displays of intimacy with his family. While this latter may have more to do with the psychology of those doing the asking, the underlying question is a fair one: Are these accurate depictions or artistic convention?

Another surprising find was that several members of both groups had suffered exposure—sometimes multiple exposures—to malaria tropica. The most severe form of malaria, tropica is now one of the two main contenders for the cause of Tutankhamun’s death, with the other being a severe leg injury which probably led to an overwhelming infection.

In order to do these elements of the research justice, the pathology of both groups of mummies will be covered in detail in separate articles.

Reception and Criticism

The DNA

The scientists who conducted the study were amazed by how intact the ancient DNA seemed to be, which they chalked up to the mummification process itself. A news brief from the University of Tubingen states:

The scientists were surprised by how well, comparatively speaking, the ancient DNA had been preserved, and the special embalming techniques reserved for kings may well have caused this phenomenon. (Source: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen: “Tutankhamun’s parents identified”)

Dr. Pusch suggests this notion is supported by the superior condition of the DNA from the royal mummies as opposed to samples taken from non-royal mummies. As he stated to National Geographic: “The ingredients used to embalm the royals was completely different in both quantity and quality compared to the normal population in ancient times,” (Source).

This conclusion, however, was met with some qualified skepticism. Dr. Stephen Buckley, an archaeologist from the University of York who holds a Ph.D in archaeological chemistry specializing in Eighteenth Dynasty mummification practices, does not seem convinced. Speaking with Discovery News, Buckley muses:

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. (Source: “Controversy Arises Over King Tut Findings”).

Pathologies

Another perennial controversy was the cause of Tutankhamun’s death. Certainly the study was not rash in making any specific conclusions regarding the deaths of any of the subjects. “Caution must be taken when interpreting cause of death in these mummies,” (JAMA, p. 646). But fatal conditions in some of the mummies were decidedly less ambiguous.

The head injuries sustained by KV35YL, assuming they were not postmortem, would surely have resulted in her death. One of the mummies from the control group, previously thought to be Thutmose I but for now known only as mummy CCG61065, took an arrow to the chest, hardly a mere flesh wound. Another more famous member of the control group, Queen Hatshepsut, may have died as a result of a malignant tumor, blood poisoning from an abscessed tooth, or a combination of both. (See JAMA article appendix)

Tutankhamun’s death continues to generate the most attention, if for no other reason than name recognition. But generalizing from the critical analyses of his pathologies can provide an informative backdrop to the entire study.

One of the conditions King Tut seems to have suffered from is osteonecrosis—bone death. Osteonecrosis can result from genetic and environmental causes and may have played a role in his death. “Necrosis is always bad, because it means you have dying organic matter inside your body,” Dr. Pusch said regarding Tutankhamun’s Freiberg-Koehler’s disease (Source). Tut’s foot condition was not itself life threatening, but more generalized osteonecrosis could point to something more serious at work.

However, Dr. Gino Fornaciari, director of palaeopathology at the University of Pisa, questions whether or not the published images of Tut really warrant a diagnosis of osteonecrosis. Even if Tut did suffer from osteonecrosis, Dr. Fornaciari suggests that it may have been a result of a malarial infection rather than bad genes (Source).

Indeed, King Tut was one of the mummies who showed the genetic markers for malaria tropica. However, Dr. Robert Connolly, a physical anthropologist from the University of Liverpool who has himself worked with Tut, points out that the presences of the parasite in Tut’s blood does not necessarily mean he ever developed full-blown malaria (Source: Pattaya Daily News: “New Speculations Over King Tut’s Death”).

Dr. Frank Ruhli, head of Applied Anatomy at the University of Zurich and front man of the Swiss Mummy Project, questions whether we will ever be able to answer the question of what killed King Tut. The condition of his mummy and the lack of internal organs will always leave room for uncertainty. Dr. Ruhli observes:

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. (Source)

Overall, reception has been positive. At the risk of committing an appeal to authority fallacy, the study’s acceptance into the Journal of the American Medical Association is itself a ringing endorsement. But as stated near the beginning of this article, genetic and radiographic analysis of ancient mummies is a young science. Continuing critical analysis, along with independent verification and replication, are vital for its growth.

The Future of the Project

The Family of Tutankhamun Project is an ongoing endeavor which will undoubtedly grow in both depth and scope as the field continues to mature. Some specific short-term goals have already been enumerated. Writing in Asharq Alawsat, Dr. Hawass points to the continuing work with the two fetuses and the search for Ankhesenamun, as well as the search for Nefertiti (Source: “Tutankhamen’s Dynasty in the Valley of Kings”).

Drs. Zink and Pusch are also enthusiastic knights in the Egyptological Grail Quest. “And we shall continue our research: Nefertiti will be our next project. We have moved our research onto a new and so far unexplored level!”

In terms of a timeframe, Dr. Hawass suggested in an article with News Trends Today that additional results could be released within six months (Source: “Tutankhamun: one part of the mystery cleared up, but many riddles”). Such projections have historically been dubious, but most of us are willing to exchange timeliness for accuracy and transparency. So long as King Tut continues to enchant the popular imagination, the work—and show—must go on.

The Return of the Blogroll Roundup: March 13, 2010

Shemsu Sesen — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 23:46:29 +0000

Ok, so maybe I am not reviving the Blogroll Roundup as a regular feature, at least not until I get caught up on my own material, although I do have to say that I am amazed at how many hits months-old editions continue to garner. But there has been so much really great material that has appeared in the Egyptology blogosphere in the last couple of weeks, I can’t help but share it. So, for your convenience and enjoyment…

Re-wrapping a mummy, new Pyramid Texts, Abydos abides, the Akhenaten Museum, Hieroglyphs 101, Hanging out with Dr. Andrzej Cwiek, and WV22?

Whence (and who-ence) mummy WV22? Tim Reid of The Egyptians raises some questions about the mummy found in KV35, but named WV22. And it is actually a little more confusing than that: “the badly damaged mummy was inscribed as Amenhotep III but lying in a coffin trough for Ramses III with a lid for Seti II.” Check out Tim’s article: “WV 22?”

Jane Akshar of Luxor News attended a lecture by Dr. Andrzej Cwiek, the Assistant Director of the Polish Mission at Hatshepsut’s temple at Deir el Bahri. As if that isn’t enviable enough, she spent some one-on-one time with him after the lecture dialoguing and getting a closer look at his work with hieroglyphs. And if that isn’t enviable enough, the next morning Dr. Cwiek gave Jane a personal tour of the Deir el Bahri site! Jane shares all the details and some exclusive photography in “Fall of Senenmut – New Evidence from the temple at Deir el Bahri – Dr Andrzej ?wiek” and “A morning with Dr Andrzej Cwiek.”

If you are interested in learning some hieroglyphic grammar (or is that, grammar involving hieroglyphs?), check out Mummy’s Wrap, the online home of archaeologist Page Strong. In particular:

And yes, this will be on the exam.

Which came first, the mummy or the museum? Is the newly-announced Akhenaten Museum a result of the Heretic King’s mummy having been recently identified, or did a previously planned Akhenaten Museum pressure the project to discover the king, whether they really did or not? Kate Phizackerley, the reincarnated Theban sage who runs News from the Valley of the Kings, continues to assess the emperor’s new clothes. Read “Akhenaten Museum Planned” for the latest.

I am a sucker for anything about Abydos, and Su Bayfield has posted an entry from her travel journal, Reflections in the Nile, which has me especially nostalgic. I have only had the privilege of spending less than a day at this very important heritage site, and man, if I knew then what I know now. Su’s photography is especially enjoyable, but she has a shot of the Osirion you have got to see. The water tables are especially low, and the shot captures the entire structure. See it at “The Abydos Pilgrimage.”

A couple of stories leap out from Vincent Brown’s Talking Pyramids. In “Photos of the Re-Wrapping of Anonymous Man,” Vincent offers some slideshows of the four-day process of re-wrapping a Roman Period Egyptian mummy by a team from the Brooklyn Museum back in February. Vincent also has some video clips of the event in “Re-wrapping a Mummy Live in the Lab!” In “Burial Chamber with Pyramid Texts Discovered” and “Deciphering the Pyramid Texts of Behenu” Vincent covers the recently discovered burial chamber of Queen Behenu at Saqqara. Vincent is doing his own translation of some of the Pyramid Text, which he offers for our perusal.

King Tut’s Death: Solved, Resolved, or Just Restated?

Shemsu Sesen — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:27:21 +0000

King Tut is known as the Boy King for two reasons. The first is the young age at which he assumed the throne—around eight or nine. The second is that he died at around nineteen, so he never really reached adulthood. Why he died so young is a question that has been with us since his tomb was discovered by Howard Carter in 1922.

In 2005 a team of top radiologists conducted a series of CT scans on Tutankhamun’s mummy, and when the results were announced the following year at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, the results were not 100% conclusive. Most of the team felt they had settled the question of what had caused Tut’s early death, but there were some holdouts.

So when Zahi Hawass announced last August that he was on the verge of announcing the exact cause of Tut’s death, Em Hotep! took notice. So does a new article and video on Dr. Hawass’ website finally put the question to rest?

Pharaoh Tutankhamun (Photo by P. A. Hudson)

As Em Hotep! readers have been reminded, perhaps to the point of tedium, Dr. Zahi Hawass declared to a sold out crowd in Indianapolis on August 7, 2009, that the “exact cause” of Tutankhamun’s death would be revealed in ”one month.” This was exciting news because, despite the best efforts of the radiological team that conducted the 2005 CT scans, there was still just a tiny bit of doubt about the “exact cause.”

Of course, this wasn’t exactly what you might call a scandalous controversy. Most of us were fairly satisfied with the majority opinion of the team—that Tut had died of a secondary infection resulting from a traumatic compound fracture to his left thigh. But the fact that Dr. Hawass had raised the issue again, with a promise of a conclusive answer, led to speculation that some new study had been conducted that resolved any remaining doubt. We have been following the story very closely ever since.

In late November Dr. Hawass posted a story and video clip to his website entitled “VIDEO: How Did King Tut Die?” Following on his August announcement, the title seemed pretty self explanatory. But before we evaluate this latest offering, let’s have a quick review of the controversy, minor though it may be.

Murder Most Foul?

Ever since Howard Carter first introduced us to Tutankhamun in 1922, there has been conjecture regarding the cause of his death. Here we had an apparently healthy young man from the absolute top strata of privilege who died in his late teens. By itself this would have been unfortunate, but not unheard of. However, given the tumultuous political climate he had inherited from his heretical predecessor, and the Eighteenth Dynasty’s penchant for court intrigue, speculation of regicide was inevitable.

Pharaoh Akhenaten (Photo by Szczebrzeszynski)

Tutankhaten, as he was then known, grew up amidst controversy. His father (or older brother, by some accounts), Akhenaten, had made some rather unpopular changes in Egyptian politics and religion during his reign. He moved capital from Memphis to Amarna, and suppressed Egypt’s traditional religions in favor of a sort of monotheism based on Aten, the deification of the solar disk. Memphis had long been the administrative center of Egypt, and Thebes, the Holy City of Amun, was Her spiritual center.

This sudden disenfranchisement of the political and religious elite did not win Akhenaten many friends.

Young Tut spent the first decade of his life cloistered with his parents in a sort of counter-culture retreat. It is tempting to imagine Amarna as being like Southern California during the Sixties, when a lot of social elites joined new religions and moved to communes. Even the art of the Amarna Revolution went through a shift away from the conservative idealized forms of the past in favor of a radical new realism encouraged by Akhenaten and his glamorous wife, Nefertiti. Meanwhile, the elder statesman Ay, was the Richard Nixon waiting in the wings.

Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and their children being blessed by Aten (Photo by Gerbil)

When Tutankhaten was only eight or nine years old, Akhenaten died and the Summer of Love came to an end. Monarchies abhor a vacuum, especially when the political and religious apparatus of the state, not to mention the citizenry, are already close to a revolution of their own. To preserve the peace (and the dynasty), Tut was hastily put on the throne through the machinations of his crafty grandfather, Ay.

Pharaoh Ay (Photo by Keith Schengili-Roberts)

Ay undoubtedly had political ambitions of his own dating back to his days of advising his son-in-law, Akhenaten, and he exerted his influence through Tut. On Ay’s advice, the Boy King moved the capital back to Memphis and began the process of restoring the old religion of Amun. He even changed his name from Tutankhaten to Tutankhamun to reflect this return to the Good Old Days. But Ay was getting on in years, and if he was going to have his turn on the throne, it would have to be soon.

Fortunately for Ay, it was soon. Tutankhamun conveniently died at around age 19, allowing Ay to finally ascend to the throne, where he reigned as pharaoh for a grand total of four years before he died.

Given these circumstances, and Tutankhamun’s early demise, we can be forgiven for thinking the worst. When an X-Ray performed on his mummy in 1968 found a hole in the base of his skull, apparently delivered from behind, images of Caesar dead on the floor of the senate leapt into our fertile imaginations. We had our smoking gun.

Only, we didn’t.

New Study, New Conclusions, New Possibilities

When the radiology team conducted the CT scans on Tut in 2005, they also revisited the hole in his skull. On closer examination, it appeared that the hole was a result of either the embalming process or damage that occurred shortly after the mummy was discovered, most likely the latter.

The team found that the bone fragments from the hole were loose and rattling around inside Tut’s skull. If the damage had occurred prior to or during the embalming process, then the bone fragments should have been stuck in, or at least covered with, resin. Neither was the case.

“The damage probably occurred because of the bad handling of the mummy” says Ashraf Selim, a radiologist who worked with the team that conducted the scan (National Geographic News: “King Tut Died From Broken Leg, Not Murder, Scientists Conclude,” p. 2). So while the hole may have occurred during the embalming process, the most likely explanation seems to be Howard Carter’s notorious abuse of the mummy while trying to remove its wrappings (and gold).

So it seemed that Tutankhamun wasn’t murdered after all, at least not by a blow to the head. But the CT scans did raise another possible cause of death. Tutankhamun’s left thighbone had suffered a traumatic break which, if it had occurred while he was alive, would have caused a nasty puncture wound. Lacking effective antiseptic treatments, such a wound have become infected, likely resulting in his death.

So how does a healthy young regent acquire a deadly compound fracture?

In spite of the depictions of the young pharaoh riding into battle on his chariot, Richard Covington, writing for The Smithsonian, postulates that Tut probably spent much of his time attending to religious functions at Thebes, with the occasional hunting foray on the Giza Plateau (The Smithsonian Mysteries of the Ancient World, Fall 2009: “Looking into Tut,” p. 69).

Despite such valiant depictions as this, Tutankhamun was probably not a casualty of war (Photo courtesy of The Yorck Project)

A fall from a galloping horse, particularly if the horse ends up on top of you, could easily produce the sort of break found on Tutankhamun’s leg. So while Tutankhamun may not have suffered a mortal wound at the hands of the Nubians, it has been suggested that he may have died as a result of a hunting accident. But the question remains, did the wound occur before or after he died?

Pre- or Postmortem: That is the Question

When the radiology team analyzed their scans, they were looking for certain indicators that would tell the story of Tut’s life and death, and what happened to his body after he died. By observing the condition and location of the bone fragments in his skull, for example, they were able to conclude the hole was made after Tut had died. Because the fragments were not covered with embalming resin, they were able to conclude that the hole was likely a product of mistreatment rather than mummification.

The break in Tutankhamun’s thigh told a story as well. The job of the radiology team was to interpret the evidence in order to translate that tale. Most of the evidence seemed to indicate that the broken left thigh occurred prior to death. Two very convincing observations led the majority of the team to this conclusion.

First, there is the shape and appearance of the break. Living bone is moist and somewhat pliable. Like a living tree branch, when live bone breaks it tends to splinter and have ragged edges. Dead bone is dry and brittle. Like a dead twig, it tends to snap and leave sharp edges. Unlike the damage that was definitely caused by Carter, the broken thigh has ragged splintery edges. Tutankhamun’s thigh was more branchy than twiggy.

The second indicator of the fracture having occurred prior to death is the presence of resins inside the fracture itself. According to most of the radiology team, the embalming fluids could only have gotten into the break if it had occurred while Tut was alive.

If the break had been done by Carter, then the resin should have been on the surface only and the break should have been clean. Again quoting Ashraf Selim, “The resin flowed through the wound and got into direct contact with the fracture and became solidified, something we didn’t see in any other area,” (Source).

There is no sign of the break having begun healing, but the team offers two possible reasons for this. First, infection may have set in early causing a rapid deterioration and quick death. Second, the embalming process may have obscured any signs of healing.

But not every member of the team agreed with this interpretation. Some of the radiologists felt that the break could only have occurred as a result of Howard Carter’s mishandling of Tut’s mummy. Had the wound occurred while Tutankhamun was alive, they insist, there would have been clear evidence of hemorrhaging and/or hematoma in the scans. The lack of internal bleeding and massive bruising, they contend, point to the damage being postmortem (Source: “Press release, Tutankhamun CT scan, 8 March, 2005”).

As for the resin inside the fracture, they feel this could have occurred while Carter’s team was breaking the mummy apart. As the broken edges of the bone grated against the resin-coated surfaces, resin could have been deposited into the break. And the lack of healing seems to speak for itself—dead bones don’t heal.

So the CT scanning team offered a very probable answer to how King Tut died, but it still wasn’t quite conclusive. As National Geographic writer Brian Handwerk summarized it:

While scientists were unanimous in concluding that there was no evidence of head trauma, they differed when interpreting a fracture found in the mummy’s left thigh. Some researchers felt that the break represented a serious injury that Tut had sustained shortly before death, perhaps resulting in an open wound and the possibility of a life-threatening infection. Others dismissed the broken bone as yet another example of damage inflicted by Carter’s team. (National Geographic News: King Tut Not Murdered Violently, CT Scans Show)

So the story of the 2005 CT scans was essentially a story without an end, which brings us back to Zahi Hawass’ promise to reveal the “exact cause” of Tutankhamun’s death, supposedly in September, 2009.

The Wait

When Dr. Hawass promised back in August to disclose in one month what killed Tut, I took him at his word and reported the news both on Em Hotep! and in an article I wrote for Heritage Key (Lecture Review: Zahi Hawass’ Mysteries of King Tut Revealed). When one month came and went, I wrote a follow-up article (King Tut: And the Cause of Death is… To Be Announced) and continued my vigil.

Toward the end of September I assembled a list of items Dr. Hawass had “promised, hinted, or suggested” would occur by October, 2009 (A Banner Month for Egyptology? October Promises, Hints, and Teasers). The promised announcement of Tutankhamun’s cause of death was on the list.

A follow-up to this was written on November 4, 2009 (Nefertiti, the Life and Death of King Tut, and KV64: The October Checklist). As of then, despite several public speaking engagements, including the opening of the Carter House (named for Howard Carter, a rather obvious connection to Tutankhamun), no news of Tut’s cause of death had been made public.

Finally, without the customary fanfare of a Zahi Hawass announcement, an article and video clip entitled VIDEO: How Did King Tut Die? appeared on Dr. Hawass’ blog. So was this the revelation Dr. Hawass had promised three and a half months ago?

And The News Is: Old and Contradictory.

There is no new information in the article on Dr. Hawass’ website. He makes mention of a “recent” CT scan, which is apparently a reference to the scan that occurred in 2005. No new analyses are detailed, no new interpretation is offered. The video clip was recorded in March, 2008, nearly a year and a half before his announcement in August, 2009, that the “exact cause” of Tut’s death would be announced in “one month.”

With regard to the hole in the back of Tut’s head, Dr. Hawass states in his article that “studies of the CT scans show that this hole was made in the back of his head in order to pour the liquid used in mummification into his body after he died.” This is in contradiction to Ashraf Selim’s statement that the bone fragments were not covered in resin, and the hole probably occurred as a result of Carter’s mishandling of the mummy (source). In fact, due to how the resins pooled in the skull, the team concluded that the embalming fluids had been poured in through the nasal cavity once the brain was removed.

With regard to the fractured leg, Hawass states in the article on his site that “Previous scholars thought this fracture in the leg was caused by Howard Carter, but we discovered it was the result of an accident that happened shortly before [Tut] died.” This statement is troublesome on a number of levels.

The fracture was not detected until the 2005 CT scan, so who are the “previous scholars”? If the previous scholars are the members of the radiology team who held a dissenting opinion, then is Dr. Hawass saying that a new study has been conducted? When? Where? Who is the “we” who discovered that the cause of death was the broken thigh? If it is the radiology team that conducted the 2005 scan, then how can the dissenters be “previous scholars”?

Hawass offers more detail in the video, where he declares:

[Howard Carter] damaged the mummy to 18 pieces. And this is why many people could think that this fracture could happen because of that damage that Howard Carter did. But radiologists found that’s not true. They found that this fracture is an accident that happened to Tutankhamun one day before he died. (source—in the video)

But not all of the radiologists “found that’s not true.” Nowhere in the video (or the article) does Hawass mention that the “previous scholars” who disagreed were part of the radiology team itself. The team did not reach a consensus. They did not find that the fracture occurred before he died; most of the team interpreted the evidence as being consistent with a pre-mortem accident.

So how did Tutankhamun die?

Frankly, I agree with Zahi Hawass with regard to the cause. I believe that the majority opinion of the radiology team that conducted the 2005 CT scan is the most convincing interpretation of the evidence. I believe that Tutankhamun suffered some terrible accident before he died that resulted in a compound fracture which became infected, resulting in his death.

Where I disagree with Zahi Hawass is the level of certainty he claims for this conclusion. I do not believe we can prove with absolute certainty what killed Tutankhamun with the evidence that we posses and the tools at our disposal. I feel that a case has been made for the fracture-and-infection theory that is reliable and likely enough that I choose to believe it. I think that in the article on his website and in the 2008 video clip Dr. Hawass withholds some of the facts in an attempt to portray a level of certainty which is not there.

As for what Dr. Hawass had in mind on August 7, 2009, when he promised to reveal the exact cause of Tut’s death in one month, I can’t speculate. As I said above, I took him at his word and what he has offered us is a three-year-old theory and a year-and-a-half old video clip presented as something new. “At least we can know the cause of his death for the first time,” Dr. Hawass concludes in his video clip.

Why? Apparently because Zahi Hawass says so, and contrary opinions are to be dismissed for no good reason.

Food and Dance: The Shimmering Hips Perform at It’s All Greek to Me

Shemsu Sesen — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 07:08:55 +0000

Last week Shemsu trudged out into the cold and rain just to bring a local interest story to Em Hotep!’s Kentuckiana readers. Stuffed grape leaves, butter-scotch baklava, and bellydancing. These are just a few of the hazards I braved to bring you this exclusive.

Pictured to the left, Shemsu’s better half—Sekhmet.

T’was the night before Halloween and despite the rain and the cold, Louisville’s Frankfort Avenue was bumper to bumper traffic, and the sidewalks were busy with costumed merry-makers bouncing from boutiques to bistros, and from clubs to cafés. It was the last Friday of the month, so the Frankfort Avenue Trolley Hop was in full swing.

There is no shortage of eateries on Frankfort Avenue. Along with Bardstown Road and Fourth Street downtown, it is one of the places locals take their out-of-town friends when they visit. But on a chilly and rainy fall evening there is no better place to be than Maria Bell’s It’s All Greek to Me kitchen, with a hot bowl of fakyes soup and a steamy stack of pitas for dipping.

Maria Bell of It's All Greek to Me

Maria first started feeding Louisvillians with her Greek Paradise Café on Story Avenue, and when she was forced to close her doors due a disagreement with her landlord, for her many fans it was like moving away from home. Good, authentic Greek comfort food doesn’t just grow on vines. So when Maria moved into the property vacated by the Wine Rack, it was an occasion for Ouzo.

But it wasn’t just the food and people watching that brought me to Maria’s kitchen on Halloween Eve. Shimmering Hips, the students of bellydancing instructor Anna Murray—also known by her dancing name Azayani—were performing from 7:00 to 10:00 that evening. And if good food and beautiful dancing were not reason enough, then add the fact that my own lovely wife Anne Payne, also known as Sekhmet, is one of Azayani’s students.

Azayani, aka Anna Murray, teaches bellydancing and is the primary in Shimmering Hips (Photo by Keith Payne)

Azayani began belly dancing as a law student in Salem, Oregon, and has trained, taught, and performed this ancient art all across the country. In 2007 she was part of a troupe called Sisters of the Desert Moon that won Third Place in the Bellydancer USA competition. Her Shimmering Hips troupe regularly performs at Bardstown Road and Frankfort Avenue establishments and is available for events. Planning a Mediterranean-themed wedding? Marie Bell caters and Shimmering Hips entertains.

Anne Payne, also known as Sekhmet (Photo by Keith Payne)

Azayani’s classes present bellydance as an art form and a path to both physical and mental fitness. As a display of both grace and strength, bellydancing moves focus on specific parts of the body, such as shoulder rolls and hip shimmies. More than just a workout for the abs, belly-dancing involves the entire body and is an excellent way of building upper body strength while promoting deep, regular breathing.

Azayani even has bellydancing training specifically for expecting mothers. In fact, Azayani explains that many teachers believe that bellydancing originated as a way to prepare women for childbirth.

Sarah Combs of Shimmering Hips (Photo by Keith Payne)

In addition to Sekhmet, Azayani had another of her students entertaining visitors to Maria’s kitchen—Sarah Combs, who as of yet has not chosen a bellydancing name. Individually and in duets (they were limited in terms of space), the Shimmering Hips wove their magic to the sound of Eastern music, as well as one of U2’s more etheric tunes.

Their dancing styles ranged from traditional to tribal, with Azayani performing a sword dance as well. But most surprising was when Maria Bell herself, with a shout of “Opa!,” smashed a plate on the floor and began dancing around it!

Maria Bell dances around a smashed plate (Photo by Keith Payne)

For three hours Azayani, Sekhmet, and Sarah (and Maria!) took turns dancing for those who were drawn in from the cold and rain by the sound of zills and the smell of roasting lamb. At one point Maria pulled me outside, where in nicer weather there are tables for dining al fresco, and as we stood under the eave to avoid the rain explained her plans to open a larger place downtown in the very near future.

Maria’s desire is to bring to Louisville the sort of Greek restaurant where the patrons eat and dance with abandon, without landlords who get snippy over the occasional broken plate on the floor. “Eat, dance, and eat some more” she explained as we scooted past Sarah and Sekhmet and back into the warmth of the eatery.

The Egyptian Angle

Lest anyone think I have written this just to brag about my wife and her lovely friends, there is an Em Hotep! angle to this article. To begin with, Its All Greek to Me is one of the more authentic places in Louisville where you can eat like an Egyptian. The Middle Eastern and Mediterranean palates have much in common. Chicken and lamb grilled with fresh vegetables, chickpeas and lentils, cucumber, eggplant, lots of garlic and the ever-present pita bread are standard fare from Kozani to Aswan.

Tzatziki and grape leaves

An Egyptian evening at It’s All Greek to Me might begin with some hummus—which the Egyptians might call ta’amiyah—and maybe some tzatsiki with some grilled pita bread to go with them. If it is a Tuesday or Thursday, a nice cup of the previously mentioned fakyes soup with a little vinegar or olive oil will help finish off any remaining pita bread. For an entrée have the mousaka, or for those with a Pharaonic appetite, the Zeus platter—a sampling of lamb, chicken, tzatziki, feta, olives, tomatoes and grape leaves for two.

Oh, and as my wife would point out, they have salads too. Lots of wonderful salads. For the It’s All Greek to Me menu, click here. And like Azayani, Maria Bell offers regular classes so you can eat like an Egyptian, or Greek, at home.

With regard to belly dancing, Egypt has a long and romantic history. Egyptian style bellydancing as it has been practiced in modern times is believed to be closely related to Moroccan belly-dancing, although that is not to say that one style necessarily led to the other. Egyptian bellydancers make use of veils in their dancing, but for most of the performance will typically have their faces uncovered, whereas with more Arabic styles the face will usually remain covered throughout the performance.

In addition to veils, there are several props traditionally associated with Egyptian bellydancing. Candles, swords, and canes are often used, with canes being commonly used by male bellydancers. In recent centuries Egyptian bellydancers, called Ghawazee, worked in troupes that included both men (called Ghazee) and women (called Ghazeeye), and would typically perform in streets and market-places. The Ghawazee were actually a nomadic tribe whose members moved from city to city making a living at dancing, and who were tolerated because they tended to make very good money and were a reliable source of tax revenue wherever they showed up.

Religious intolerance eventually exerted sufficient pressure to put an end to public bellydancing, and Ghawazee performances were banned in Cairo in 1834. The sanctions were relaxed somewhat beginning in 1849, but public bellydancing remained illegal. This led to performances being held behind closed doors, which resulted in the birth of the Egyptian cabaret (source).

Azayani with zills (Photo by Keith Payne)

So for the purposes of Em Hotep!, there is obviously a recent connection (200-300 years is actually quite recent by Egyptological standards..)

What about a link to antiquity? Tradition has it that bellydancing has been around as an art form for 6,000 years. Is there evidence of bellydancing in ancient Egypt?

The Art of Dance in Ancient Egypt

Musicians and dancers are a common motif in Egyptian art (Photo by courtesy of Eloquence)

There is a tradition that bellydancing in Egypt dates back to Pharaonic times, and examples of dancing are represented in art all throughout Egypt’s long history. Some of the most commonly reproduced pieces of Egyptian painting represent female musicians and dancers in gauzy dresses of the finest linen, if not practically nude. Some of these paintings have led to an unfair and inaccurate association between bellydancing and more vulgar forms of entertainment, but such modern connotations ignore the fact that nudity in ancient Egyptian art, culture, and even religion had none of the puritanical baggage of the modern era.

But while Egyptian art is replete with dancing figures, is there any evidence that the bellydancing of modern times has a precursor in Pharaonic Egypt? One example of Egyptian art offered as a depiction of an ancient form of bellydancing comes from the tomb of Nebamun. An accountant who worked at the Temple of Amun at the Karnak complex at Luxor, Nebamun is believed to have died around 1350 BC, during the reign of Amenhotep III of the Eighteenth Dynasty, and just prior to the Amarna Revolution of Akhenaten. That certainly qualifies for Pharaonic.

Musicians and dancers from the Eighteenth Dynasty tomb of Nebamun (Photo courtesy of Fordmadoxfraud)

The fresco from Nebamun’s tomb certainly depicts music, clapping, and dancing, but does it portray an early form of bellydancing? At first glance there seems to be a lot going on with the dancers. As stated above, bellydancing usually focuses on one part of the body at a time—the entire body might be relatively still while the head weaves side to side, for example. But the stylized nature of Egyptian art can be misleading. A single figure may be representing different movements simultaneously in a kind of single figure animation. So the dancers may be depicting a variety of moves that are not normally executed simul-taneously, but are shown in such a way that allows one or two figures to demonstrate what would otherwise require a number of dancers to illustrate.

So when evaluating whether or not the figures from the Nebamun tomb painting represent a form of bellydancing you should consider the possibility that the actual dance may not have looked exactly how it is depicted. The figures tell a narrative and the actions shown would have played out sequentially rather than simultaneously. Fortunately, we don’t have to rely strictly on Egyptian art for representations of Egyptian people. Dr. Andrea Deagon, the coordinator of the Classical Studies and Women’s Studies Programs at UNC-Wilmington, and an accomplished bellydancer herself, has provided evidence that bellydancing existed in a recognizable form at least as far back as Egypt’s Roman Period.

Unlike Egyptian art, which changed remarkably little in terms of convention and style for millennia, Roman art could be much more dynamic and expressive. Dr. Deagon points to the example of a Roman relief sculpture from the Second Century depicting the Egyptian festival of the Apis Bull. Describing the frieze, she notes:

“the artists have taken great care to illustrate the women’s hips as protruding, and their hands in unusual positions. In other words, they are clearly indicating a form of dance in which the hips, hands and arms are used in ways that were foreign to Rome. The dancers are all in different positions, suggesting solo-improvisation” (source, with photo).

Dr. Deagon concludes that if a form of bellydancing was being practiced in Egypt during the Roman Period, then it is feasible some variety was being practiced as early as 1350 BC. Bear in mind the leisurely pace at which Egyptian arts and styles evolve. While not 100% conclusive, it would seem not too far a stretch to presume some form of bellydancing was practiced during Pharaonic times in Egypt.

Azayani and Maria Bell celebrating life (Photo by Keith Payne)

But you don’t need to have an interest in ancient Egypt to want to take bellydancing lessons or to enjoy hearty Greek food, or for that matter, to take lessons in Greek cooking from Maria Bell. All you have to do is live in or near Louisville and check out their websites, which I have repeated below for your convenience.

And by the way, this is an unpaid endorsement for both Azayani’s Shimmering Hips troupe and Maria Bell’s It’s All Greek to Me. No undue pressure was applied by Sekhmet, and I have her permission to say so.

It’s All Greek to Me Azayani Bellydance

2715 Frankfort Ave Email to Azayani

Louisville, KY 40206

(502) 895-0555

Email to Maria Bell

Photographs ”Almeh fesquet.jpg” by Frederic Goupil Fesquet, “Maler der Grabkammer des Nacht 004.jpg” by Eloquence, and “Nebamun tomb fresco dancers and musicians.png” by Fordmadoxfraud are provided courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 License. In short: you are free to share and make derivative works of those files under the conditions that you appropriately attribute them, and that you distribute them only under a license identical to this one. Official license

Eighteenth Dynasty

Shemsu Sesen — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 01:33:04 +0000

Eighteenth Dynasty

The Egyptian Renaissance and the Dynasty of Celebrities

1550 to 1295 BC

Period	Seat of Power	Factions	Dating System
New Kingdom	Memphis, Amarna	The rival Solar Cults of Amun and Aten	Shaw and Nicholson

The Eighteenth Dynasty marked a period of high culture, religious ideologies, political intrigue, and dynastic dramas. The capitol is Memphis, with the religious center at Thebes, but the entire order is upset by Amenhotep IV, popularly known as Akhenaten, who changes the state religion and moves the capitol to Amarna. His revolution is almost immediately reversed after his death. Other luminaries include Ahmose I, Hatshepsut the Female Pharaoh, Tutankhamun, and Horemheb.

Name of Ruler	Years of Reign	Capitol
Ahmose I	1550 to 1525 BC	Memphis
Amenhotep I	1525 to 1504 BC	Memphis
Thutmose I	1504 to 1492 BC	Memphis
Thutmose II	1492 to 1479 BC	Memphis
Thutmose III	1479 to 1425 BC	Memphis
Hatshepsut	1473 to 1458 BC	Memphis
Amenhotep II	1427 to 1400 BC	Memphis
Thutmose IV	1400 to 1390 BC	Memphis
Amenhotep III	1390 to 1352 BC	Memphis
Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten)	1352 to 1336 BC	Amarna
Smenkhkare	1338 to 1336 BC	Amarna
Tutankhamun	1336 to 1327 BC	Memphis
Ay II	1327 to 1323 BC	Memphis
Horemheb	1323 to 1295 BC	Memphis

Em Hotep! » Akhenaten

The Blogroll Roundup: Critiquing the JAMA Article

King Tut’s Feet Fatale: Did Frail Feet Fell the Famous Pharaoh?

Freiberg-Kohler’s Disease

A Perfect Storm of Podialogical and Political Problems

One Sick Kid, Warrior King, or Both?

See Also

The Mummies Gallery

Tutankhamun (Study Group)

Yuya (Study Group)

Thuya (Study Group)

KV55—Akhenaten (Study Group)

Amenhotep III (Study Group)

KV35YL (Study Group)

KV35EL—Tiye (Study Group)

Fetus 1 (Study Group)

Fetus 2 (Study Group)

KV21A (Study Group)

KV21B (Study Group)

CCG61065 (Control Group)

Thutmose II (Control Group)

Ahmose-Nefertari (Control Group)

Hatshepsut (Control Group)

Sitra-In (Control Group)

See Also

Families and Frailties of the Eighteenth Dynasty

Who and Where?

Objectives

Reception and Criticism

The Future of the Project

See Also

The Return of the Blogroll Roundup: March 13, 2010

King Tut’s Death: Solved, Resolved, or Just Restated?

Murder Most Foul?

New Study, New Conclusions, New Possibilities

Pre- or Postmortem: That is the Question

The Wait

And The News Is: Old and Contradictory.

See also

Food and Dance: The Shimmering Hips Perform at It’s All Greek to Me

The Egyptian Angle

The Art of Dance in Ancient Egypt

Eighteenth Dynasty

Blogroll Roundup for July 26, 2009