Molecular Egyptology
Incest victimMikhail Alekseev, Mednovosti
An international group of scientists led by the famous Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass has published another study on the state of health and causes of death of Tutankhamun.
Based on the results of computed tomography of the pharaoh's mummy, as well as on the data of genetic studies, scientists describe the ruler of Ancient Egypt as having fragile health, burdened with a number of hereditary diseases of the disabled. However, not all experts are ready to agree with this interpretation of the image of Tutankhamun.
The last direct heir of the rulers of the XVIII dynasty of Ancient Egypt, Tutankhamun became Pharaoh in 1333 BC, at the age of 10. His predecessor was the reformer Pharaoh Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV), who unsuccessfully tried to replace the traditional religion of ancient Egypt with the cult of the one sun god Aton. The new reign, during which Egypt returned to the veneration of the old gods, lasted only 9 years. Tutankhamun passed away without leaving any heirs. The circumstances of his death are not reflected in the surviving written sources, and this suggested that the death of the young pharaoh was violent.
Being far from the most significant ruler of Ancient Egypt, Tutankhamun became the most famous of the pharaohs thanks to the incredible luck of the British archaeologist Howard Carter. In 1922, Carter managed to discover Tutankhamun's tomb, almost untouched by treasure hunters, in the Valley of the Kings located near Luxor. The richest collection of weapons, utensils and jewelry that accompanied the deceased to the other world, for the first time gave scientists a visual representation of the wealth and luxury that reigned at the court of the ancient rulers of Egypt. Tutankhamun's tomb remains the only burial of the Pharaoh that has survived intact to this day.
Feminine and fragileScientific papers on Tutankhamun's health have been regularly appearing in scientific and medical journals over the past decades.
In addition to the causes of the pharaoh's early death, doctors were interested in the characteristic features of his appearance, captured by court artists.
According to ancient images, Tutankhamun was distinguished by an extremely disproportionate physique – an elongated skull, a short neck and excessively long limbs. Some drawings suggest that the ruler of Egypt has gynecomastia – an overgrowth of mammary gland tissue.
At different times, different diagnoses were attributed to Tutankhamun: Marfan syndrome (a hereditary connective tissue disease accompanied by elongation of the bones of the skeleton, damage to the joints, organs of vision and the cardiovascular system), Antley-Bixler syndrome (a hereditary disease leading to multiple deformities of the bones of the skeleton), Klippel-Feil disease (congenital deformity of the cervical vertebrae), finally, diseases of the endocrine system associated with a lack of male sex hormones.
In addition, X-rays taken in the 60s found a hole in Tutankhamun's skull, the cause of which could be a blow with a heavy blunt object. This discovery seemed to be a strong confirmation of the version about the violent death of the pharaoh.
CT and molecular EgyptologyAt the beginning of the XXI century, a group of researchers led by archaeologist and historian, head of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass (Zahi Hawass) tried to put an end to the controversy about the possible ailments of Tutankhamun, using the latest achievements of modern medicine.
Hawass and his colleagues decided to study the remains of Tutankhamun using a multi-spiral CT scanner, which allows to obtain thousands of slices of the mummy's internal organs in a short time, and then reduce them into visual three-dimensional images.
The results of the first study of the Hawassa group were published in 2005. Then the researchers came to the conclusion that the hole in the pharaoh's skull appeared after his death, during mummification. More importantly, scientists found an unhealed femoral fracture in the mummy, as well as signs of gangrene, and suggested that this injury was the cause of the ruler's death.
A new, just published study by Hawass and his collaborators (Ancestry and Pathology in King Tutankhamun's Family – JAMA, 02/17/2010) complements the previously obtained results with new computed tomography data and materials of genetic studies of Tutankhamun's mummy, as well as the mummies of ten of his close relatives. The authors of the study, which involved geneticists from the University of Tubingen and doctors and anthropologists from Italy, dubbed their approach molecular Egyptology.
The new images obtained with the help of computed tomography refute most of the assumptions about the ailments that Tutankhamun could suffer from. Thus, the real physique of the pharaoh differed significantly from that depicted by ancient Egyptian artists: studies did not reveal any congenital deformities of the skeleton, disproportionately long limbs, or a shortened neck in the mummy. According to scientists, the images that intrigued doctors were the result of attempts to bring the image of the ruler in line with the canons of beauty and spirituality characteristic of that time.
At the same time, the latest medical technology made it possible to detect several new diseases in the mummy. The updated list of Tutankhamun's diseases includes hereditary clubfoot, Koehler's disease (necrosis of the bones of the foot caused by a violation of their blood supply), as well as cleft of the hard palate (cleft palate).
The authors of the study believe that the diseases of the limb bones they found significantly limited the mobility of Tutankhamun. According to scientists, the numerous canes found in his tomb (and there are more than a hundred of them) performed not only a decorative function: without them, the ruler of Egypt, perhaps, could not stand on his feet at all.
The data of genetic studies, on the basis of which scientists were able to reconstruct the family tree of Tutankhamun, clearly indicate the reasons for his poor health. The Pharaoh was a victim of incest, actively practiced by the ruling dynasties of ancient Egypt.
Until recently, the question of Tutankhamun's parents did not find an unambiguous solution. Historians have suggested that he could be both the son and younger brother of the reformer Akhenaten. A newly discovered inscription on the stone calls Tutankhamun and his wife Ankhesenamun “children according to the flesh” Akhenaten (the fact that Ankhesenamun was Akhenaten's daughter was known before). DNA analysis of the mummies of the last representatives of the XVIII dynasty allows identifying previously unidentified remains of a man and a woman as the father (that is, Akhenaten) and mother of Tutankhamun, who were also close relatives – most likely, brother and sister.
Incest is also the main reason for Tutankhamun's lack of heirs. Two children from the Pharaoh's marriage with his own sister were stillborn or died in infancy.
Most mutations lead to the development of the disease only if there are two defective copies of the gene. The owners of one copy remain physically healthy carriers of the mutation. In marriages between close relatives who have many genetic features in common, the probability of meeting two defective genes increases many times. This explains the morbidity of offspring born as a result of incest, as well as the high frequency of hereditary diseases in isolated human populations forced to practice closely related marriages.
Among other things, genetic studies have revealed traces of DNA of the malaria pathogen plasmodium falciparum in the tissues of Tutankhamun and four of his relatives. This finding suggested that the main cause of Pharaoh's death was cerebral malaria (malarial encephalitis). The pharaoh, who was not in excellent health, could hardly cope with a dangerous infection, the researchers believe, in addition, the complication of malaria could have been provoked by the weakened state of the ruler of Egypt against the background of a severe fracture suffered shortly before death.
Any objectionsThe value of the new facts revealed as a result of the complex and expensive research of Zahi Hawass and his associates is beyond doubt.
However, not everyone is ready to agree with the interpretation of the data obtained. For example, experts interviewed by Nature magazine (King Tut's death explained? – Nature, 02/16/2010) consider the conclusion about the death of Tutankhamun from malaria insufficiently substantiated. It is not surprising that a person who lived in the Nile Delta came into contact with the causative agent of malaria, but this infection does not always lead to the death of the patient. At the same time, it is hardly possible to reliably recreate the course of the disease according to the state of the pharaoh's internal organs, since most of the entrails of the deceased were removed and destroyed in the process of mummification.
In turn, the editor of the authoritative journal Archeology, Mark Rose, calls the statements about Tutankhamun's poor health and limited mobility too hasty (Tut: Disease and DNA News – Archaeology, 02/16/2010). According to Rose, many archaeological evidence suggests just the opposite. A huge amount of hunting equipment and weapons in the tomb of Tutankhamun, as well as images reflecting various stages of his reign, indicate that the young pharaoh led a very active and active life and even, perhaps, took a direct part in the wars with the Syrians and Nubians. In general, the image of a physically handicapped ruler in poor health, created by the authors of the new study, does not satisfy all specialists. And this means that it is too early to put an end to the investigation into the circumstances of the end of Tutankhamun's reign.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru18.02.2010