KING TUT WAS A FRAIL BOY

Golden mask of Tutankhamon

From Yahoo News:

Egypt's most famous pharaoh, King Tutankhamun, was a frail boy who suffered from a cleft palate and club foot. He died of complications from a broken leg exacerbated by malaria and his parents were most likely brother and sister.

Two years of DNA testing and CT scans on Tut's 3,300-year-old mummy and 15 others are helping end many of the myths surrounding the boy king. While a comparatively minor ruler, he has captivated the public since the 1922 discovery of his tomb, which was filled with a stunning array of jewels and artifacts, including a golden funeral mask.
....

The newest tests paint a picture of a pharaoh whose immune system was likely weakened by congenital diseases. His death came from complications from the broken leg - along with a new discovery: severe malaria.

The team said it found DNA of the malaria parasite in several of the mummies, some of the oldest ever isolated.

"A sudden leg fracture possibly introduced by a fall might have resulted in a life threatening condition when a malaria infection occurred," the JAMA article said.

"Tutankhamun had multiple disorders... He might be envisioned as a young but frail king who needed canes to walk," it said.

The revelations are in stark contrast to the popular image of a graceful boy-king as portrayed by the dazzling funerary artifacts in his tomb that later introduced much of the world to the glory of ancient Egypt.

They also highlighted the role genetics play in some diseases. The members of the 18th dynasty were closely inbred and the DNA studies found several genetic disorders in the mummies tested such as scoliosis, curvature of the spine, and club feet.

Dr. Howard Markel, a medical historian at the University of Michigan, said some of King Tut's ailments including his bone disease likely were the result of his parents' incestuous marriage. Children born to parents who are so closely related to each other would be prone to genetic problems, he said.

Ever since we visited the King Tutankhamun exhibit at The New Orleans Museum of Art back in 1977, I've been intrigued by the boy-king of Egypt. Although the golden mask is, indeed, spectacular and demonstrates fine work by the artists, I was more taken with the jewelry on display, some of which may be seen here I believe that the gold falcon collar was in the exhibit, but I could be misremembering.

It appears that the Curse of the Pharaohs which was suggested as the reason for the deaths of a number of people who entered the tomb is not borne out by statistical analyses. The major curse may have rested on the pharaohs themselves, the cause of which seems to have been inbreeding.

Here is Time Magazine's account of the exhibit in New Orleans.

In Washington, D.C., where King Tutankhamen began his American reign last December, the wait to get in to see his treasures averaged five hours. In Chicago, 2,000 lined up opening day to marvel at the glittering objects found in the tomb of the boy pharaoh who lived in the 14th century B.C. (TIME, May 2). Now it is New Orleans' turn, and though the exhibit has effectively been presented, some of that old Mardi Gras madness has rubbed off on the Egyptian god-king.

For starters, Lelong Drive, leading up to the city's Museum of Art, was painted a kind of Nile blue. The Fairmont Hotel opened a tent restaurant outside the museum with such specialties as Sphinxburger, Queen Nefertiti's Salad and Ramses' Gumbo. Bourbon Street Exotic Dancer Chris Owens, in a new Egyptian costume complete with vulture collar and emblems of the god Ra, is gyrating through a routine entitled "Pharaoh's Favorite Toy." The New Leviathan Oriental Fox Trot Orchestra has released an Old King Tut album, and Tut T shirts are also catching on. For those who must wait outside the museum, 16 portable "Tutlets" are at their disposal.

But wait! The "tut-tut" folks in New Orleans thought that the rest of the citizens of the city were having too much fun with the exhibit, perhaps to the point of irreverence. Ah well, too bad for them. The killjoys missed all the fun.

Image from Wiki.