King Tutankhamun’s Family and Demise
- Brenda J. Baker, PhD brendaj.baker@asu.eduSchool of Human Evolution and Social ChangeArizona State UniversityTempe
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
- KEYWORDS:
- AGE DETERMINATION BY SKELETON
- ANEMIA, SICKLE CELL
- BONE DISEASES
- CRANIOSYNOSTOSES
- DATA INTERPRETATION, STATISTICAL
- DNA
- DNA FRAGMENTATION
- EGYPT
- FOOT DEFORMITIES
- GENETICS
- GYNECOMASTIA
- HISTORY, ANCIENT
- MALARIA
- MICROSATELLITE REPEATS
- MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
- MUMMIES
- SICKLE CELL TRAIT
- SKULL
To the Editor: Based on computed tomography (CT), the study of King Tutankhamun's family by Dr Hawass and colleagues1 purported an age of 35 to 45 years for the KV55 male (Table 1), older than previously thought. Prior studies that refute this claim were dismissed and no substantiation for a much older age range was given in the text or online content.
The KV55 skeletal remains were thoroughly analyzed after their 1907 discovery by Sir Grafton Elliot Smith,2 who estimated an age of 25 to 26 years based on direct observation of epiphyseal union throughout the skeleton. Re-examination by Ronald Harrison and Ahmed el Batrawi in 1963 augmented macroscopic examination with radiographs to ascertain the degree of fusion in some bones and assessed morphology of the right pubic symphysis to derive an age of 20 years at death.3 Both anatomists reported that the epiphyses of the medial …
