DNA analysis of King Tut

King Tut, depicted here by a gold funerary mask, was a frail pharaoh, according to a new DNA study.

Released Tuesday by the Journal of the American Medical Association, the report is the first DNA study ever conducted with ancient Egyptian royal mummies. It apparently solves several mysteries surrounding the 14th-century B.C. pharaoh, including how he died and who his parents were.

Tutankhamun was a pharaoh during ancient Egypt’s New Kingdom era, about 3,300 years ago. He ascended to the throne at the age of 9 but ruled for only ten years before dying at 19 around 1324 B.C.

Despite his brief reign, King Tut is perhaps Egypt’s best known pharaoh because of the wealth of treasures—including a solid gold death mask—found during the surprise discovery of his intact tomb in 1922.

The “frail boy” needed a cane to walk, had history’s earliest genetically proven case of malaria, and was sired by siblings, says the study of King Tut and relatives. Read more over at National Geographic.

Posted by
Find me on Google+

Curriculum vitae

Artist, satirist, and occasional blogger, Andrew has been drawing since he could hold a crayon. He started with squiggles, but they were darned good squiggles if he says so himself. And he will, just ask.
© Copyright Geeky Muse - Designed by Pexeto