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Egyptian Museum Tests Mummy's DNAScholars Try to Identify Remains of Pharaoh Thutmose I
Scholars at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo are using state-of-the-art technology to determine if a mummy is that of Pharaoh Thutmose I.
Zahi Hawass, Egypt's Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities and chief archaeologist, revealed to the Middle East News Agency on May 29, 2008 his plans for subjecting a 3,500-year-old mummy to DNA and other testing at Cairo's Egyptian Museum. He hopes to determine if the remains he's chosen to study are indeed those of Pharaoh Thutmose I (r. 1504-1492 B.C.). Dr. Hawass is also Director of Excavations at the Giza Pyramids, Saqqara and Bahariya Oasis. Identifying Thutmose IA mummy in the Egyptian Museum has for many years been thought to be that of the New Kingdom ruler. Hawass disputes the body's accepted identity. Assisted by an exclusive team of native Egyptologists, the National Geographic Society's most prominent Scholar-in-Residence is conducting DNA testing and X-ray analysis of another ancient corpse. The body was flown from Luxor's Valley of the Kings, the Theban necropolis or cemetery of many royal burials from Egypt's 18th Dynasty (ca. 1550-1295 B.C.), to Cairo for thorough examination. Testing is occurring in the Egyptian Museum's $5 million DNA laboratory, a new state-of-the-art facility financed by the Discovery Channel. Dr. Hawass' long-term plans include using its modern technology to re-examine all of ancient Egypt's royal remains in an attempt to provide them with positive identifications. Egyptian Mummies and DNA TestingThe DNA testing of royal mummies in Egypt is a relatively recent scientific development. Obtaining usable nuclear DNA from a mummy can be extremely difficult; often it is deteriorated due to age. If a viable specimen is retrieved, it needs to be compared to samples from the subject's immediate relatives for accurate determination of the person's lineage. Hawass has revealed that the mummy's DNA will be analyzed with that of two females. For reasons of national security, DNA test results of Egyptian mummies are usually kept confidential. Some scholars conjecture that full disclosure of the research's findings could lead to a major revision of the country's ancient dynastic history. It was almost one year ago that Zahi Hawass announced the almost certain identification of a mummy as that of Queen Hatshepsut (r. 1479-1458 B.C.), the sister of Tuthmose II (r. 1492-1479 B.C.) and ancient Egypt's most powerful female pharaoh. His findings were based largely on forensic evidence. DNA testing was subsequently performed on the corpse. The investigation's (perhaps inconclusive) results were never published, leaving the mummy's true identity in question. Sources:
The copyright of the article Egyptian Museum Tests Mummy's DNA in Museum/History Studies is owned by Stan Parchin. Permission to republish Egyptian Museum Tests Mummy's DNA in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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