Amy

=Case Study - Ancient Human Remains =

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Oral Presentation by Amy
[|Hey Hey Hatshepsut]

Topic: **Hatshepsut - Female Pharaoh of Egypt **

**__WHEN, WHERE, HOW THE BODY WAS FOUND __** In 1881, a wooden box was found by archaeologists which contained a tooth with a single root. The box was inscribed with the name ‘Hatshepsut’. In 1903 an archaeologist, Howard Carter found a tomb which was empty except for two empty sarcophagi and a number of artefacts bearing the name of ‘Hatshepsut’. After her death Thutmose III took steps to erase all traces of her. Statues of her were torn down, monuments defaced and her name scratched from the records. Archaeologists now believe in order to remove the female interruption in the male Thutmose lineage, her mummy was removed by Thutmose III but this has never been proven. In March 2006, Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities thought that he had located the mummy which had been misplaced in the Cairo Museum but there is no evidence that this claim was followed up. In June 2007, Wilfred John Noble and other Egyptologists believed that they had discovered the mummy in a tomb in the Valley of the Kings. One of the mummies had an arm across the chest similar to the manner in which Pharaohs were laid to rest. It is believed the other mummy was Hatshepsut’s nanny.



** __DESCRIPTION OF THE BODY AS IT IS TODAY __ **

Hatshepsut's body is well preserved and intact which was helped by mummification which allowed the body not to rot. Her body also had no sign of any broken bones or fatal wounds. Her skin tissue was well preserved to run tests and also the tooth that was found in 1881 was a perfect fit into the cavity. Her body was postioned with her left arm bent across her chest with her fist closed and her right arm straight alongside the body which suggests royalty.

Mummy of Hatshepsut

**__HOW DID HATSHEPSUT DIE? __** It has been accepted by all archealogists that Hatshepsut died in January 1458BCE. The actual cause of her death is uncertain however medical tests carried out by computer tomography indicate that she probably died from a blood infection caused by the removal of an abscessed tooth. She had other serious medical conditions however including metastatic bone cancer, possible liver cancer and diabetes mellitis. She was about 50years of age when she died. Before her death Hatshepsut arranged for the construction of a lavish burial chamer at Dier el-Bahri in the Valley of Kings. It is recorded that she had the mummy of her father Thutmose I transferred from his burial site to a chamber within this tomb. Dier el-Bahri

**__REASONS THE BODY WAS PRESERVED__** Ancient Egyptians believed in life after death. After dying they would go to another world to lead a new life. They believed that they should preserve the body so that they could use it in the new life. For this reason the body was mummified (body would be cut open and the h eart, lungs, liver and spleen would be removed) for preservation.

The remains of the body were complete enabling CAT scans and DNA testing of the tissues to be carried out.



**__SCIENTIFIC METHODS __** In 2007, Galal El-Beheiri, Professor of Orthodontics at the Cairo University, identified that the tooth found in 1881 fitted perfectly into the cavity of the mummy found by Noble in 2007.

Dr. Paul Gostner, leading forensic investigator in the Ice Man Mummy episode and Dr. Andreas Blaha, Computer Tomology Analyst, confirm that the density of the tooth is identical with the other teeth of the mummy.

A DNA test carried out by Professor Hawass compared the mummy’s DNA with that of Hatshepsut’s great grandmother Neferatari produced a match. Although this would seem to confirm that the mummy found by Noble was indeed that of Hatshepsut, Professor Hawass is of the opinion that DNA tests are not always 100% accurate and Egyptologists are waiting for further proof.

Dr Zahi Hawass <span style="display: block; color: #f59c14; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive; background-color: #f00f0f; text-align: center;">**__WHAT DID WE LEARN FROM THE PAST__** <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From researching Hatshepsut’s life, I have learnt that Egyptians were very well educated, or at least the upper class were.

They were capable builders – the palatial tomb of Hatshepsut at Dier el-Bahri indicated this.

Egyptians believed in life after death and HAD to mummify the body to enter the afterlife.

There are many ways of scientific methods that can identify mummies.

__//**BIBLIOGRAPHY:**//__ Internet:

Millmore.M. (n.d.).Hatshepsut: The Woman who was King. Retrieved: March 8, 2009 from []

Fleury. K (n.d). Retrieved: March 8, 2009 from []

Hatshepsut (n.d). Retrieved: March 9, 2009 from []

This site gave me more detail than most of the other sites I researched. It provided more detailed information including her history and personaility which gave me a better understanding of Hatshepsut. The website also included some pictures of statues of Hatshepsut and the Dier el-Bahri.

Pharaoh Maatkare Hatshepsut, 2007. Retrieved March 9, 2009 from []

This report deals with the life of Hatshepsut and her relationship with the outside world. It does however refer to the empty tomb found by Howard Carter in 1903. It names the artifacts found in the tomb with the empty sarcophagi and included an ivory coffer inscribed with the name 'Hathshepsut'. It does not go into the finer detail about her death and the difficulties that have been experienced in identifying the mummy. it does however summarise the steps which have been taken and this information together, with information which I have been able to obtain from other internet sources have enabled me to make comparisons and confirm that the information shown in my presentation is as accurate as i can make it.

Book:

Strudwick.H. 2006. The Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, Amber Books, London, United Kingdom.

Youtube Clips:

[] - Song of Hatshepsut (Pretty funny... well I think it is anyway) [] - Mummy Reconstruction of Hatshepsut [] - Slideshow of Hatshepsut