Tuesday, December 06, 2005

More on issues re Tutankhamun reconstruction

Yet more on the way in which Tutankhamun has been portrayed: "Even assuming that the sculptor had some scientific basis for determining 'the average' skin color of modern Egyptians, what would that have to do with the skin color of the Egyptian population when King Tut was alive, some 3,300 years ago? The Egyptians we see most often today are Arabs whose ancestors invaded Egypt about 2,000 years after the death of King Tut.

The reconstruction of King Tut's nose also was based on pre-existing assumptions. The size of his 'narrow nasal opening' was automatically considered to be a 'Caucasoid trait.' Did the French forensic team know the range in the size of the nasal openings in indigenous African populations? Surely, that range overlaps that of 'Caucasoid' populations. Why then is the size of King Tut's nasal opening considered a 'Caucasoid' trait? And, given the size range for King Tut's nose, how did the sculptor decide on the actual size and shape? She knew that she was reconstructing King Tut as a 'North African Caucasoid.' Was that the determining factor in reconstructing the nose?"

See the above article on the Sun Sentinel website for more.

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