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According to National Geographic, in an issue released in 2010, a group of scientists carried out CT Scans on Tutanankhamun’s body in 2005. This analysis confirmed that King Tut was not killed due to a blow to the head, as many people believed. The analysis revealed that the hole in the back of his skull had been made during the mummification of the pharaoh and also showed that the pharaoh was only 19 when he passed away. The scientists also discovered in the CT images of the mummy that King Tut’s left foot was clubbed, one of his toes was missing a bone, and the bones in the part of the foot were destroyed by necrosis which is tissue death. The clubbed foot and necrosis would have disrupted his ability to walk. There were 130 walking sticks found in the tomb and some of them indicate that they have been used. However, people do argue that the damage to the foot could have been caused during the mummification process.
The CT scan also showed that there was extreme damage to the rib cage. One cause of death proposed during this analysis was a chariot accident. The young king might have been riding a chariot during a hunt or a battle and the damage to the chest by a kick from the horse. Others have suggested that a hippopotamus may have killed Tut even though those animals are extinct in Egypt today. Victims can suffer serious injuries which include massive tearing, deep puncture wounds, and crushed bones, and if combined, it could be fatal.
Genetic testing revealed that the young pharaoh was the grandson of the great pharaoh Amenhotep II, and almost certainly the son of Akhenaten, who was the most controversial figure in the history of Ancient Egypt. But it is also believed that Tutankhamun’s health has been weak since the day he was born. His mother and father were brother and sister. Ancient Egypt wasn’t the only country to establish royal incest as part of their culture as this can have political advantages as well harmful consequences. Married siblings are more likely to pass on damaging genes which can cause their children to be vulnerable to various genetic defects. In this case, Tutanakhamun’s deformed left foot could have been one of the genetic defects. His wife Ankhesenamun was also revealed to be his half-sister and the two mummified fetus were revealed as their two daughters who were stillborn. Though his tomb was historical and filled with splendid and lavish objects, archaeological evidence has suggested the young pharaoh was weak and sickly and spent most of his life trying to undo what his father had started.
Though his bone disease was severe, it would not have been fatal. Then the mummy was tested for genetic traces of different diseases and based on the presence of DNA, a parasite called Plasmodium falciparum was identified. This made it clear that the young pharaoh was infected with malaria and had contracted the most severe form of the disease a couple of times. Malaria could have killed Tutankhamun as the disease can generate a fatal immune response to the body, and circulatory shocks and this could lead to a coma or death. However, Malaria was a common disease in Egypt during that time and Tutanankhaum may have gained some immunity to the disease but on the other hand, this disease could have severely weakened his immune system. This could have also been the reason for the unhealed fracture of his left leg. All these factors could have contributed to his early death.
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