King Tut & the Wrong Turn

By: Russell Derrickson

Updated July 31, 2017

It started out as a rumor. A rumor of a story, that was just to amazing not to be true. The story sounded credible, it had the backing of the Discovery Channel and National Geographic (before it was bought by Robert Murdoch and was still somewhat credible). It was a story that claimed King Tut's DNA was Caucasian-European. It basically stated that King Tutankhamen was white and more closely related to Princess Diana then President Mubarak.

This was a story I wanted to believe as well. I spend a large amount of time researching the history of power and the effects on both individuals and societies as a whole, and I have always had a sneaking suspicion there was something there. I am not a fan of the connection. I feel like the continuous repeat of the same scenarios is by definition insanity and the only way to make a change is to admit there is a problem, determine that problem, and apply a solution accordingly.

To find evidence of an actual genetic connection between the rulers of Europe today and the rulers of the prevailing society in “Western Civilization” at the time would be an amazing piece of evidence. It would show not an inevitable evolution of a certain megalomania that can be found in those rulers today, but a continuous migration of the same group from location to location. This then could imply that the same hereditary group continued to migrate, conquering and ruling over the indigenous populations. An argument could be made that if we have had the same management for so long and no better results, that this could be a good reason to change management.

In an interview with the National Library of Medicine, Dr. Stephen Sherry from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) and creator of the Osiris DNA sampling software stated "Except for slight variations in patterns between ethnic groups, races and genders, DNA is the same in most people." (Folkenberg). To find a hereditary link, or even a genetic connection would be a profound revelation. As Dr. Sherry declared "The greatest similarities are to be found among family members." (Folkenberg).

Different groups have jumped onto the information. White supremacist groups have used this as new propaganda, various other groups have claimed racism, and questioned the integrity of those preforming the tests. Full scale internet race wars flooded the internet, fueling fire to the “discussion”. It became an easy way to examine the worst in humanity in a way that only happens in the “Digital Age”.

Unfortunately, there is little, if any, truth to the tale. Anatole Klyosov of The Academy of DNA Genealogy wrote “The main point here is that the Pharaoh haplotype is not some erroneously (or intentionally) picked European R1b1a2 haplotype; it is an archaic haplotype of R1b haplogroup, likely of the R-M269 ancient subclade.” (Klyosov). That is the closest to the truth to this story. It should be pointed out that the reference falls under the heading “Alleged Pharaoh Tutankhamun R1b1a1-M269* Haplotype and Its Possible History” (Klyosov).

The story originates in an article written by Zahi Hawass for National Geographic entitled King Tut's Family Secrets: DNA Evidence reveals truth about the boy king's parents and new clues to his untimely death. A former Minister of State for Antiquities Affairs, Hawass was not in any way attempting to determine a connection between racial lineages at all either. His article was about King Tutankhamen's relation to his wife, eventually determining her to be his sister. In this article there is not a single usage of the words European, Europe, Caucasian, R1B1, or even the word white (Hawass, Tut).

The next step in the convolution came from the TV, which we all know never lies. The Discovery Channel produced a documentary named King Tut's Mystery Tomb Opened in which Zahi Hawass' article was featured. An innocent enough basic over look at Egyptology, this again did not mention anything in relation to race or heredity at all.

What happened next is what created all the confusion. A company called iGENA, based out of Switzerland, saw the documentary and paused at a certain frame. In this frame Hwass is being interviewed, but that was not the important part of the image. Behind him, on a computer screen, was a chart with King Tutankhamen's DNA profile. From this prolific profile paused on a TV screen it was determined that King Tutankhamen was Caucasian. As the website itself states “iGENEA was able to reconstruct the Y-DNA profile of Tutankhamun, his father Akhenaten and his grandfather Amenhotep III with the help of a recording of the Discovery Channel” (Scholz). They claim “Tutankhamun belongs to the haplogroup R1b1a2, which more than 50% of all men in Western Europe belong to.” (Scholz).

…. This is the point where they ask you to pay...

The company is now selling members a chance to purchase a certificate proving exactly how close a relation they are to King Tut. Disingenuous as it may be; this type of scam can be found anywhere at anytime in human history, the Catholic Church would not exist without it. Things got worse when Roman Scholz, director of the iGENEA Center, was interviewed by Reuters and it was published as fact, not the pseudo-science it was.

During his interview, Scholz asserted "It was very interesting to discover that he (King Tutankhamen) belonged to a genetic group in Europe -- there were many possible groups in Egypt that the DNA could have belonged to.” (Baghdjian). The article claimed that 70% of British and Spanish men, as well as 60 % of French men were related to Tutankhamen according to Swiss geneticists (Baghdjian). In the same article they claimed that the same genetic tracers were only found in less than 1% of modern-day Egyptians (Baghdjian).

This story is the wind that took an ember and made it a wildfire. Reuters published this article and it was available worldwide, for all to see and base rash determinations on. It reverberated it's way back into other features, and became a thing of discussion and, in some cases such as this, potential future research as it made it's way back into the scientific community.

A main issue was a lack of homework on the subject. There was no independent verification of the Swiss report, merely their word alone taken as fact. Zahi Hawass' article Ancestry and Pathology in King Tutankhamun's Family is purely regarding the potential hereditary relationship between Tutankhamen and his wife.

Zahi Hawass did not work alone, amongst the many contributors to the DNA testing of King Tutankhamen and his family was Carsten Pusch, a geneticist at Germany's University of Tubingen. He states that Scholz's claims are “simply impossible” (Pappas). He says that his team, along with Hawass did not publish any data that would allow for iGENA to make such claims, nor did they attempt to contact any members of the team (Pappas).

The Y-Chromosome iGENA refers to is only found in males, and in this test was only used to determine paternity through the somewhat convoluted and inbred dynastic line King Tutankhamen came from (Hawass, Ancestry). As Anatole A. Klyosov observed “ Recently the Swiss company iGENEA has published the alleged 16 marker haplotype of the Pharaoh”(Klyosov). Under inspection he noted that “ It is obviously not a DYS439 = 10, and not a common European 12.” (Klyosov). This would mean that the information should be clearly readable by another geneticist.

In fact, the original article claims their objectives were only to determine the connection between 11 mummies found buried at or related to Tutankhamen. Using genetic fingerprinting, they were able to establish a pedigree of five generations directly related to Tutankhamen (Hawass, Ancestry). They were able to discover malaria in four mummies including Tutankhamen's, as well as evidence of inbreeding (Hawass, Ancestry). There was no evidence, nor any research into racial lineage, nor skin tone available.

The team used multiple methods to protect against contamination. Hawass reported “to obtain workable samples, the geneticists extracted tissue from several different locations in each mummy, always deep within the bone, where there was no chance the specimen would be contaminated by the DNA of previous archaeologists” (Hawass, Ancestry). Florencio Zemel reported in his book the Esoteric Codex that DNA Analysis conducted in 2008 showed the presence of malaria, and also confirmed that “Tutankhamen was the son of Akhenaten and Akhenaten's sister-wife.” (Zemel).

A member of Carsten Pusch's team reviewed the footage and declared that the company acts very unscientific” (Pappas). The website for iGENA itself does state that the nearest relative is nearly 9,500 years old and they themselves claim that Europeans had not begun domestication until 7,000; but this is well hidden beneath the claims that they can trace how close of an ancestor King Tutankhamen is to you personally.

The problem comes when shady science is reported as fact by those who don't know enough about the subject they are reporting on. This starts to spread a word and a word becomes a story, that starts a rumor. The rumor is then presented as fact and has some credible sources, enough that informed people would make decisions based on the information as it was reliably reported to them as fact.

In many cases it has led to aggressions and conflict, as well as the support of some people that I am sure were not the original intended audience of the actual research. Hate groups have leashed onto this idea, making claims that go as far as to declare Hitler right. Others take massive offense at the very idea. In the middle are the Egyptian people, left confused and unsure of their own heritage. Were the Pyramids a testament to their heritage, or a monument of their oppression from outside influences?

Just as in other scientific cases around the world, there in a certain ethnocentrism involved as well. There is a rush to connect with a heritage for it's splendor, or disconnect from a horror of a tradition in equal value. The response to iGENA's website is overwhelming. As Roman Scholz told Reuters when they reported the story” The offer has only been publicized for three days but we have already seen a lot of interest” (Baghdjian).

While de-bunkers and scientists scramble to keep up with all of the preposterous theories and claims mass media outlets can throw at them, one group can make one false statement and cash in bigger and faster than any archaeological looting ever could. The entire story can be de-bunked and still there will be a profit to be made on it.

Students and independent researchers will still have to waist time on a project that looks good at first glance. It has all the right elements, ancient royalty, intrigue, sex, and murder. It is a mystery that manages to connect itself personally to those who hear it. To imagine that you might be a relative of the ancient pharaohs, not just a common individual living a common life, is enough to tempt anyone; if only for a moment. When that moment passes, another person will have profited from ignorance while science loses another step in it's search for the truth. Instead of devoting time and energy into truly determining what happened and how, they are forced to explain why something is not the case.

To profit off of the gullibility and ignorance of others is simply a part of human nature. To intentionally seek to subvert knowledge and to claim falsehoods as fact as a means of profit is just plain wrong. It is thought to be by most nations and societies and does the human race as a whole a great injustice. We only have so much collective energy to apply to the issues around us and there are enough dead ends without someone intentionally making more.

Works Cited

Baghdjian, Alice. "Half of European Men Share King Tut's DNA." Reuters. Reuters, 3 Aug. 2011. Web. 8 Dec. 2015.

Folkenberg, Judith. "Disaster Doctor From 9/11 to Katrina." U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, Winter 2007. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.

Hawass, Zahi. "Ancestry and Pathology in King Tutankhamun's Family."Jama 303.7 (2010): 638. JSTOR [JSTOR]. Web. 08 Dec. 2015.

Hawass, Zahi. "Tut DNA." King Tut's Family Secrets. National Geographic, Sept. 2010. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.

Klyosov, Anatole A. "Ancient History of the Arbins, Bearers of Haplogroup R1b, from Central Asia to Europe, 16,000 to 1500 Years before Present." AA Advances in Anthropology 02.02 (2012): 87-105. JSTOR [JSTOR]. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.

Pappas, By Stephanie. "King Tut Related to Half of European Men? Maybe Not." LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 03 Aug. 2011. Web. 10 Dec. 2015

Scholz, Roman. "The Tutankhamun DNA Project." The Tutankhamun DNA Project. IGENA, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.

Zemel, Florecio. "The Esoteric Codex: Curses." Google Books. Lulu, 9 Apr. 2015. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.