Frail boy-king Tut died from malaria, broken leg

CAIRO – Egypt's famed King Tutankhamun suffered from a cleft palate and club foot, likely forcing him to walk with a cane, and died from complications from a broken leg exacerbated by malaria, according to the most extensive study ever of his more than 3,300-year-old mummy.


The findings were from two years of DNA testing and CT scans on 16 mummies, including those of Tutankhamun and his family, the team that carried out the study said in an article to be published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.


It also established the clearest yet family tree for Tut, indicating for the first time that he was the child of a brother-sister union.


The study said his father was most likely Akhenaten, the pharaoh who tried to revolutionize ancient Egyptian religion and force his people to worship one god. The mummy shown by DNA to be that of Tut's mother also turned out to be a sister of Akhenaten, though she has not yet been identified.


MUCH more info at the link:


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100216/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_egypt_king_tut

Oh goody! I smell another History Channel special - Yay!:bananapowerslide:
I had already heard about the broken leg theory, but not malaria.

About a year ago, an inscription was discovered that provided the geneaology of Tutankhamen, telling us that Akhenaton was his father. Now we have the DNA analysis to support the historical documents. Cool!

That's interesting. I'm not sure I agree with all the mummies' graves being disturbed, but do always enjoy watching the documentaries about ancient Egypt.