CAIRO: Doubts about the ethnic origins of the Pharaohs are surfacing with the unearthing of mummies with red and blond hair. But an Egyptology scholar stresses that such doubts are unfounded.
According to Bassam El Shammaa, a senior tourist guide and an Egyptology researcher, the physical differences in these mummies, which date back to early dynasties and the pre-dynastic era, are a result of marriages between Egyptians and foreigners at the time.
There are basic traits that distinguish the ancient Egyptian race, he added, and any physical variations are results of contact with other races.
The issue, according to El Shammaa, has started a debate on the genes of the ancient Egyptians. The issue kicked off when “Ginger,” a mummy with red hair dating to the pre-dynastic times, started the controversy of whether the builders of the ancient Egyptian civilization were Egyptians.
“This would call again the question of exceptions and variations, for there were also individual differences marking the Nubian race [believed to be the ethnic origin of the pharaohs]. Excavations revealed that some of these Nubians were red-haired.”
El Shammaa explained that “those who examine the facial features of the many ancient Egyptian royals like Tutankhamun, Ahmos Nefertari, mother of queen Hatshepsut, kings Amenemhat 1, 2 and 3 of the Middle Kingdom and Amenohotep IV of the 18th dynasty [will see that they] were of Nubian descent. The general features of many other royals and common people certainly reflect the Nubian blood and suggest Nubia is the home of the original Egyptian race.”
This, however, doesn’t mean that ancient Egyptians came from Central or Southern Africa. “The Nubian territories only border the Black Continent,” he added. Thus in spite of the similarities between the people of Africa and Ancient Egypt El Shammaa says these are two different races.
Further research revealed that Ginger, who is currently on display at the British Museum, is in fact Egyptian, said El Shammaa.
“Ginger, who was recovered at Bein El Gabalein, Edfu, in Upper Egypt, was 163 cm tall, the typical height of an ancient Egyptian. He was buried in hot sands in the fetal position, an indication that he was transferred to the pre-birth condition. In the fashion of ancient Egyptian royal mummies he was equipped with a dagger and some pottery, evidence that inspires the ancient Egyptian religion and belief in life after death.”
For El Shammaa any study of ancient Egyptian genes should start with the several cultures discovered in Maadi, Helwan, Mirendat Bani Salama in Fayoum, and Nakada 1, 2 and 3, all of which predate the dynasties.
“The cultures located to the north like Maadi and Helwan reflect a certain affinity with Asian races from Palestine and Syria, going by the kind of pottery and tools discovered,” he said.
This cultural exchange and trade, and the resulting mixed marriages had their effect on the physical traits of following generations.
“Another genetic surprise in the north was a painting found in a tomb in Giza close to the Pyramids Plateau, which shows a female dignitary with typical Egyptian features and blond hair.”
At the time henna was the common dye.
The explanation is simple. “The beginnings of the dynastic era have witnessed an interaction between the ancient Egyptians and the Libyans, a race with blond hair and green eyes, features that were handed down to the oases dwellers in Egypt, who still have a lot in common with the Libyans.”
However, less interaction with other races could be traced in the cultures of the south like the Nakadas and the Sibilian culture, believed to have flourished 10,000 years ago in Komobo, 45 km north of Aswan.
“The ancient Egyptians have always referred to the original dwellers of the Nile Valley in Egypt as ‘remeth,’ a hieroglyphic word meaning ‘the true people’,” said El Shammaa.
“The ancient people distinguished between two types of foreigners. The first came from foreign land or mountainous areas which they always referred to as highlands. Those basically constituted the ‘heka-khasout,’ a word which was later shortened into ‘heksous,’ the well-known invaders of Egypt, who were believed to have originated from the Arabian Peninsula.
“The second are the ‘khefto’ and those were the dwellers of the Mediterranean islands like Cyprus and Crete. The presence of Egyptian deities in their lands is an indication they have expressed some kind of allegiance to the Egyptian people and culture.”
El Shammaa also points to another type: “Egyptianized foreigners.”
“Their existence in history shows that the ancient Egyptians have adopted a successful policy with regard to outsiders. The Egyptians royals were always adamant in inviting foreign dignitaries to come and not only visit Egypt, but to also stay for a lifetime,” he added.
The offspring of the marriages of these dignitaries to the Egyptian royals would generally carry 50 percent of the original Egyptian genes. Yet, these numbers were insignificant because Egypt has always been referred to in historical chronicles as Kemet (the black land) in line with the dark skin of its people.
