Wednesday Science:
CAIRO, Egypt — The first CT-scan facial reconstructions of King Tutankhamun's mummy have produced images strikingly similar to the boy pharaoh's ancient portraits, with one model showing a baby-faced young man with chubby cheeks and a round chin.
That model, one of three released yesterday, bears a strong resemblance to the gold mask of King Tut found in his tomb in 1922 by the British excavation led by Howard Carter. The beardless man depicted in the mask has soft features and a weak chin, and his eyes are highlighted by thick eyeliner.
The beardless youth depicted in the model, created by a French team, has soft features, a sloping nose and a weak chin — and the overbite, which archaeologists long have believed was a trait shared by other kings in Tut's 18th dynasty. His eyes are highlighted by thick eyeliner...
The three teams created their reconstructions separately — the Americans and French working from a plastic skull, the Egyptians working directly from the CT scans, which could distinguish different densities of soft tissue and bone...
The French and Egyptians knew they were re-creating King Tut, but the Americans were not even told where the skull was from and correctly identified it as a Caucasoid North African, the council said in a statement.
"The results of the three teams were identical or very similar in the basic shape of the face, the size, shape and setting of the eyes, and the proportion of the skull," Hawass said.
The French and American models are similar — with the Americans' plaster model sharing the more realistic, French silicone version's receding chin and prominent upper lip. The Egyptian reconstruction has a more prominent nose and a stronger jaw and chin.
I'll let you decide for yourself which one looks closest to the "real" Tutankhamun...
Egyptian
French
USA
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