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Tag: pharaoh

  • What treasures were found in Tutankhamun’s tomb?

    What treasures were found in Tutankhamun’s tomb?

    Without a doubt, Tutankhamun is one of the most well-known pharaohs in history. The king, who was likely born about 1340 B.C., only ruled for a decade at most. The British archaeologist Howard Carter and his colleagues discovered the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings on November 4, 1922. With its four separate rooms along with an entry hall and stairs, the tomb is still regarded as one of the greatest archaeological finds ever discovered. The reason for this is the astonishing vast array of artifacts that the British explorer Howard Carter and his team discovered in the tomb. Over the course of three millennia, over 5,000 objects were preserved, providing a priceless look into the arts and culture of the pharaohs. As we celebrate 200 years since the discovery, here is a look at six artifacts unearthed from Tutankhamun’s tomb.

    The mask of Tutankhamun

    treasures found in Tutankhamuns tomb 7

    The burial mask of Tutankhamun is, without a doubt, the most well-known artifact in the world. Even though the tomb was initially discovered in November 1922, this artifact wasn’t discovered until October 1925, when investigators unsealed the last sarcophagus guarding the mummy of the king. The mask stands around 20 inches (50 cm) tall, 16 inches (40 cm) broad, and 20 inches (50 cm) deep, and it weighs just over 22 pounds (10 kg), making it a magnificent masterpiece of Egyptian goldsmithing.

    It is composed of two gold plates that have been combined and adorned with several semiprecious stones, including lapis lazuli, quartz (for the eyes), and obsidian. Despite a reconstruction suggesting that Tutankhamun was not as handsome as this masterpiece claims, his face is shown on a headpiece that is topped by two significant animals: the vulture and the cobra.


    More than that, there is a theory that the mask was not intended for the emperor who died so suddenly and abruptly, much like his grave.

    The meteorite iron dagger

    treasures found in Tutankhamuns tomb 1
    Tutankhamun’s meteorite-iron dagger.

    A wide variety of weapons, such as arrows, shields, and swords are among the more than 5,000 items found in Tutankhamun’s tomb. A dagger with an iron blade and a gold sheath set with beautiful stones stood out among the weapons available. Experts paid attention to it since ironwork in Egypt was still in its infancy during the reign of Tutankhamun (during the 18th dynasty, between 1332 and 1323 BC), when the art was only being developed.

    The unique history of the item, which would have begun outside the kingdom of the pharaohs, has been uncovered via studies, the most recent of which was published in February 2022.


    It has been suggested that King Tushratta of Mitani (whose capital was located in modern-day Syria) presented the weapon to Amenhotep III (the father of Akhenaten and the grandfather of Tutankhamun) as a gift between 1380 and 1350 BC. The item is even more valuable since the investigation of its composition revealed that its metal was not of earthly origin; rather, it would have originated from an iron meteorite.

    Tutankhamun’s mannequin

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    An Egyptian carrying the “mannequin” bust of Tutankhamun found in the tomb unearthed in 1922.

    Among the many statues and paintings depicting the pharaoh found in his tomb, the one that was found half-hidden in the pre-chamber stood out. An unfinished wooden bust with a snake on its head. The face is identical to those seen in previous three-dimensional depictions of Tutankhamun, and the skin is painted dark red, the hue commonly employed by ancient Egyptian artists to portray males. The sculpture’s usefulness is its defining characteristic.

    Howard Carter believes the statue to be a mannequin used to try on Tutankhamun’s attire and jewels. For instance, the bust has markings that are consistent with a corselet having been worn, much like the one discovered in the tomb. Gold sandals are only one example of the many articles of clothing and accessories that have been discovered in the different rooms, all of which point to the pharaoh having a sizable wardrobe to the end of time and beyond

    A pair of trumpets

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    Put on display the silver trumpet and its wooden mute.

    Musical instruments were among the hundreds of artifacts discovered in King Tut’s tomb, with a particularly impressive pair of trumpets being located in two separate chambers. The length of one silver one is around 20 inches or 50 cm. The second one is made of bronze and is a touch smaller. However, both have engravings of several deities, including Amun and Ra. These are the earliest known working trumpets and the only ones known from ancient Egypt.

    A musician named James Tappern performed with one of them on a BBC broadcast in 1939, bringing their music back into the world after more than 3,000 years of obscurity. These days, it’s not acceptable to handle relics because of how delicate they are. While the bronze trumpet was taken from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo in 2011, it turned up missing just weeks later.

    The sanctuary of Anubis

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    The Anubis figure on the shrine at Tutankhamun’s tomb.

    The ancient Egyptian tombs often include depictions of the deity Anubis. Tutankhamun’s tomb was no different. Howard Carter and his crew, when investigating the tomb, came upon a statue of the god with a jackal’s body. The animal is lying down on a bed of black painted wood, and it has silver claws and gold ears.

    It was located on top of a shrine that had suddenly materialized next to Tutankhamun’s tomb, just over a chest that held the King Tut’s canopic vases. Jewelry, amulets, and other trinkets were stored in the trapezoidal compartment. It has been acquired by the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and is on permanent exhibit.

    The throne of Tutankhamun

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    Tutankhamun’s golden throne, included statues of both him and his queen.

    Several artifacts unearthed inside the pharaoh’s tomb demonstrate the ancient Egyptians’ level of sophistication.


    This is the situation with Tutankhamun’s golden throne. The royal chair is a work of art, crafted from wood and gilded with precious metals. Colored glass and semiprecious stones are used for ornamentation. In the shape of winged snakes adorned with the double crown of the pharaohs, two lion heads guard the ends of the armrests.

    Tutankhamun and his wife, Ankhesenamun, are shown on the backrest. However, the throne’s inscriptions suggest it was created while the pair was still known as Tutankhaton and Ankhesenaton, after the deity Aten. In addition to its display in the Louvre, this object is also housed in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

    The hundreds of artifacts that were discovered in Tutankhamun’s tomb include a number of extraordinary items. Another is the king’s coffin and mummy, both of which have provided significant insight into the life and times of the young man who reigned from the ages of 9 to 19.

    Tutankhamun’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings had the bulk of its contents initially removed, but the remaining items were later brought back and are currently kept within. Even yet, the pharaoh’s tomb still holds some mysteries despite the amazing burial collection. It keeps prompting more and more curiosity. A considerable portion of Tutankhamun’s wealth may not be his, as shown by objects that have displayed traces of re-engraving. After his tragic death, it was probably meant for someone else and credited to him.

  • Birth of Agriculture (11,000 BC): A Leap in the Development of Human Life

    Birth of Agriculture (11,000 BC): A Leap in the Development of Human Life

    The most pivotal moment in human history occurred around 11,000 years ago, when agriculture was first developed. It made space for novel ways of thinking and doing things, as well as for a reorganization of society. For what reasons did modern Homo sapiens first begin farming? Actually, nobody can say for sure. The emergence of agriculture, however, was crucial to the subsequent growth of urban centers, literacy, and ultimately, civilization.

    Since the Neolithic Era forward, human sustenance has shifted away from hunting and gathering to agriculture and livestock raising. In the 10th millennium BC, this shift began in the Near East and spread to other population hubs throughout the globe. Population expansion, attesting to a change in lifestyle that resulted in higher food demands, explains this phenomenon.

    Several key innovations have shaped the history of agriculture, including the plow, crop rotation, irrigation systems, and the use of fertilizers. These innovations improved crop yields and made agriculture more efficient.

    Improvements in Farming

    Several times during the 10th and 8th millennia B.C., people on all four continents “developed” agriculture on their own. The archaeological remnants of plants and animals are our only source of information, although their numbers were likely far larger in reality. Even before the first traces of agriculture, it’s likely that ancient hunter-gatherers had established a kind of proto-agricultural by dispersing seeds or tubers from the plants they had gathered from the wild to ensure that the plants would not be depleted.

    Neolithic agricultural equipment.
    Neolithic agricultural equipment.

    Recent hunter-gatherer cultures apparently still engaged in this method, as shown by anthropological research. Under the right circumstances, it has even developed into a full-fledged manufacturing sector. Tools like the millstone for grinding, the knife for harvesting, and the digging stick were all creations of the hunter-gatherers. There was no need to develop brand-new technologies to facilitate the emergence of agriculture.

    While humans have been around for at least 300,000 years, agriculture as a subsistence economy didn’t emerge until around 11,000 years ago and it took centuries to become widespread. This means that fewer than 5% of human history, or around 500 generations, has been spent as “farmers.” Accordingly, natural selection has led to our species’ development, notably in our forager ancestry. Natural selection, however, benefited those who engaged in agriculture. The evidence may be found in the decipherment of the human genome.

    For instance, lactase, an enzyme that allows newborns to digest lactose, a milk protein, has persisted in adults thanks to a genetic mutation in the DNA of Central European herders 6,000 years ago. After the age of four, most people lose the ability to digest lactose because this enzyme stops being produced. This mutation is now widespread throughout Europe but is rare or nonexistent in regions such as the Far East and South America, where milk production from domesticated animals is not commercially exploited.

    Early agricultural societies used various techniques, such as slash-and-burn agriculture, terracing, and the cultivation of staple crops like wheat, barley, and rice. These techniques varied depending on the region and available resources.

    Agriculture Helps Increase the Population

    Paleolithic village.
    Paleolithic village.

    Thus, the descendants of settled farmers rose to prominence at the expense of their nomadic ancestors. Because of their low reproductive success, the latter were driven to the margins of the earth, if not eradicated altogether, while farmers came to rule the world. The number of Homo sapiens has increased from 2–5 million to 8 billion since the advent of agriculture. This agricultural production system has never ceased changing natural vegetation, with more alarming environmental repercussions, and this is directly responsible for the dramatic increase in the world’s population.

    Despite the wide spread of agriculture, only a select few societies were able to develop under the influence of this economic model. To begin, have a look at South-West Asia. Due to the semi-arid environment, the ruins in this area are in remarkably good condition, making it one of the finest documented regions in the world by archaeologists. Cereals like wheat, barley, and rye, as well as legumes like peas, chickpeas, and lentils, grow wild in their native environment in the Fertile Crescent (seen on the map). The previous ice age occurred 23,000 years ago, and at that time, wheat and barley were already being cultivated.

    About 14,000 years ago, in the southern Levant, people settled down thanks to the great yields and easy storage of these plants (Israel, Palestine, Jordan). Then, starting about 11,000 years ago, locals started growing and using grains commercially on a huge scale. Through Darwinian selection, the plants that were most suited to cultivation eventually became the dominant species, while their wild relatives were extinct over the course of the next millennium. Domestication (or cultivar improvement) began with natural selection and evolved into the intentional breeding used today.

    Early Stages of Livestock Breeding

    Agriculture of Ancient Egypt.
    Agriculture of Ancient Egypt.

    Animal husbandry, including the domestication of the cow, goat, sheep, and pig, also began in this period, around 10,500 years ago. Plants and animals provided the starch (a vast energy store!) that powered the subsequent flourishing of civilizations in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Europe beginning in the 4th millennium BC. This agricultural assemblage could adjust to many climates, allowing it to expand from northern Europe to the Americas, Africa, and even Australia. The urbanization, irrigation, animal traction, and literacy that followed the development of agriculture.

    Further annual grain plants were domesticated elsewhere, giving birth to additional civilizations as well. These included rice and millet in China, maize in Central America, quinoa in South America, and millet and sorghum in Africa. In tropical regions like the Amazon and New Guinea, horticultural systems based on tubers have become the backbone of subsistence agriculture.

    That begs the question: why did we develop agriculture? Scientists have long been intrigued by this subject, and they often discuss it by bringing up topics like population expansion, climate change, technical, mental, and social advancements, or the overexploitation of resources. However, it is common for us to mix the causes with the results. The habitat, climate, and civilization of each agricultural domestication site are distinct from one another. The “why” question has been replaced by a focus on the “how” and “by what procedures” of agriculture’s spread to new areas of the globe.

    Bibliography

    1. Melinda Zeder (2011). “The Origins of Agriculture in the Near East”. Current Anthropology.
    2. Mercader, J. (2009). Mozambican Grass Seed Consumption During the Middle Stone Age – NASA/ADS.
    3. Molina, J.; Sikora, M.; and others. (2011). Molecular evidence for a single evolutionary origin of domesticated rice Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
    4. Ainit Snir (2015). The Origin of Cultivation and Proto-Weeds, Long Before Neolithic Farming – PMC“.