Today, tomorrow, learn English
naturally. 天天自然学英语
Tutankhamun may have died in drink-driving crash, bold new theory claims
Key clues
to the cause of Tutankhamun’s death may have been overlooked, an Egyptologist
has controversially claimed.
While
research over the last two decades found that the Egyptian King loved wine and
potentially died following a chariot crash, a contentious new
theory suggests that joining these pieces of evidence brings us closer to the truth.
Biomedical
Egyptologist Sofia Aziz proposes that it was a wine-induced high-speed chariot
crash that led to Tutankhamun’s infected open wound. That's right, a
drink-driving accident.
How
sceptical should you be? Well, it is true that a major 2010 study concluded the
pharaoh likely died from an open wound (combined with a weakened immune
response due to malaria). However, the same research also suggested Tutankhamun
had a clubbed foot that left him struggling to walk, let alone ride a
chariot.
However, Aziz suggests that scientists have
been wrong to profile the king as an invalid.
“He
was like a typical teenager, drinking and probably driving the chariot too
fast,” Aziz told BBC Science Focus during the Cheltenham Science Festival.
Much attention has been given to the variety
of foods interred with King Tut, which were embalmed with resin to
preserve them. “But people don't think about the wine,” said Aziz. “In their
tombs, the Ancient Egyptians would take the things that they wanted in the afterlife.”
According to Aziz, the majority of the king’sstash was dry white wine, suggesting that he showed a strong preference. He
also had six chariots interred with him in his tomb.
“This
new theory says that he's more of a warrior king – that he did ride chariots,”
added Aziz, pointing to how Tutankhamun’s tomb contained a breastplate and
other armour.
Aziz argues that the fact most present-day
road accidents involve teenagers is likely to have been the case back when
humans were driving chariots, too. The 19-year-old’s leg would have hit the
‘dashboard’ of the chariot during the crash, causing the fracture described in autopsy reports and an open wound.
But what
about that clubbed foot? Well, Aziz disagrees with that previous finding.
“I think
that we can rule out those disabilities,” she said, claiming that the
mummification process may naturally distort a body to make it falsely appear
like an individual has a clubbed foot.
This was
not a view wholly shared by other experts contacted by BBC Science Focus.
However, there are suggestions that Tutankhamun may have been more mobile than
previously thought – even if he did have a clubbed foot.
As Prof
Sahar Saleem, a professor of radiology and mummy specialist from Cairo
University, said: "By examining the CT scans [of Tutankhamun], I do not
find any evidence of ankle arthritis, which is a long-term effect of
walking on the side of the foot. So my opinion is that the presence of this
mild deformity [club foot] did not cause significant gait disturbance for the
king."
She added:
"Tut's foot condition did not prevent him from participating in
activities. He was an active teenager."
However,
others disagree. These include Dr Zink Albert – head of the Institute for Mummy
Studies at the Eurac Research Centre, and co-author of the previously mentioned
2010 study.
“I think the findings of our study
are still valid, including the foot pathologies,” he told BBC Science
Focus.
Referring
to the CT scans taken at the time, Albert said there is “no doubt” Tutankhamun
had a walking impairment, making it “difficult to imagine that he was able to
ride a chariot in standing position”.
He added:
“It is true that he suffered from a leg fracture. Although it is impossible to
prove the exact cause.”
So, how did Tutankhamun die?
Ultimately,
the idea that Tutankhamun died in a drink-driving accident is far from the
consensus and ultimately remains a matter of speculation.
Will we
ever know the answer for sure? Well, DNA sequencing could be the next step in learning
more about his death. Previous studies on ancient DNA – which is heavily
degraded – have been limited by available technology.
Last year
(2022) marked 100 years since the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb, and another
centenary approaches in 2025 when it will be 100 years since his autopsy.
Tutankhamun’s internal organs have also never been examined.
“Because of
the way that the autopsy was conducted in 1925, sadly, a lot of vital
information has been lost," Aziz said. "So even though we have conducted
CT and we know some new things, there's a lot of things that we can't
answer.”
注释：
chariot:
n
表示"二轮战车"，means
"a two-wheeled horse-drawn battle vehicle; used in war and races in
ancient Egypt and Greece and Rome"，如：The General
was standing on the chariot. 将军站在双轮战车上。The Romans liked
watching chariot racing. 罗马人喜欢观看战车赛。
contentious
表示"有争议的"，means
"involving or likely to cause controversy"，如：There
is a contentious clause in the treaty. 这条约中有一条有争议的条款。
club： v
1. 表示" 用棍棒打"，means "hit or beat sb/sth"，如：He was clubbed to death with a butt of a gun. 他是被人用枪托殴打致死的。
2. 表示"凑钱"，means "make contributions of
money, etc. so that the total can be used for a specific purpose"，如：We clubbed together to buy our teacher a present. 我们凑钱给老师买了件礼物。
embalm:
v
表示"防腐；使不朽"，means
"preserve a dead body"，如：We will embalm him
forever. 我们永远怀念他。We must embalm the master's wise
opinions.这位大师的崇论闳议，我们一定要铭记于心。
resin:
n
表示" 树脂；松香"，means
"any of a class of solid or semisolid viscous substances obtained either
as exudations from certain plants or prepared by polymerization of simple
molecules"，如：Amber is the resin of pine trees that
grew very very long ago. 琥珀是古老的松脂。
stash:
v
表示" 隐藏；储藏"，means
"save up as for future use"，如：Select the
option to stash the password to a file. 选择将密码隐藏在文件中的选项。
autopsy:
n
表示" 验尸；解剖"，means
"an examination and dissection of a dead body to determine cause of death
or the changes produced by disease"，如：They're
carrying out an autopsy on the victim. 他们正在给受害者验尸。
Arthritis:
n
表示"arthritis"，means
"inflammation of a joint or joints"，如：Gout is
a form of arthritis. 痛风是关节炎的一种。
pathology:
n
表示" 病理学"，means
"the branch of medical science that studies the causes and nature and
effects of diseases"，如：Pathology is the study of
disease. 病理学是研究疾病的科学。
中文简要说明：
古埃及最出名的法老王图坦卡门（Tutankhamun）是考古学界的热门研究对象之一，此前有学者认为他生前体弱多病且足部畸形。最近有专家提出不同看法，图坦卡门王生前并非弱不禁风而且很可能身经百战，外观畸形的内翻足可能是遗体木乃伊制程所致。专家甚至依前人考古发现大胆推论图坦卡门王死因：这位法老王也许因「酒驾」车祸英年早逝。
图坦卡门王墓穴1922年出土，公元前1332年即位时只有9岁，在位10年。他的遗骨有一只脚掌内翻如杵状或马蹄，有学者认为这只脚天生畸形，加上陪葬品包含各式手杖多达130支左右，有人解读这些是他的行走辅具。
综合英国《每日邮报》、《BBC科学聚焦》杂志报导，本周在英国举行的切尔滕罕科学节（Cheltenham Science Festival），有几名专家对于考古界历来描绘的图坦卡门王形象提出不同见解，分析前人对于他身体孱弱且足部畸形的假设有误。
从医生角度钻研埃及古物的独立研究学者阿齐兹（Sofia Aziz）曾深入研究逾50具木乃伊。她说：「我认为没有任何证据支持图坦卡门王天生残疾，因为我以前也看过一些木乃伊也有内翻足（club foot）情形，我们称之为伪病理学变化（pseudo-pathological
change）。至于手杖只是王室成员的象征。」木乃伊制程会用到树脂与紧密的绷带，图坦卡门王左脚也许因此形成内翻。
阿齐兹说，图坦卡门王左脚缺了第二趾趾骨，可能是遗体置入沙坑时遗失或当时某人取走留念。她指出，图坦卡门王双腿笔直对称，「倘若他真的天生畸形、足部内翻，走路会有困难，然而他的长骨（long bone）没有任何相关证据」。不良于行多年的人，腿骨会有承受压力的迹象。
开罗大学放射医学教授沙林姆（Sahar Saleem）说，就算图坦卡门王真有畸形足，也不影响活动力，断层扫描显示他并无长年跛行者惯有的足踝关节发炎迹象。
此前有少数专家认为这位法老王并不孱弱，陵墓有许多皮革护甲与各式武器让图坦卡门王的战士形象相对鲜明。英国曼彻斯特博物馆埃及馆馆长普莱斯（Campbell Price）认为，图坦卡门王是病恹恹少年的看法很可能只是神话，他也认为手杖是地位象征。普莱斯说，陵墓出土时一次世界大战刚结束，战争让大量年轻人丧命导致世人产生集体悲痛，这可能影响当时考古界对于图坦卡门王英年早逝的想象。
最近20年考古研究发现，图坦卡门王喜好饮酒，可能死于战车车祸。2010年研究除了指他足部畸形，也推论他可能死于开放性伤口感染。阿齐兹由此提出大胆理论，图坦卡门王生前可能遇上一场因饮酒导致的高速行驶战车车祸，换成现代说法就是「酒驾事故」。图坦卡门王若不是无法行动，自然也能驾驶战车。
阿齐兹说，图坦卡门王收藏大量白酒，陪葬品有6辆战车；此前遗骨检查发现骨折与开放性伤口，可能是驾驶战车车祸时腿部撞到「仪表板」所致。她认为，这位法老王可能与当今多数年轻人一样，会喝酒，驾车时车速可能太快。
不过，图坦卡门王死于酒驾车祸的推论并未形成共识，最终可能停留在推测性质。若要查明确切死因，DNA可能是下一个手段。考古学家从未检查过图坦卡门王的内脏，然而1925年解剖木乃伊时有许多关键信息遗失，阿齐兹说，即使透过断层扫描有了新发现，许多问题目前仍无法解答。
留言微信公众号《自然学英语LearnNaturally》，可咨询更多！