Editing Tutankhamun (section)

==Personal life==

===Family===
{{see also|Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt family tree}}
[[File:Anuk.PNG|thumb|upright|Tutankhamun and his queen, [[Ankhesenamun]]]]
Tutankhamun was born in the reign of [[Akhenaten]], during the [[Amarna Period]] of the late [[Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt]]. His original name was Tutankhaten or Tutankhuaten, meaning "living image of [[Aten]]",{{efn|''Tutankhaten'' was believed to mean ''"Living-image-of-Aten"'' as far back as 1877; however, not all Egyptologists agree with this interpretation. English Egyptologist [[Battiscombe Gunn]] believed that the older interpretation did not fit with [[Atenism|Akhenaten's theology]]. Gunn believed that such a name would have been [[blasphemous]]. He saw ''tut'' as a verb and not a noun and gave his translation in 1926 as ''The-life-of-Aten-is-pleasing''. Professor Gerhard Fecht also believed the word ''tut'' was a verb. He noted that Akhenaten used ''tit'' as a word for 'image', not ''tut''. Fecht translated the verb ''tut'' as ''"To be perfect/complete"''. Using Aten as the subject, Fecht's full translation was ''"One-perfect-of-life-is-Aten"''. The Hermopolis Block (two carved block fragments discovered in Ashmunein) has a unique spelling of the first nomen written as ''Tutankhuaten''; it uses ''ankh'' as a verb, which does support the older translation of ''Living-image-of-Aten''.{{sfn|Eaton-Krauss|2016|pages=28–29}}|group="Note"}} reflecting the shift in [[ancient Egyptian religion]] known as [[Atenism]] which characterized Akhenaten's reign.{{sfn|Reeves|1990|p=24}}{{sfn|Williamson|2015|p=1}}

====Parentage ====
His parentage is debated as they are not attested in surviving inscriptions. He was certainly a prince, as a fragmentary inscription from [[Hermopolis]] refers to "Tutankhuaten" as a "king's son".{{sfn|Dodson|Hilton|2004|p=149}} He is generally thought to have been the son of Akhenaten{{sfn|Dodson|Hilton|2004|p=149}} or his successor [[Smenkhkare]].{{sfn|Tawfik|Thomas|Hegenbarth-Reichardt|2018|p=180}} Inscriptions from Tutankhamun's reign treat him as a son of Akhenaten's father, [[Amenhotep III]], but that is only possible if Akhenaten's 17-year reign included a long co-regency with his father,{{sfn|Tyldesley|2012|p=167}} a possibility that many Egyptologists once supported but is now being abandoned.{{sfn|Ridley|2019|p=13}} His mother has been variously suggested to be Akhenaten's chief wife [[Nefertiti]],{{sfn|Dodson|2009|pages=15–17}} Amenhotep III's daughter [[Beketaten]],{{sfn|Bommas|2024|p=96}} or Akhenaten's daughters [[Meritaten]]{{sfn|Tawfik|Thomas|Hegenbarth-Reichardt|2018|pages=179–195}}{{efn|His parents are suggested to be Meritaten and her known husband Smenkhkare based on a re-examination of a box lid and coronation tunic found in his tomb.{{sfn|Tawfik|Thomas|Hegenbarth-Reichardt|2018|pages=179–195}}|group="Note"}} or [[Meketaten]].{{sfn|Arnold|Metropolitan Museum of Art Staff|Green|Allen|1996|page=115}}{{efn|Meketaten's candidacy is based on a relief from the [[Royal Tomb of Akhenaten|Royal Tomb]] at [[Amarna]] which depicts a child in the arms of a nurse outside a chamber in which Meketaten is being mourned by her parents and siblings, which has been interpreted to indicate she died in childbirth.{{sfn|Arnold|Metropolitan Museum of Art Staff|Green|Allen|1996|page=115}} This possibility has been deemed unlikely given that she was about 10 years old at the time of her death.{{sfn|Brand|Cooper|2009|page=88}}}} Tutankhamun was [[wet nurse]]d by a woman named [[Maia (nurse)|Maia]], known from her tomb at Saqqara.{{sfn|Zivie|1998|pages=33–54}}{{sfn|Gundlach|Taylor|2009|page=160}}

DNA testing identified his father as the mummy from tomb [[KV55]], thought to be [[Akhenaten]], and his mother as "[[The Younger Lady]]", an anonymous mummy cached in tomb [[KV35]]. His parents were full siblings, both being children of Amenhotep III and his chief wife [[Tiye]].{{sfn|Hawass et al.|2010|pages=642–645}}{{efn|The team reported it was over 99.99 percent certain that [[Amenhotep III]] was the father of the individual in KV55, who was in turn the father of Tutankhamun.{{sfn|Hawass|Saleem|2016|page=123}} More recent genetic analysis, published in 2020, revealed Tutankhamun shared his Y-haplogroup with his father, the KV55 mummy (Akhenaten), and grandfather, Amenhotep III, and his mtDNA haplogroup with his mother, The Younger Lady, his grandmother, Tiye, and his great-grandmother, [[Thuya]], upholding the results of the earlier genetic study.{{sfn|Gad|Ismail|Fathalla|Khairat|2020|page=11}}|group="Note"}} The identity of The Younger Lady is unknown but she cannot be Nefertiti, as she was not known to be a sister of Akhenaten.{{sfn|Dodson|Hilton|2004|page=146}} However, researchers such as [[Marc Gabolde]] and [[Aidan Dodson]] claim that Nefertiti was indeed Tutankhamun's mother. In this interpretation of the DNA results, the genetic closeness is not due to a brother-sister pairing but the result of three generations of [[first-cousin marriage]], making Nefertiti a first cousin of Akhenaten.{{sfn|Dodson|2009|pages=16–17}} The validity and reliability of the genetic data from mummified remains has been questioned due to possible degradation due to decay.{{sfn|Eaton-Krauss|2016|pages=6–10}}

====Children====

When Tutankhaten became king, he married [[Ankhesenamun|Ankhesenpaaten]], one of Akhenaten's daughters, who later changed her name to Ankhesenamun.{{sfn|Hawass|Saleem|2016|page=89}} He fathered [[317a and 317b mummies|two daughters]] who died at or soon after birth and were buried with him in his tomb.{{sfn|Hawass et al.|2010|pages=642–645}} [[X-ray computed tomography|Computed tomography]] studies published in 2011 revealed that one daughter was born prematurely at 5–6 months of pregnancy and the other at full-term, 9 months.{{sfn|Hawass|Saleem|2011|pages=W829–W831}} DNA testing has suggested the anonymous mummy [[KV21#KV21A|KV21A]] is their mother but the data is not statistically significant enough to allow her to be securely identified as his only known wife, Ankhesenamun.{{sfn|Hawass et al.|2010|pages=642–645}} Tutankhamun's death marked the end of the royal bloodline of the Eighteenth Dynasty.{{sfn|Morkot|2004|page=161}}

====Genealogy and population affinities====

A genetic study, published in 2020, revealed Tutankhamun had the haplogroups [[YDNA]] [[haplogroup R1b|R1b]], which originated in western Asia and which today makes up 50–60% of the genetic pool of modern Europeans, and [[mtDNA]] [[haplogroup K (mtDNA)|K]], which originated in the Near East. He shares this Y-haplogroup with his father, the KV55 mummy (Akhenaten), and grandfather, Amenhotep III, and his mtDNA haplogroup with his mother, The Younger Lady, his grandmother, [[Tiye]], and his great-grandmother, [[Thuya]]. The profiles for Tutankhamun and Amenhotep III were incomplete and the analysis produced differing probability figures despite having concordant allele results. Because the relationships of these two mummies with the KV55 mummy had previously been confirmed in an earlier study, the haplogroup prediction of both mummies could be derived from the full profile of the KV55 data.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353306320 |title=Guardian of Ancient Egypt: Essays in Honor of Zahi Hawass |date=2020 |chapter=Maternal and paternal lineages in King Tutankhamun's family |publisher=Czech Institute of Egyptology |last1=Gad |first1=Yehia |isbn=978-80-7308-979-5 |pages=497–518}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=https://academic.oup.com/hmg/article/30/R1/R24/5924364 |journal=Human Molecular Genetics |volume=30 |issue=R1 |date=2020 |title=Insights from ancient DNA analysis of Egyptian human mummies: clues to disease and kinship |last1=Gad |first1=Yehia |doi=10.1093/hmg/ddaa223 |pages=R24–R28|pmid=33059357 |doi-access=free  | issn = 0964-6906}}</ref>

In 2022, S.O.Y. Keita analysed 8 [[STR analysis|Short Tandem loci]] (STR) data originally published by Hawass et al. in studies from 2010 and 2012. The first of these studies had investigated familial relationships among 11 royal mummies of the New Kingdom, which included Tutankhamun and Amenhotep III, as well as potential inherited disorders and infectious diseases.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/185393 |journal=JAMA |volume=303 |issue=7 |date=2010 |title=Ancestry and pathology in King Tutankhamun's family |last1=Hawass |first1=Zahi |pages=638–647 |doi=10.1001/jama.2010.121|pmid=20159872 }}</ref> The second of these studies had investigated the Y-haplogroups and genetic kinship of Ramesses III and an unknown man buried along with him in the royal cache at Deir el Bahari.<ref name="Hawass, Zahi 2012 e8268">{{cite journal|author=Hawass, Zahi|display-authors=etal|title=Revisiting the harem conspiracy and death of Ramesses III: anthropological, forensic, radiological, and genetic study |journal=BMJ|date=2012|volume=345|issue=e8268|pages=e8268 |doi=10.1136/bmj.e8268|pmid=23247979|hdl=10072/62081|s2cid=206896841|hdl-access=free}}</ref> Keita analysed the STR data from these studies using an algorithm that only has three choices: Eurasians, sub-Saharan Africans, and East Asians. Using these three options, Keita concluded that the majority of the samples had a population "affinity with '[[sub-Sahara]]n' Africans in one affinity analysis". However, Keita cautioned that this does not mean that the royal mummies "lacked other affiliations", which he argued had been obscured in typological thinking. Keita further added that different "data and algorithms might give different results", reflecting the complexity of biological heritage and the associated interpretation.<ref>"Analysis of the short tandem repeat (STR) data published on Ramesses III and the Amarna ancient royal family (including Tutankhamun) showed a majority to have an affinity with "sub-Saharan" Africans in one affinity analysis, which does not mean that they lacked other affiliations—an important point that typological thinking obscures". {{cite journal |last1=Keita |first1=S. O. Y. |title=Ideas about "Race" in Nile Valley Histories: A Consideration of "Racial" Paradigms in Recent Presentations on Nile Valley Africa, from "Black Pharaohs" to Mummy Genomest |journal=Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections |date=September 2022 |volume=35 |pages=93–127 |url=https://egyptianexpedition.org/articles/ideas-about-race-in-nile-valley-histories-a-consideration-of-racial-paradigms-in-recent-presentations-on-nile-valley-africa-from-black-pharaohs/}}{{subscription required}}</ref>

===Health===
[[File:Tumba de Tutankamón, Valle de las Reyes, Luxor, Egipto, 2022-04-03, DD 75.jpg|thumb|335x335px|Scenes from the north wall of the burial chamber of Tutankhamun. On the left side, Tutankhamun, followed by his ''[[Ancient Egyptian conception of the soul#Ka (vital essence)|ka]]'' (an aspect of his soul), embraces the god of the dead [[Osiris]]. In the center, Tutankhamun greeting the goddess [[Nut (goddess)|Nut]]. On the right side, [[Ay (pharaoh)|Ay]] performing the opening of the mouth for Tutankhamun.{{sfn|Reeves|1990|pp=72–73}}]]
[[File:Tutankhamun tomb photographs 4 326.jpg|thumb|upright|A painted, wooden figure of Tutankhamun suggested to be a mannequin for clothing]]
Details about Tutankhamun's health and early death are heavily debated. The most recent study suggests Tutankhamun had [[Avascular necrosis|bone necrosis]] and a possible clubfoot, which may have rendered him dependent on assistive canes. This theory is disputed, as neither the canes nor his sandals show the kinds of the wear expected. He also had other health issues, including [[scoliosis]], and had contracted several strains of [[malaria]]. He likely died of complications from a broken leg, possibly compounded by malaria. Egyptologist Raymond Johnson has remarked that it is possible that the leg injury occurred while Tutankhamun was on a military campaign.<ref name="m530"></ref>

Tutankhamun was slight of build, and roughly {{convert|167|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} tall.{{sfn|Hawass|Saleem|2016|p=94}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Carter |first1=Howard |last2=Derry |first2=Douglas E. |title=The Tomb of Tutankhamen |date=1927 |publisher=Cassel and Company, LTD |page=157}}</ref> CT investigations of Tutankhamun's skull revealed an excellent condition of his dentition. He had large front [[incisor]]s and an overbite characteristic of the [[Thutmosid]] royal line to which he belonged.<ref name="Pausch et al 2015">{{cite journal |last1=Pausch |first1=Niels Christian |last2=Naether |first2=Franziska |last3=Krey |first3=Karl Friedrich |title=Tutankhamun's Dentition: The Pharaoh and his Teeth |journal=Brazilian Dental Journal |date=December 2015 |volume=26 |issue=6 |pages=701–704 |doi=10.1590/0103-6440201300431 |pmid=26963220 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/289585304 |access-date=8 January 2020|doi-access=free }}</ref> Analysis of the clothing found in his tomb, particularly the dimensions of his loincloths and belts indicates that he had a narrow waist and rounded hips.<ref name="V-Eastwood 1999">{{cite book |last1=Vogelsang-Eastwood |first1=G. M. |title=Tutankhamun's Wardrobe : garments from the tomb of Tutankhamun |date=1999 |publisher=Barjesteh van Waalwijk van Doorn |location=Rotterdam |isbn=90-5613-042-0 |pages=18–19}}</ref> In attempts to explain both his unusual depiction in art and his early death it has been theorised that Tutankhamun had [[gynecomastia]],<ref name="Paulshock 1980">{{cite journal |last1=Paulshock |first1=Bernadine Z. |title=Tutankhamun and His Brothers |journal=JAMA |date=11 July 1980 |volume=244 |issue=2 |pages=160–164 |doi=10.1001/jama.1980.03310020036024}}</ref> [[Marfan syndrome]], Wilson–Turner [[X-linked intellectual disability]] syndrome, Fröhlich syndrome ([[adiposogenital dystrophy]]), [[Klinefelter syndrome]],{{sfn|Walshe|1973|pages=109-110}} [[androgen insensitivity syndrome]], [[aromatase excess syndrome]] in conjunction with sagittal [[craniosynostosis]] syndrome, [[Antley–Bixler syndrome]] or one of its variants.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=[[JAMA (journal)|JAMA]] |date=17 February 2010|number=7|volume=303|pages=667–668|title=King Tutankhamun, modern medical science, and the expanding boundaries of historical inquiry|last=Markel|first=H.|doi=10.1001/jama.2010.153|pmid=20159878}}</ref> It has also been suggested that he had inherited [[temporal lobe epilepsy]] in a bid to explain the religiosity of his great-grandfather [[Thutmose IV]] and father Akhenaten and their early deaths.<ref name="Ashrafian epilepsy">{{cite journal |last1=Ashrafian |first1=Hutan |title=Familial epilepsy in the pharaohs of ancient Egypt's eighteenth dynasty |journal=Epilepsy & Behavior |date=September 2012 |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=23–31 |doi=10.1016/j.yebeh.2012.06.014 |pmid=22980077 |s2cid=20771815}}</ref> However, caution has been urged in this diagnosis.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cavka |first1=Mislav |last2=Kelava |first2=Tomislav |title=Comment on: Familial epilepsy in the pharaohs of ancient Egypt's eighteenth dynasty |journal=Epilepsy & Behavior |date=April 2013 |volume=27 |issue=1 |page=278 |doi=10.1016/j.yebeh.2012.11.044|pmid=23291226 |s2cid=43043052 }}</ref>

In January 2005 [[Tutankhamun's mummy]] was [[CT scan]]ned. The results showed that the young king had a partially [[cleft lip and palate|cleft hard palate]] and possibly a mild case of [[scoliosis]].{{sfn|Hawass et al.|2010|page=642}}{{sfn|Hawass|Saleem|2016|p=95}} Additionally, he was diagnosed with a [[Flat feet|flat]] right foot with [[hypophalangism]], while his left foot was [[clubfoot|clubbed]] and had [[Avascular necrosis|bone necrosis]] of the second and third [[metatarsal bone|metatarsals]] ([[Freiberg disease]] or  [[Köhler disease|Köhler disease II]]).<ref name=Hussein2013>{{cite journal |last1=Hussein |first1=Kais |last2=Matin |first2=Ekatrina |last3=Nerlich |first3=Andreas G. |title=Paleopathology of the juvenile Pharaoh Tutankhamun—90th anniversary of discovery |journal=Virchows Archiv |year=2013 |volume=463 |issue=3 |pages=475–479 |doi=10.1007/s00428-013-1441-1 |pmid=23812343 |s2cid=1481224 }}</ref> However, the clubfoot diagnosis is disputed.<ref name="Marchant 2011">{{cite web |last1=Marchant |first1=Jo |title=New twist in the tale of Tutankhamun's club foot |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21128333-200-new-twist-in-the-tale-of-tutankhamuns-club-foot/ |website=New Scientist |access-date=2 February 2022}}</ref> James Gamble instead suggests that the position is a result of Tutankhamun habitually walking on the outside of his foot due to the pain caused by Köhler disease II;<ref name="Gamble 2010">{{cite journal |last1=Gamble |first1=James G. |title=King Tutankhamun's Family and Demise |journal=JAMA |date=23 June 2010 |volume=303 |issue=24 |pages=2472; author reply 2473–5 |doi=10.1001/jama.2010.820|pmid=20571009 }}</ref> this theory has been refuted by members of Hawass' team.<ref name="Tutankhamun reply">{{cite journal |last1=Gad |first1=Yehia Z. |last2=Selim |first2=Ashraf |last3=Pusch |first3=Carsten M. |title=King Tutankhamun's Family and Demise—Reply |journal=JAMA |date=23 June 2010 |volume=303 |issue=24 |pages=2471 |doi=10.1001/jama.2010.823}}</ref> The condition may have forced Tutankhamun to walk with the use of a cane, many of which were found in his tomb.{{sfn|Hawass et al.|2010|pages=642–645}} However, none of them show the wear expected of essential aids; the wear on his sandals, where present, is also even on both feet.{{sfn|Ikram|2022|pp=20}} The presence of such a number of sticks is not unexpected, as canes were a symbol of status in ancient Egypt.{{sfn|Eaton-Krauss|2016|pp=105}} [[Genetic testing]] through [[STR analysis]] rejected the hypothesis of [[gynecomastia]] and [[Craniosynostosis|craniosynostoses]] (e.g., Antley–Bixler syndrome) or [[Marfan syndrome]].{{sfn|Hawass et al.|2010|pages=638–647}} Genetic testing for STEVOR, AMA1, or MSP1 genes specific for ''[[Plasmodium falciparum]]'' revealed indications of [[malaria]] tropica in four mummies, including Tutankhamun's.{{sfn|Hawass et al.|2010|pages=638–647}} This is currently the oldest known genetic proof of the ailment.{{sfn|Braun|2012|page=221}} The team discovered DNA from several strains of the parasite, indicating that he was repeatedly infected with the most severe strain of malaria. His malaria infections may have caused a fatal immune response in the body or triggered [[Shock (circulatory)|circulatory shock]].{{sfn|Mackowiak|2013|page=17}} The CT scan also showed that he had experienced a compound left leg fracture. This injury being the result of modern damage was ruled out based on the ragged edges of the fracture; modern damage features sharp edges. Embalming substances were present within the fracture indicating that it was associated with an open wound; no signs of healing were present.{{sfn|Hawass|Saleem|2016|pp=96–97}}

===Temperament===

Very little can be garnered about Tutankhamun's personality or [[temperament]]. However, General Horemheb noted his ability to calm Tutankhamun when he was in a state of [[anger]].{{sfn|Booth|2007|pages=86–87}}

===Facial appearance===
[[File:Tutankhamun's mummified head.jpg|thumb|Close-up of Tutankhamun's mummified head]]

The appearance of ancient Egyptians, especially Tutankhamun, has remained an area of inquiry and debate.<ref name="e467">{{cite web | last=Lesso | first=Rosie | title=Were Ancient Egyptians Black? Let's Look at the Evidence | website=TheCollector | date=2022-02-09 | url=https://www.thecollector.com/were-ancient-egyptians-black/ | access-date=2025-03-22}}</ref> Multiple attempts have been made to reconstruct a computerized image of Tutankhamun's face. In 1983, [[forensic artist]] [[Betty Pat Gatliff]], alongside [[forensic anthropologist]] [[Clyde Snow]], developed a reconstruction image of Tutankhamun's face from a plaster cast of his skull.<ref name="a498">{{cite web | last1=Magazine | first1=Smithsonian | last2=Katz | first2=Brigit | title=Forensic Artist Betty Pat Gatliff, Whose Facial Reconstructions Helped Solve Crimes, Dies at 89 | website=Smithsonian Magazine | date=2020-01-16 | url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/forensic-artist-betty-pat-gatliff-whose-facial-reconstructions-solved-crimes-has-died-180974001/ | access-date=2025-03-22}}</ref>

In 2005, an extensively [[news|media-covered]] study by the [[Supreme Council of Antiquities|Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities]] and ''[[National Geographic]]'' employed three different research teams (Egyptian, French, and American) to develop a facial image using [[CT scans]] of his skull. The Egyptian and French teams were informed that their subject was Tutankhamun, while the American team was not informed who the subject was, thereby working blindly. Results were generally similar, although the reconstruction did not resemble [[effigy]] artifacts of Tutankhamun.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna7806495|title=CT scans reveal King Tut's face|date=10 May 2005 |publisher=NBC News}}</ref>{{sfn|Hawass|Saleem|2016|p=252}} The depiction sparked controversy, particularly for its skin color, which also did not resemble painted effigies of Tutankhamun, such as the [[Head of Nefertem]] artifact or the [[mannequin]] artifact.<ref name="s890">{{cite web | title=Mannequin of Tutankhamun | website=ARCE | date=2023-02-15 | url=https://arce.org/mannequin-tutankhamun/ | access-date=2025-03-22}}</ref> Throughout the years, the image's light-skinned representation has ignited numerous [[picketing]] protests outside multiple Tutankhamun exhibits that included the depiction.<ref name="l899">{{cite web | title=Tutankhamun was not black, says Hawass | website=Dailynewsegypt | date=2007-09-27 | url=https://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2007/09/27/tutankhamun-was-not-black-says-hawass/ | access-date=2025-03-22}}</ref><ref name="j212">{{cite web | title='Tutankhamun was not black': antiquities chief | website=Brisbane Times | date=2007-09-26 | url=https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/world/tutankhamun-was-not-black-antiquities-chief-20070926-ge94td.html | access-date=2025-03-22}}</ref><ref name="t153">{{cite web | last=Radford | first=Tim | title=The Shadow King, by Jo Marchant – book review | website=the Guardian | date=2014-01-16 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/jan/16/shadow-king-tutankhamun-jo-marchant-review | access-date=2025-03-22}}</ref> Terry Garcia, executive vice president for mission programs for National Geographic in response to protests purported that Tutankhamun's exact skin tone is unknown and that they aimed for a middle skin tone.<ref name="q652">{{cite web | last1=Press | first1=Associated | last2=(EDU) | first2=cmaadmin | title=Black Activists Upset Over King Tut Portraits | website=Diverse: Issues In Higher Education | date=2005-09-27 | url=https://www.diverseeducation.com/demographics/african-american/article/15081071/black-activists-upset-over-king-tut-portraits | access-date=2025-03-22}}</ref>

In 2007, amidst more exhibition protests, anthropologist [[Nina Jablonski]] addressed what an educated guess of Tutankhamun's skin tone might be:

<blockquote>"Our best guess is that he was neither lily white nor ebony black. He was probably somewhere in between... When we look at the representation of the Egyptian royalty on the walls of tombs, we see a range of sort of moderate, [[Fitzpatrick scale|tan-colored skin]] on the royalty. This probably is a fairly close approximation of what skin color these people actually had."<ref name="v125">{{cite web | last=Rose | first=Joel | title=King Tut Exhibit Prompts Debate on His Skin Color | website=NPR | date=2007-08-28 | url=https://www.npr.org/2007/08/28/13992421/king-tut-exhibit-prompts-debate-on-his-skin-color | access-date=2025-03-22}}</ref></blockquote>

In 2008, Egyptologist [[Stuart Tyson Smith]] criticized the skin-tone choice of the 2005 study, stating that the light skin tone was indicative of a bias, elaborating that ancient Egyptians were generally of darker skin tone, especially in more southern regions.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Stuart Tyson |title=Review of From Slave to Pharaoh: The Black Experience of Ancient Egypt by Donald Redford. |url=https://www.academia.edu/43275262 |website=Near Eastern Archaeology 71:3 |date=1 January 2008}}</ref> In 2022, bioarcheologist Andrew Nelson used CT scans and the 3D bioimaging software, Dragonfly, to create a virtual model of Tutankhamun's face. The result was distinct from prior reconstructions from skull CT scans. Nelson stated that the skull anatomy guided the project which made for a more realistic reconstruction.<ref name="d066">{{cite web | title=Bioarcheologist comes face to face with King Tut | website=Western News | date=2022-11-24 | url=https://news.westernu.ca/2022/11/king-tut-face/ | access-date=2025-03-22}}</ref><ref name="i685">{{cite web | last=Rivers | first=Heather | title='Mummy guy': Western University scientist digs up new King Tut secrets | website=London Free Press | date=2022-11-25 | url=https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/mummy-guy-western-university-scientist-digs-up-new-king-tut-secrets | access-date=2025-03-22}}</ref> Nelson's study did not overlay a skin tone on the facial reconstruction. In 2023, researchers developed a new version of Tutankhamun's face using further [[CT scans]].<ref name="q598">{{cite web | last=Egypt | first=Ancient | title=Tutankhamun's face | website=The Past – History / Archaeology / Heritage / Ancient World | date=2023-08-06 | url=https://the-past.com/news/tutankhamuns-face/ | access-date=2025-03-22}}</ref><ref name="v511">{{cite journal | last1=Moraes | first1=Cicero | last2=Habicht | first2=Michael E. | last3=Galassi | first3=Francesco Maria | last4=Varotto | first4=Elena | last5=Beaini | first5=Thiago | title=Pharaoh Tutankhamun: a novel 3D digital facial approximation | journal=Italian Journal of Anatomy and Embryology | volume=127 | issue=1 | date=2023-08-28 | issn=2038-5129 | doi=10.36253/ijae-14514 | doi-access=free | pages=13–22 | url=https://oajournals.fupress.net/index.php/ijae/article/download/14514/13485 | access-date=2025-03-22| hdl=10447/646773 | hdl-access=free }}</ref> Results greatly resembled the results of the CT scan reconstruction performed in 2005.<ref name="v703">{{cite web | last=Georgiou | first=Aristos | title=Tutankhamun's face revealed in stunning detail in new 3D reconstruction | website=Newsweek | date=2023-06-05 | url=https://www.newsweek.com/tutankhamuns-face-revealed-stunning-detail-new-3d-reconstruction-1804501 | access-date=2025-03-22}}</ref> The skin tone was also akin to the skin tone chosen in the 2005 study.

Depictions of Tutankhamun deemed [[Afrocentrism|Afrocentristic]] have repeatedly generated protest and tension. In 2023, an exhibit titled ''“Kemet: Egypt in Hip-Hop, Jazz, Soul and Funk”'' at the [[Rijksmuseum van Oudheden|Dutch National Museum of Antiquities]] in [[Leiden, Netherlands]] depicted a statue of rapper Nas's (1999) ''[[I Am... (Nas album)|I Am...]]'' album cover, which portrays Nas's face in the Mask of Tutankhamun.<ref name="t487">{{cite web | last=Méndez | first=Chris Malone | title=Museum's Nas-inspired King Tut statue sparks debate about Egyptians' race | website=REVOLT | date=2023-05-25 | url=https://www.revolt.tv/article/2023-05-25/304702/nas-inspired-king-tut-statue-sparks-debate-at-european-museum | access-date=2025-03-27}}</ref> Egyptian antiquities expert Abd al-Rahim Rihan accused the exhibit administrators of promoting Afrocentric [[pseudohistory]] by displaying the Tutankhamun mask with black facial features, indirectly advocating the [[Ancient_Egyptian_race_controversy#Black_Egyptian_hypothesis|black Egyptian hypothesis]].<ref name="u121">{{cite web | last=Independent | first=Egypt | title=Dutch museum claims Tutankhamun was black | website=Egypt Independent | date=2023-05-17 | url=https://egyptindependent.com/dutch-museum-claims-tutankhamun-was-black/ | access-date=2025-03-27}}</ref> Similarly, Ahmed Belal, an Egyptian member of parliament, accused the exhibit administrators of “distorting Egyptian identity” and “attacking Egyptian heritage and civilization.”<ref name="r538">{{cite web | last=Yee | first=Vivian | title=Egypt Is Upset by a Dutch Exhibit About Afrocentrism | website=The New York Times | date=2023-06-18 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/18/world/middleeast/egypt-african-dutch-museum.html | access-date=2025-03-28}}</ref> The exhibit administrators denied the accusations, stating that the exhibit takes a neutral position on the race of ancient Egyptians. Daniel Soliman, the exhibition curator, who himself is half-Egyptian, stated that some Egyptians feel an exclusive possession to the pharaonic heritage, while the African diaspora's artistic envisioned of ancient Egypt has been ignored.<ref name="z153">{{cite web | last=Cascone"] | first=["Sarah | title=A Sculpture Depicting King Tut as a Black Man Is Sparking International Outrage | website=Artnet News | date=2023-05-22 | url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/black-tutankhamun-dutch-museum-controversy-2306709 | access-date=2025-03-27}}</ref> Museum director Wim Weijland stated that the exhibition is about art, not racially classifying ancient Egyptians.<ref name="u235">{{cite web | last=Boztas | first=Senay | title=Dutch exhibition on Black culture and ancient Egypt faces social media backlash | website=The Art Newspaper - International art news and events | date=2023-05-19 | url=https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2023/05/19/dutch-exhibition-on-black-culture-and-ancient-egypt-faces-social-media-backlash | access-date=2025-03-27}}</ref>

Egyptian journalist, [[Shahira Amin]], in a 2023 article titled ''"Egyptians aren’t racist. They’re frustrated with Western appropriation of their ancient history"'', wrote that "many Egyptians shun their Africanness, preferring to associate themselves with the Middle East and identify as Muslims and Arabs".<ref name="r221">{{cite web | last=Dagres | first=Holly | title=Egyptians aren't racist. They’re frustrated with Western appropriation of their ancient history. | website=Atlantic Council | date=2023-06-29 | url=https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/menasource/afrocentrism-cleopatra-netflix-egypt-racist-appropriation/ | access-date=2025-03-27}}</ref>