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It's a Wrap: Tooth ID's Mummy Queen
Powerful Hatshepsut linked to dental root and DNA tests
By Colleen Barry
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Posted Jun 27, 07 4:39 AM CDT
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(Newser)
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An ancient tooth and DNA evidence appear to prove that an obese mummy found in 1903 is one of Egypt's most powerful female rulers, Hatshepsut, the New York Times reports. The tooth, located in a box labeled with the queen's name, "fits exactly" with a broken root in the mummy's mouth, according to archeologists.
DNA tests also link the mummy to the great-grandmother of the queen, who reigned in the 15th century BC. Her corpse was hidden in a nondescript tomb with a wet nurse, apparently to prevent Hatshepsut's successor from destroying it. It's the first major mummy identification since since King Tutankhamen’s tomb was opened in 1922.