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The claim that egyptologists made the specimens with the most Negroid traits disappear is not only insulting to archaeologists but also put forth without any evidence and little practical credibility because all materials exhumed in an excavation are systematically recorded before numerous witnesses. It is equally fanciful to claim that the mummy of Ramses II, which was the subject of thorough studies in Paris, became yellow after being irradiated. Tests had been done previously on diverse mummified tissues to make sure that irradiation, the only way to sterilize the colonies of mold that were invading the skin, would do no damage. If the skin tone changed it was solely due to a cleansing of the surface. In fact, most of the mummies are coated with a tar (bitumen from Mesopotamia), which seriously constrains their examination, by the naked eye.

This is why a histological examination of skin to measure the amount of melanin is necessary. Unfortunately Diop’s (1973) article sheds no light on this. In fact in twelve pages of text and sixty references only three lines deal with the results: “We can affirm that such an examination reveals, with no doubt possible, an amount of melanin which is unknown among the “leucoderm” races and which indubitably places the ancient Egyptians among the Africans of Black Africa.” This is followed by long digressions on prehistory as well as biochemistry in a scientific jargon, which is highly documented but fails to mask the absence of results. No histological illustrations, a sketch of quantification, comparative examinations of skin with different stages of tanning, or reference to other studies of mummies (European, Peruvian, etc.) are provided. Cheikh Anta had photographs about his work circulated at the Cairo Colloquium (UNESCO 1980, p. 799); unfortunately no trace of these remains in any publication and it should all be repeated more rigorously. The Rabino-Massa team (1972, 1981) went much further, but skin of the mummies, unlike the internal tissues, is often altered by baths of the preserving liquids. Moreover, as Szabo (1975) points out, “light microscopic sections from a dark Mediterranean skin can be very similar to those from a Negroid skin,” thus more refined techniques such as electronic microscopy should be employed"

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Posts: 331 | From: Hell | Registered: Jun 2019  |  IP: Logged | 

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Robins, A. H. 1991. Biological Perspectives on Human Pigmentation. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.

Robins (1991: 98-113) discusses the measurement of skin color. The method used since 1926 is reflectance spectrometry. The most commonly used machine is the "EEL Reflectance Spectrophotometer." The other is the Photovolt Reflectance Spectrophotometer. These two are different and the results are not comparable. What did Diop use?

3) The % reflectance is plotted vs. wavelength between 425nm and 685nm to produce spectral curves that can be compared to those of known populations. To do so measurements are done in specific places (forehead and inner upper arm). Did Diop do this? What population did he compare his skin reflectance curve with? Spectral curves differ between "Caucasoids" and "Negroids" only between 300 - 1200 nm, above and below there is no difference. What wavelengths did Diop use?

The reason I raise the questions because just testing reflectance without doing spectral curves does not show that the low reflectance is due to melanin.

Actually the questions were redundant because Diop did not even try them, instead he used a very questionable approach and actually never produced any data-- just an assertion as to the results. what follows is the total amount of information produced:

Diop's 1973 paper (p. 515-516) says (my translation)

"We then applied the method to several Egyptian mummies preserved in the Anthropology Laboratory of the Musee de l'Homme in Paris. Thanks to the kindness of Mrs. Chamla, Head of the Department and of her aides. We used the technique of thin slices observed by ultraviolet or natural light; the preparations were graciously mounted by Mrs. J.Guillen, technician at the Physiology Laboratory of the Faculte de Science de Dakar and Mr.Mamadou Cissé, Head of the Department of Vertebrates of the IFAN. The results speak for themselves; one can ascertain that, contrary to every widespread opinion, (1), the mummification processes do not destroy the epidermis to the point that the method would be inapplicable in most cases. In particular, it would certainly permit the analysis of the skin of all of the royal mummies of the Museum of Cairo which are in a perfect state of conservation; Thutmoses III founder of the 18th Dynasty the conqueror of all of Western Asia, Seti I the founder of the 19th dynasty, his son the famous Ramses II, etc. The result is worth the effort and this is the reason why I tried to obtain samples to analyze. The curator of the Cairo Museum, Dr. Ryad, had promised to send some to me, but I have been waiting for over a year.
It is surprising that such an analysis has not long ago been attempted and carried out by other researchers. We can affirm that such an examination reveals, with no doubt possible, an amount of melanin which is unknown among the "leucoderm" [white] races and which indubitably places the ancient Egyptians among the Africans of Black Africa."

That's the total amount of evidence. No data is presented to justify the conclusion that is stated baldly. (remember assertion is not evidence).

Alain Froment has remarked on the need for further evidence

Alain Froment, 1991. "Origine et evolution de l'Homme dans la Pensée de Cheikh Anta Diop: une Analyse Critique," Cahiers d'Etudes Africaines. XXXI-1-2: 29-64.

"p. 44-45. Autopsies of mummies
In mummies, despite the desiccation, the characteristics of the face are partially preserved which offers a tremendous advantage over a bare skeleton. Their scientific examination and histological study goes back to the beginning of the century but people became interested has again because of new investigatory techniques (Cockburn & Cockburn 1980). The exceptionally dry climate of Egypt allows, besides embalmed bodies, the recovery of buried cadavers whose skin is intact going back five thousand years. Thus there is in the Nile Valley an exceptionally long continuity of specimens available for extensive biological investigations.

The claim that Egyptologists made the specimens with the most Negroid traits disappear is not only insulting to archaeologists but also put forth without any evidence and little practical credibility because all materials exhumed in an excavation are systematically recorded before numerous witnesses. It is equally fanciful to claim that the mummy of
Ramses II, which was the subject of thorough studies in Paris, became yellow after being irradiated. Tests had been done previously on diverse mummified tissues to make sure that irradiation, the only way to sterilize the colonies of mold that were invading the skin, would do no damage. If the skin tone changed it was solely due to a cleansing of the surface. In fact, most of the mummies are coated with a tar (bitumen from Mesopotamia) that seriously constrains their examination by the naked eye.

This is why a histological examination of skin to measure the amount of melanin is necessary. Unfortunately Diop's (1973) article sheds no light on this. In fact in twelve pages of text and sixty references only three lines deal with the results: "We can affirm that such an examination reveals, with no doubt possible, an amount of melanin which is unknown
among the "leucoderm" races and which indubitably places the ancient Egyptians among the Africans of Black Africa." This is followed by long digressions on prehistory as well as biochemistry in a scientific jargon that is highly documented but fails to mask the absence of results. No histological illustrations, a sketch of quantification, comparative
examinations of skin with different stages of tanning, or reference to other studies of mummies (European, Peruvian, etc.) are provided. Cheikh Anta had photographs about his work circulated at the Cairo Colloquium (UNESCO 1980, p. 799); unfortunately no trace of these remains in any publication and it should all be repeated more rigorously. The
Rabino-Massa team (1972, 1981) went much further, but baths of the preserving liquids often alter the skin of the mummies, unlike the internal tissues. Moreover, as Szabo (1975) points out, "light microscopic sections from a dark Mediterranean skin can be very similar to those from a Negroid skin," thus more refined techniques such as electronic microscopy should be employed"

Actually the whole thing is a charade and moot because just the mummification process with natron can take a white person to that color. So, that the color of a mummy says nothing about the original coloration of the subject. See M. R. Zimmerman, B. Brier, and R.S. Wade. 1998. "Brief communication: Twentieth Century Replication of an Egyptian Mummy: Implications for Paleopathology," American Journal of Physical Anthropology 107: 417-420.

"Removal of the natron revealed a body appearing very similar to an ancient mummy. The skin was dried and dark brown, almost black."

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Posts: 331 | From: Hell | Registered: Jun 2019  |  IP: Logged |