Evidence that the ancient Egyptians plastered on killer cosmetics to whiten their skin has been found in a 3,500-year-old mummy head.
Belonging to an anonymous woman age 20-25, the head shows tiny nodules under the cheeks and at the back of the neck that point to a possible skin disorder called exogenous ochronosis.
"Such dermatosis is caused by the extensive use of skin bleaching cosmetics," Despina Moissidou, an anthropologist at Nation Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece, told Discovery News.
RELATED: Wart Detected on Egyptian Queen Beauty
History suggests that a lightened tone of the skin might have made the difference in Egyptian society.
"Perhaps it was a symbol of high social status, indicating the individual did not perform hard outdoor work or work at all, just like the deformed feet or the extremely long nails for the ancient high-class Chinese women," Angel Gonzalez, a collaborator at the School of Legal Medicine in Madrid, told Discovery News.
Moissidou and colleagues at the University of Madrid and Athens presented their research at the recent International Conference of Comparative Mummy Studies in Hildesheim, Germany.
The mummified head, which currently belongs to the Museo de Antropología Médica, Forense, Paleopatología y Criminalística in Madrid, Spain, was first described as the "beheaded head of a Guinean negress young woman."
The head's true origins were found only in 2007, when Moissidou and colleagues traced the mummified remains back to the Theban Necropolis archaeological area in Egypt. The head's mummification technique made it possible to date it to the 18th Dynasty of the New Kingdom.
This is the best known ancient Egyptian dynasty as it includes several famous pharaohs, such as Hatshepsut, Amenhotep III, Akhenaten and Tutankhamun. The researchers believe the woman lived in a period between the reign of Thutmose II and Thutmose III.
RELATED: Mysterious Egyptian Mummy Has Head Full of Dirt
The head's whereabouts are still a mystery. Its recorded history begins sometime between 1898-1930, when it appears in the Cairo Museum. The head was then sold to the Spanish collector and banker Ignacio Bauer and finally donated to the Real Sociedad de Arqueología, Antropologíay Prehistoria in Madrid.
"Looking at the accurate embalming, we can say this lady was an important member of the Egyptian society of the time," Gonzalez said.
Moissidou and colleagues carried out several examinations to confirm the diagnosis of exogenous ochronosis.
"Samples were retrieved from the base of the neck and were sent for histological examination," Moissidou said.
The primary results showed a chronic skin inflammation, while chemistry confirmed it. Electron microscopy revealed striking similarities with contemporary tissue affected by exogenous ochronosis.
"We know the ancient Egyptians regarded the use of cosmetics both for aesthetic purposes as well as magical and religious ones. Cosmetic pigments were indeed used on a daily basis," Moissidou said.
But many of the cosmetics used by the Egyptians included lead as a basic component, which could cause skin inflammation as well as skin diseases.
Intriguingly, the use of such cosmetics was common among members of royal families.
"This opens up new interesting questions on the head's identity. Further research is now needed," Moissidou said.
So in this article, researchers claim that the AE bleached their skin off the basis of one woman's mummified head showing skins of a skin disease seen in people who use compounds that lighten the skin. On that basis the team makes a sweeping generalization that the AE as a whole bleached their skin:
1. Speculation is never fact, and there are numerous examples of AE women portrayed in the same dark skin tones as men.
2. If this was as widespread as they claim, why do we not see the skin condition in the numerous other female or male mummies?? It should be a near epidemic.
3. The AE were known to extensively use cosmetics that we today know have harmful compounds in them, for their own purposes. This woman could've easily been using them for a symbolic or even just an aesthetic purpose(i.e. make up) not knowing the effect it would have on her skin in the long term.
4. It doesn't dawn on anybody that if against all the points I've made their hypothesis *is* correct, why would people who were supposedly white bleach their skin???? Also pretty cool how this woman was originally assumed to be a "Guinean negress young woman". Not. Posts: 574 | From: Guinee | Registered: Jul 2014
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quote: Evidence that the ancient Egyptians plastered on killer cosmetics to whiten their skin has been found in a 3,500-year-old mummy head.
Belonging to an anonymous woman age 20-25, the head shows tiny nodules under the cheeks and at the back of the neck that point to a possible skin disorder called exogenous ochronosis.
Such dermatosis is caused by the extensive use of skin bleaching cosmetics," Despina Moissidou, an anthropologist at Nation Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece, told Discovery News.
1.500 B.C./ Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, ruler Thutmose III.
Posts: 22244 | From: האם אינכם כילדי הכרית אלי בני ישראל | Registered: Nov 2010
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quote: 4. It doesn't dawn on anybody that if against all the points I've made their hypothesis *is* correct, why would people who were supposedly white bleach their skin???? Also pretty cool how this woman was originally assumed to be a "Guinean negress young woman". Not.
Posts: 22244 | From: האם אינכם כילדי הכרית אלי בני ישראל | Registered: Nov 2010
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Emma Chambers UCL department: Museums and Collections Entry: There was a high incidence of lead-poisoning in the 18th century because of the fashion for red and white lead makeup and powder see -
The 18th Century
Hair and Cosmetics in the eighteenth century
As transport became more organised, local shops could keep supplies of foreign goods, cosmetics and wigs included; and out-of-town people could paint themselves as easily as courtiers; the growth of cities at this time signalled the arrival of a new moneyed class. The new people were not aristocracy, they were primarily town dwellers and their aim was sophistication. (Angeloglou: p70)
Although this era was known as the Age of Enlightenment, most fashionable men and women poisoned themselves with red and white lead make-up and powder. (Swinfield: p97) The make-up they used caused the eyes to swell and become inflamed, attacked the enamel on the teeth and changed the texture of the skin causing it to blacken, it was also not uncommon to suffer baldness, and for a time it became fashionable to shave the front hairline. It was known that heavy use of lead could cause death. (Baker: p210)
Throughout this Century men and women continued to whiten their faces and applied bright pink rouge, from Spanish wool. (An impregnated pad of hair – like a ‘brillo’ pad) This was applied heavily in a round or triangular shape to the cheeks. The lips were small and rose-bud shaped and also painted with Spanish wool or Ceruse, giving a ‘bee-sting’ effect. Hair was powdered and some women also powdered their shoulders and breasts while accentuating the veins on the bosom in blue. (Delamar: p68) The breast was the vogue of the eighteenth century, but the skin of the most fashionable bosom was ‘scabrous with inflammation’. (Angeloglou: p79)
Women’s eyebrows were plucked thin, pencilled high and curved, or shaved and replaced, the eyebrow could be of any colour and it could be placed anywhere, false eyebrows were used and made from mouse skin. The real eyebrow having been removed was covered over with pink paste; Swift mentions:
“Her eyebrows from a mouse’s hide Stuck on with art on either side” (Angeloglou: p76)
Patches in the shape of stars, hearts, half moons, round, even birds were worn on the face and cut out of black taffeta, Spanish leather or gummed paper, these were useful in covering up scars or skin afflictions such as small pox, while the fan also helped to hide the face.
The patches were seen as a symbol of political allegiance – depending on which side of the face a patch was worn, Whigs on the right and Tories on the left. At the court of Louis XV, a patch worn at the corner of the eye indicated passion, the centre of the cheek was gay, the nose was saucy, a patch on the upper lip suggested kisses and the forehead was majestic. A patch worn on a dimple was playful – and a murderess wore her patches on her breast! Often people wore up to fifteen or sixteen patches at once. (Angeloglou: p73)
The face mask was worn outdoors, made from black silk or velvet, stiffened with fine leather or buckram. The more common type was the half-face shape which circled the eyes and tied behind with ribbons, there was even a full face mask which was used on the continent, but not popular in England. The attraction of the mask may explain the relative unimportance of eye make-up. (Angeloglou: p74)
The first school of hairdressing and wig-making opened in Paris in The Académie de Coffure, 1768 and hairdressing and wig-making reached massive proportions, where hair gradually became higher and higher, until the middle of the Century when the hair was the most excessive it would ever be. (Baker: p211)
These extreme styles were achieved with the addition of horse hair pads, false and crepe hair which was dressed over wooden and iron frames. Curling tongs were introduced at this time and hair was curled into long ringlets and rows of curls. Switches, hair pieces and pin curls were also added.
Feathers, ribbons, jewels, even vegetables and other decorative ornaments also appeared at this point in time, mounted on top of the head. All hairstyles were powdered for formal occasions, usually with white lead or flour but sometimes grey, blue or lilac colours would be used while some were known to use gold dust. (Baker: p211)
Hats were also popular and very large, made from felt or straw, covered in other fabrics and trimmed with lace. The elderly women still wore mob caps.
Dressing the hair was time consuming and expensive and had to last as long as possible, combing and brushing the hair was impossible once finished, as a result hair styles were kept in for several weeks or months, which made sleeping difficult, sometimes sleeping with the head on a curved wooden block to protect the style. (Swinfield: p97)
Long scratching sticks were used as some heads were infested with lice. Many men and women shaved their heads for ease and comfort and resorted to wearing wigs. (Swinfield: p97)
Most 18th Century men wore wigs, regardless of income and every village had its own wig-maker. There were a wide variety of styles to choose from, one of the most important at this time was the Campaign Wig, worn by military men. Some of the older men still wore the full bottomed wigs. (Baker: p100)
This was replaced by the simple Tie Wig where the hair was drawn back from the face and tied at the back of the head with a black ribbon. The tied hair was called a ‘queue’, meaning tail. The queue was sometimes encased in a bag – known as a Bag Wig. There was also the short Bob Wig. Men did not have facial hair, beards and moustaches were unpopular, except with the military. (Swinfield: p100 and Baker: p211)
Highly fashionable fops, known as The Macaronis chose elaborate high wigs, sometimes worn up to 18 inches high, they carried men’s fashions and men’s cosmetics to a new extreme. (Swinfield: p100). Town and Country Magazine 1764 described them:
“They make a most ridiculous figure… it is a puzzle to determine the thing’s sex” (Angeloglou: p83)
By 1768 men’s eyebrows had changed to black eyebrows and darkened them with lead, or continued to shave off their own and repaint them in. Cheeks were heavily rouged by the men who also reddened their lips. (Delamar: p 68)
One of the new modes was false teeth and experiments were made to replace lost teeth with false ones. There had been previous attempts to thread wood or bone onto wire and insert them into the mouth but they were considered clumsy and painful. Most people accepted their black stumps and dentists were still the barber chirurgeon’s (Angeloglou: p71), with very low status attached to them. Breath sweeteners are described, such as cloves, cinnamon, bramble leaves honey mixed with burnt ashes – which ultimately rotted the teeth but temporarily gave sweet breath.
There were many beauty treatments around at the time and adverts included a ‘Chemical Wash’ to improve the skin:
“by taking off all deformities…as Ringworms, Morphew, Sunburn, Scurf, Pimples, Pits or Redness of the Smallpox, keeping it of lasting and extreme Whiteness…” (Angeloglou: p73)
A tax on hair powdering and wigs (Delamar: p68) was introduced in 1795 but the extreme hair and make-up styles ended in the 1780’s with the French revolution, after which make-up and hair became more natural. (Baker: p211)
Evidence that the ancient Egyptians plastered on killer cosmetics to whiten their skin has been found in a 3,500-year-old mummy head.
Belonging to an anonymous woman age 20-25, the head shows tiny nodules under the cheeks and at the back of the neck that point to a possible skin disorder called exogenous ochronosis.
"Such dermatosis is caused by the extensive use of skin bleaching cosmetics," Despina Moissidou, an anthropologist at Nation Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece, told Discovery News.
RELATED: Wart Detected on Egyptian Queen Beauty
History suggests that a lightened tone of the skin might have made the difference in Egyptian society.
"Perhaps it was a symbol of high social status, indicating the individual did not perform hard outdoor work or work at all, just like the deformed feet or the extremely long nails for the ancient high-class Chinese women," Angel Gonzalez, a collaborator at the School of Legal Medicine in Madrid, told Discovery News.
Moissidou and colleagues at the University of Madrid and Athens presented their research at the recent International Conference of Comparative Mummy Studies in Hildesheim, Germany.
The mummified head, which currently belongs to the Museo de Antropología Médica, Forense, Paleopatología y Criminalística in Madrid, Spain, was first described as the "beheaded head of a Guinean negress young woman."
The head's true origins were found only in 2007, when Moissidou and colleagues traced the mummified remains back to the Theban Necropolis archaeological area in Egypt. The head's mummification technique made it possible to date it to the 18th Dynasty of the New Kingdom.
This is the best known ancient Egyptian dynasty as it includes several famous pharaohs, such as Hatshepsut, Amenhotep III, Akhenaten and Tutankhamun. The researchers believe the woman lived in a period between the reign of Thutmose II and Thutmose III.
RELATED: Mysterious Egyptian Mummy Has Head Full of Dirt
The head's whereabouts are still a mystery. Its recorded history begins sometime between 1898-1930, when it appears in the Cairo Museum. The head was then sold to the Spanish collector and banker Ignacio Bauer and finally donated to the Real Sociedad de Arqueología, Antropologíay Prehistoria in Madrid.
"Looking at the accurate embalming, we can say this lady was an important member of the Egyptian society of the time," Gonzalez said.
Moissidou and colleagues carried out several examinations to confirm the diagnosis of exogenous ochronosis.
"Samples were retrieved from the base of the neck and were sent for histological examination," Moissidou said.
The primary results showed a chronic skin inflammation, while chemistry confirmed it. Electron microscopy revealed striking similarities with contemporary tissue affected by exogenous ochronosis.
"We know the ancient Egyptians regarded the use of cosmetics both for aesthetic purposes as well as magical and religious ones. Cosmetic pigments were indeed used on a daily basis," Moissidou said.
But many of the cosmetics used by the Egyptians included lead as a basic component, which could cause skin inflammation as well as skin diseases.
Intriguingly, the use of such cosmetics was common among members of royal families.
"This opens up new interesting questions on the head's identity. Further research is now needed," Moissidou said.
So in this article, researchers claim that the AE bleached their skin off the basis of one woman's mummified head showing skins of a skin disease seen in people who use compounds that lighten the skin. On that basis the team makes a sweeping generalization that the AE as a whole bleached their skin:
1. Speculation is never fact, and there are numerous examples of AE women portrayed in the same dark skin tones as men.
2. If this was as widespread as they claim, why do we not see the skin condition in the numerous other female or male mummies?? It should be a near epidemic.
3. The AE were known to extensively use cosmetics that we today know have harmful compounds in them, for their own purposes. This woman could've easily been using them for a symbolic or even just an aesthetic purpose(i.e. make up) not knowing the effect it would have on her skin in the long term.
4. It doesn't dawn on anybody that if against all the points I've made their hypothesis *is* correct, why would people who were supposedly white bleach their skin???? Also pretty cool how this woman was originally assumed to be a "Guinean negress young woman". Not.
In other words they are still making up lies to cover the obvious fact that AE society was predominately black in complexion. Now they want to impose a preference for light skin even if they cannot PROVE that these people were light skinned. Obviously the head looks like a black Afrian "negroid" phenotype which is why they called it a "guinean Negress", which means they identified it as black.....
quote: The mummified head, which currently belongs to the Museo de Antropología Médica, Forense, Paleopatología y Criminalística in Madrid, Spain, was first described as the "beheaded head of a Guinean negress young woman."
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