“Anemia in Ancient Egyptian Elite Children: Possible Causes and Consequences”

One in three had anemia

To find out what the children of the Egyptian elite may have died of, a team of German researchers made CT-scans van 21 mummies of children aged 12 to 14 years.

That way, the scientists could get a closer look at the mummies’ bodies and bones without damaging the fragile bandages.

According to the research report, one in three mummies showed signs of anemia.

What was particularly striking was an enlarged cranial vault. This is the part of the skull that contains the brain.

When you have anemia, your body doesn’t make enough red blood cells.

This makes it more difficult for it to transport oxygen through the body, because the red blood cells contain the protein hemoglobin, the transport medium for oxygen.

Poor diet or malaria may have killed Egyptian elite children

It is not possible to determine from the scans why so many of the children were anemic.

The condition is often caused by a diet lacking in iron.

Perhaps the Egyptian children were underfed, or their diet did not contain enough iron-rich foods, such as nuts, wholemeal bread, beans, lentils or oatmeal.

Another possibility is malaria.

Chronic infections like this deadly disease can also lead to anemia, and Previous research has shown that malaria was common in ancient Egypt.

The researchers do not yet want to make firm statements about the cause of death of the young mummies.

One of the children, who only lived to be 1.5 years old, most likely had another rare blood disorder: thalassemia. This hereditary condition causes severe anemia.

The child also had serious deformities, including the skull. And the blood disease was probably the cause of death.

But for the other six mummies with enlarged cranial vaults, it’s uncertain whether they died of anemia, a combination of diseases or some other cause, the researchers said.