Mummy Shows Some Ancient Egyptians Bleached Their Skin

...or at least one woman did!

One of the lost bits of evidence from Egypt is this head of an anonymous woman (looted from somewhere.) The head eventually ended up in the Museum of Paleopathology and Criminology in Madrid, Spain and was identified as an African woman from Guinea. However, in 2007, someone recognized it as a mummy head from the 18th dynasty and tests and studies were made. In the course of these studies it was discovered that the cosmetics used by the woman had caused skin damage.

The full story is here: www.seeker.com...

a reply to: Byrd

bet it messed with the aging of their skin too, especially if they were in the sun at all and suffered from prolonged sun exposure

very interesting article, thanks for sharing this news coolio

a reply to: Byrd

Hi Byrd,

I really was surprised by your post. I have had a developing fascination with cosmetics, ancient and modern, due to girlfriends. I also have a background in supporting cosmetic surgeons in the OR and office, so I have seen quite the extent of how far a person will go to assuage their perceptions of themselves.

It's neat stuff, and to learn that having pale skin or submitting one's self to this skin-whitening process was tantamount to beauty in the ancient world, just as it is today, despite the tissue-degrading effects fascinates me.

The fact is that women admire one another (men do, too, but that's another deal). So it makes me wonder what people they were seeing that impressed them so deeply. I am sure that more-or-less pale skin was immediately present in their own society and it makes me wonder about genetics.

Maybe Cosmetics is up there in rank of importance right next to Guns, Germs and Steel

Wow! this has very heavy implications for Africana studies and the modern skin bleachers , the presumptions were, in Africa it was a modern phenomenon.

a reply to: Bybyots

Sigh, everyone knows the six-fingered (extra for her pleasure) Anu-nooki were from a planet farther away from their star and thus pale, hence all lesser ape-men and woman strove to emulate that "master" race by whitening themselves.

This theory is also proven by the abundance of extra digits ancients wore on their hands ... er, I'm sure some finger like do-dads exist for me to cement this... right?

I may have a book, here!

a reply to: Baddogma

The Sumerian Gods were pale and master racist??.. so what happened to the gods that made ppl wanna tan themselves into leather.

a reply to: Bybyots

All over the world, there is a sexual preference among men for fairer-skinned women. It has, as far as we can tell, persisted throughout history. That is why, regardless of race, women have fairer skins than men. It is the result of sexual selection.

Don’t ask me why. I don’t believe anyone knows, and I don’t subscribe to made-up just-so stories like ‘fair skin shows up blemishes better than dark, so it’s a fitness advertisement, like a peacock’s tail.’ It may be. Then again, it may not.

a reply to: Spider879

Tanned to leather... you mean the vague gods worshiped today in Florida, or the orange one Trump emulates? Elmo ...is that it's revered name?

Dunno what happened to them ... likely died of melanoma, would be my guess. (Sorry for thread/mind drift)

Back to the topic, if this was a female only thing, and on average the females were pictured liter then the males and thus considered weaker of the sex, although that would make them more attractive,
However that do not square with the fact that in some cases men and women are pictured with the same tones, and in a few instances the females are way darker than some of the males, 11th-12th dyn. came to mind.

The Wodabe or Fula also came to mind with this preference of liter skin especially for females, but males use cosmetics to lighten their skin, however they are viewed as "Reds" in African ethno color scheme while folks like the Mandingos are Black, the same is for the Black Yoruba vs Red Beni and Red Ibos Vs Black Ibos, even in late pre Christian Nubia, there were confrontations of Red Nuba vs Black Nuba according to
Ezana (330–356 AD). In an inscription found in Meroe, he announces:

I took the field against the Noba when the people of Noba revolted and did violence to the Mangurto; Hasa and Barya, and the Black Noba waged war on the Red Noba. I fought on the Takkaze [Atbara] at the ford of Kemalke. They fled, and I pursued the fugitives twenty-three days slaying them and capturing others and taking plunder; I burnt their towns, and seized their corn and their bronze and the dried meat and the images in their temples and destroyed the stocks of corn and cotton; and the enemy plunged into the river Seda [Blue Nile]. I arrived at the Kasu [Kush], slaying them and taking others prisoner at the junction of the rivers Seda and Takkaze. I dispatched troops up the Seda against their towns of Alwa and Daro; they slew and took prisoners and threw them into the water and they returned safe and sound. And I sent the troops down the Seda against the towns of straw of the Noba and Negues; the towns of masonry of the Kasu which the Noba had taken were Tabito, Fertoti; and they arrived at the territory of the Red Noba, and my people returned safe and sound after they had taken prisoners and slain others and had seized their plunder.10

So it may not be universal according to my friend Astyanax but does seemed prevalent.
India which is now notoriously famous for bleaching was not at-least in some ancient or medieval communities ,they took a different route.

"It is a fact that in this country when a child is born they anoint him once a week with oil of sesame, and this makes him grow much darker than when he was born. For I assure you that the darkest man is here the most highly esteemed and considered better than those who are not so dark. Let me add that in very truth these people portray and depict their gods and idols black and their devils white as snow. For they say that God and all the saints are black and the devils are all white..." Marco Polo.

Now mind you this may very well be a mark of manly beauty only and not feminine, I only suspect that it could also apply to females but I have no proof.

a reply to: Bybyots

It's something I've wondered about too. Not so much the 'fairer skin' element that Asty mentions, but the cultural impetus for women to be shaven and wearing make-up. I realise it's an extension of sexual dimorphism and that it's probably ingrained from paternalistic societies. There's probably some great anthro work out there I should read.

Although male expectations might have perpetuated cosmetics for women, I wonder if it was women who began the custom? After all, the rouged lips and emphasised eyes would have elevated one woman over another as a mate. I suppose it's been akin to a genetic waltz through time with either gender being propelled by culture and selection.

I dig the reference to the book. It hadn't struck me before how voiceless women are in there. If you think about it, there aren't many references to women at all.

@ Astyanax - I haven't seen you around as much lately. Are congratulations in order?

Maybe they were trying to look like the "gods"? At least I know some darker skinned cultures had white skinned gods. Not sure about the Egyptians though. Well, anyway, this is only one example, so, we can't really make any assumptions from it about the Egyptian culture as a whole, or any subcultures, castes, or whatnot. Since she was mummified, we can assume she was a "noble" class citizen though, correct?

But we have not seen this before in any other mummies. Maybe, like Moses, she came from outside Egypt, and somehow made her way into the upper class, taking her skin whitening custom with her from wherever she came from, or she used it to fit in better with the other Egyptians, since, perhaps, she was noticeably darker?

originally posted by: 3n19m470
Maybe they were trying to look like the "gods"? At least I know some darker skinned cultures had white skinned gods. Not sure about the Egyptians though. Well, anyway, this is only one example, so, we can't really make any assumptions from it about the Egyptian culture as a whole, or any subcultures, castes, or whatnot. Since she was mummified, we can assume she was a "noble" class citizen though, correct?

But we have not seen this before in any other mummies. Maybe, like Moses, she came from outside Egypt, and somehow made her way into the upper class, taking her skin whitening custom with her from wherever she came from, or she used it to fit in better with the other Egyptians, since, perhaps, she was noticeably darker?

Well from a color symbol complex the "Kemitians" assumed Black things are good the things almost the reverse of ours, and in some cases Khem = black is like a sir name like Km-Horus = Black Horus, Kem the soil of the land was the good soil as opposed to desrt or the red land, the rejuvenation of life was Black as opposed to white which was the symbol of death in some cases, Red was symbolized wild or untamed ie chaos, Set from which we get Satan was symbolized by Red and Satan is made red, as in the Red Devil down to Christian times, gold was sometimes looked upon as the skin of the Gods.
And Very dark skinned folks made up much of the upper class this was very apparent in the 11-12th dyn as was stated earlier.

I think the above is Mentuhopt's wife Kemsit his daughter was pictured like her mom with the same licorice shade rather than chocolate or cornbread.
KEMET

A comprehensive list of the structure and usages of perhaps the most significant
word in the Ancient Egyptian language. All of these words can be found in "An
Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary" by E. A. Wallis Budge, Dover, NY

Used as an adjective

kem;kemem;kemom - black
kemu - black (m)
keme.t - black (f)
hime.t keme.t - "black woman" (woman of Black)
himu.t keme.t - "black women" (women of Black)

Used as a noun

keme.t - any black person, place, or thing

A (determinative) is then used to be more specific:

keme.t (woman) - "the Black woman"; ie, 'divine woman'
keme.t (cow) - "a Black cow" - ie, a 'sacred cow'
Keme.t (nation) - "the Black nation"

kem - a black one (m)
keme.t - a black one (f)
kemu - black ones (m)
kemu.t - black ones (f)
kemeti - two black ones


Used for Nationality

Sa Kemet - a man of Black (an Egyptian male)
Sa.t Kemet - a woman of Black (an Egyptian female)
Rome.t n Kemet - the people of Black (Egyptians); Coptic "Rmnk"
Kemetou - Blacks (ie, 'citizens')
Kememou - Black people (of the Black nation); and as Budge points
out, this word is preceded by "Na" which indicates the plural - "Na Kememou", which
in both Ancient and Modern Coptic Egyptian ("Ni Kmomou") means "The Blacks"
Had posted this earlier in one of my threads, however this do not mean that apart from any ideals and symbolism , that their daily lives they might not have been like modern day people with all kinds of contradictions,AAs and other modern Blacks will say Black is beautiful but will still get into shadism, I am not sure if that was the case with the lady but can't rule that out.

a reply to: Astyanax

All over the world, there is a sexual preference among men for fairer-skinned women. It has, as far as we can tell, persisted throughout history. That is why, regardless of race, women have fairer skins than men. It is the result of sexual selection.

Don’t ask me why.

Me neither. It has had such a tremendous influence. I don't understand it either but it has had such an impact on natural selection.

Anyway: turns me on , too.

Thanks, Son of Hector.

I hope that all is well with you and yours.

D.

a reply to: Kandinsky

Although male expectations might have perpetuated cosmetics for women, I wonder if it was women who began the custom? After all, the rouged lips and emphasised eyes would have elevated one woman over another as a mate. I suppose it's been akin to a genetic waltz through time with either gender being propelled by culture and selection.

I dig the reference to the book. It hadn't struck me before how voiceless women are in there.[b/]

Yeah, for sure. Let me tell you about the girls I fall for.

I can't help it. I go for the completely estrogen-psycho Queen-Bees.

And I seem especially made just for them.

I know, This is probably TMI for a post but "WTF"?.

My Mom has to wake up 3 hrs before her day starts to start the cosmetics.

Nuff said?

So I have a natural attunement for this sort of thing; I'm soothed by a strange bathroom counter rich in cosmetic textiles, and I've been watching this # go down for years.

Yes, they compete with one another. Strongly. Attempting to achieve some "6th sigma" of beauty via cosmetics and "beauty treatments", which i believe to be a sub-category of cosmetics.

I don't think that is only male preference that drives the industry. I think that the prime driving factor involved is inter-gender competition. Or, at least, it is equally as important.

a reply to: Baddogma

Sigh, everyone knows the six-fingered (extra for her pleasure) Anu-nooki were from a planet farther away from their star and thus pale, hence all lesser ape-men and woman strove to emulate that "master" race by whitening themselves.

No one will believe the truth. Your efforts are futile.

Assimilate.

a reply to: Kandinsky

the cultural impetus for women to be shaven and wearing make-up.

Are you sure it’s cultural? I’m not.

I realise it's an extension of sexual dimorphism and that it's probably ingrained from paternalistic societies.

Neither am I sure that the second clause in the above sentence is in any way connected to the first.

The assumption that sexual differentiation is ‘cultural’ rather than instinctive is a very shaky one. Paternalism notwithstanding.

a reply to: Astyanax

The assumption that sexual differentiation is ‘cultural’ rather than instinctive is a very shaky one. Paternalism notwithstanding.

How powerfully might aesthetics cross cultural boundaries?

Are aesthetics some sort of great feild-levelling force that crosses cultural boundaries?

Why is it connected to vision?

???

Perhaps I should add some information, then:

In Egyptian art, women were painted with yellow skin (that signified that the person, no matter what age) was female. Males were painted with red skin. The exception is Nubians, who were painted with a dark skin tone and no differentiation between male and female.

BOTH sexes wore makeup and both sexes shaved their bodies and their heads when possible -- it was part of the notion of cleanliness.

There were no "white skinned gods" - unless you counted Set, who was often cast in a negative light (depending on which eara. Poor guy eventually ends up being depicted as a demon in the Christian era.)