Dwarfs were liked, respected in ancient Egypt: study

<body leftmargin="0" bgcolor="#000060" text="#FFFFFF" link="#FFFF00" vlink="#FF9900"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="95%" height="1"> <tr> <center> <td valign="top" width="33%" height="33"> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><font face="Arial" size="5">Dwarfs were respected in ancient Egypt: study</font></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font size="1" face="Arial">Dec. 27</font><font face="Arial"><font size="1">, 2005<br> Courtesy John Wiley & Sons Inc. Publishers<br> and World Science staff<br> </font><br> </font><b><font face="Arial" size="2">Dwarfs in ancient Egypt were well accepted, weren’t seen as handicapped and sometimes attained great respect, according to a new study.</font></b> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><font face="Arial" size="2">Scholars had previously noted that some dwarfs reached high positions in ancient Egyptian society, and that some gods were even represented as dwarfs. But the new study adds a detailed investigation of the role of dwarfs in the society, both among the ruling classes and the masses.<br> <br> </font> <p><font face="Arial" size="2"> The study, which analyzed funerary remains and depictions of dwarfs, is published in the January 2006 issue of the <i> American Journal of Medical Genetics</i>.</font> <p><font face="Arial" size="2"> “The image of short people in ancient Egypt is essentially positive,” wrote the author, Chahira Kozma, a pediatrician at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C. <br> <br> “Dwarfs were likely accepted in ancient Egypt and were given a visible role in the society. Furthermore their daily activities suggest integration in daily life and that their disorder was not shown as a physical handicap.”</font></p> <p><font face="Arial" size="2">Dwarfism is thought to have been common in ancient Egypt, with some scholars suggesting it might have been a result of inbreeding.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Arial">Some researchers have argued that Egyptian benevolence toward dwarfs was not a result of overlooking the fact they were different, but of an education that included principles of tolerance. An Egyptian manual of advice for life of around 1100 B.C., known as the Instruction of Amenemope, enjoins: “Do not jeer at a blind man nor tease a dwarf.”<br> <br> The Egyptians left an immense legacy of information on their culture and daily life, making it easier for scholars to study the role of dwarfs. The information comes from inscriptions and depictions on tomb and temple walls, documents on papyrus, and funerary objects. The hot, dry climate and elaborate burial systems also have left intact many human remains, including complete and partial skeletons. </font></p> <p><font face="Arial" size="2"> As a result, Kozma said, Egypt is a major source of information on how ancients perceived achondroplasia, the bone disorder underlying the most common type of dwarfism. <br> <br> The earliest biological evidence of dwarfs in ancient Egypt dates to an early time called the <a href="http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/051217_egyptfrm.htm" target="_top"> Badarian period</a>, of about 4500 B.C., Kozma said. There are also several skeletons from the so-called Old Kingdom period of 2700 to 2190 BC. <br> <br> Depictions of dwarfs in tomb and vase paintings, statues and other art forms abound, she added. These show dwarfs working as personal attendants, overseers of linen, animal tenders, jewelers, dancers and entertainers. <br> <br> Several dwarfs were members of households of high officials and were esteemed enough to receive lavish burials in the royal cemetery close to the pyramids, she added. <br> <br> There were also several dwarf gods in ancient Egypt; the best known were involved in magical practices to protect the living and the dead. Repetition of certain pictures shows that they were well integrated into various aspects of society, specializing in certain occupations, added Kozma. Ordinary dwarfs are depicted in at least 50 tombs.</font></b></p> <font face="Arial" size="2"> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>* * *</p> <p><font face="Arial" size="2" color="#FFFFFF">Send us a <a href="mailto:editor@world-science.net">comment</a> on this story, or <a href="mailto:?Body=http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051227_egyptdwarffrm.htm">send it to a friend</a></font></p> <p></b></p> </center></td> </tr> </table> </body>