Henna or not henna, that is the question - 2nd part

INDEX
1st part: the mummy of Asru 
2nd part: the Screaming Woman and the woman in burial 16 from Nekhen
3rd part: the french research on ancient henna

In this second part we are going to examine two more studies that claim to have identified henna on mummies’ hair.


THE SCREAMING WOMAN (half of 1400 BC)
The so-called Screaming Woman is an anonymous woman with a wide-open mouth discovered in Thebes (modern Luxor), beneath the burial site of Senmut’s relatives, the architect of 18th-Dynasty Queen Hatschepsut (1479–1458 BC). She was around 48 when she died. 

The Screaming Woman and her wig 

 

In the 2024 study Paleoradiological and scientific investigations of the screaming woman mummy both her wig and her hair were analysed.
I quote from the study:

Analysis using FTIR for the skin sample identified embalming materials with absorption curves corresponding to juniper and frankincense.
Fourier-transform-infrared-spectroscopy analysis of the natural hair surface revealed that it is heavily coated with henna and juniper.
Fourier-transform-infrared-spectroscopy identified the wig hair through its characteristic absorption curve as fibers of midrib of date palm based on the characteristics of lignocellulosic fibers peak observed at 3200–3600 (19). FTIR curves identified frankincense and juniper material on the surface of the wig fibers sample. (Figure 14)

(For more information about the FTIR technique see here).

Here’s figure 14 and its caption.

Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) of a sample from the wig fibers on the head of the mummified woman CIT8 shows the absorption curves identify the material used to manufacture the wig fibers and the embalming ingredients on the surface of the wig fibers. Absorption curve (A) is for the wig hair fiber sample, which matches with curve (B) for the palm fiber (midrib) standard. Absorption curves (C,D) correspond to frankincense and juniper embalming ingredients, respectively, detected on the surface of the sampled wig fibers. The anonymous mummy (known as CIT8) was discovered in Luxor, Egypt, near Senmut’s service tomb, the architect during Queen Hatschepsut’s reign 1479–1458 BC.

 

As you can see, the figure only refers to the wig sample, not to the hair sample. The authors state they identified henna using FTIR by analysing a sample of the mummy's hair, but the article does not provide the specific spectrum of the hair, nor does it offer a direct comparison with a henna standard that would allow the reader to verify this identification.

Again, the authors are asking us to take their word for it.



The wig
What’s the point in taking the trouble of dyeing you hair if you wear a wig?
As a matter of fact, Egyptians used to wear wigs for several reasons.
The first was hygene. In order to avoid lice, both men and women often cut their hair very short or, in case of priests, shaved their head altogher (priests used to shave their bodies all over every other day, to mantain ritual purity). The wig, having a mesh-like foundation base, allowed body heat to escape.
The second reason is that the wig was a sort of status marker. Elite men and women could afford wigs made up of human hair and with elaborate hairstyle and jewels. Commoners used either “extensions” or wigs made up of natural fibres, or of natural fibres and human hair (like this one).
Thirdly, wigs were often used during celebrations, banquets and other important occasions.
The hair used to make wigs could come from various sources. Usually, it either came from people who would sell their hair to make some money or from prisoners of war. However, in some cases, the person who commissioned the wig could provide his/her own hair.

Wig of an 18th dynasty male official from Thebes (British Museum EA.2560). It is made up of blond curly hair and dark straight hair. 

 

This means not all Egyptians used to keep their hair very short, or, at least, not always. For example, the next mummy we are going to see (which dates back to Predynastic Egypt) has shoulder-lenght hair along with many false hair swatches knotted to the hair, which means that even in the Predynastic period people cared for their hair.
In any case, if the wig was a status marker for aristocrats and affluent people, you don’t waste your time in dyeing your hair. Or, if for some reason you wanted to have red hair, you could buy a wig made up of human hair and dye it red.
(For more information about Egyptian wigs: Hair and wigs in ancient Egypt, An Ancient Egyptian Wig: Construction and Reconstruction, The Hair and Wig of Meryt: Grooming in the 18th Dynasty).

 

THE WOMAN IN BURIAL 16 IN HIERAKONPOLIS (circa 3500 BC)
Nekhen, also known as Hierakonpolis, was the religious and political capital of Upper Egypt at the end of prehistoric Egypt (c. 3200–3100 BC), and probably also during the Early Dynastic Period (c. 3100–2686 BC). It was located about 100 kilometers south of the modern-day city of Luxor.
The city belongs to the Naqada II period. The end of this period, namely Naqada IID, is thought to correspond to the origins of Dynastic Egypt, since it saw the inception of kingship, writing, and organized religion, which would become the basis of the classical Egyptian civilization.

 

The ruins of Nekhen were originally excavated toward the end of the nineteenth century by the English archaeologists James Quibell and Frederick W. Green.
John Garstang excavated at Nekhen from 1905–1906. He excavated a Predynastic cemetery consisting of 188 graves, which served the bulk of the city population during the late Predynastic and Early Dynastic periods, revealing the burial practices of the non-elite Egyptians living at Nekhen. More recently, the concession was excavated further by a multinational team of archaeologists, Egyptologists, geologists, and members of other sciences, currently coordinated by Renée Friedman. 
For more information about Hierakonpolis see here. 


The analysis
In burial 16 a woman of around 30 years of age was found and, interestingly, she had a considerable number of false hair swatches knotted to her hair. The finished hairstyle was very voluminous and was probably performed by a hairdresser.

 

Here we read: “In fact, her graying locks had been dyed, as analysis has shown, with henna (Lawsonia inermis).” but the article doesn’t explain which kind of analysis.
However, we find the “analysis” in Nekhen News Volume 10, Fall 1998. 
Page 8: 

And, if this wasn’t sufficient, the same lady also provided us with the earliest evidence for the use of hair dye. In depth examination showed a contrast between the auburn cast of her dark brown hair and a smaller number of unpigmented white strands of hair associated with the aging process. The unpigmented hair had been turned the bright orange color typical of henna, a vegetable dye made from the powdered leaves of the shrub Lawsonia inermis. This shrub grows yet in the area and is still used for the same purpose by the local population, who kindly showed us where the best henna bushes were to be found and allowed us to help ourselves to the leaves. They also showed us the heavy grinding stone used specifically for the purpose of grinding the leaves to a fine powder, which is then mixed with water and used to color both the hair and skin. Inspired, we decided to undertake comparative tests using the leaves we had picked, ground down and mixed with water to produce the dye. This dye was then applied to modern hair samples supplied by the current Mudira (Renée). Our tests resulted in exactly the same results as those observed in the ancient samples.

Yes, you understood correctly: the “analysis” consisted in dyeing with henna modern hair samples (whose colour is not mentioned), and since the result was the same as the ancient sample, they concluded the woman in burial 16 used henna. I think any comment is superfluous.

The article also states that the man in burial 79 had natural red hair, but the author doesn’t clarify how they found out. 

I just want to point out two small details to you.
First, this woman had dark brown hair and a smaller number of white strands of hair that turned orange after she supposedly used henna. Now, if you have white strands of hair and want to hide them, you use a dye of the same colour as you hair, because if you use a lighter colour the white strands will remain visible, just like on this woman’s hair. What’s the point in having dark brown hair with orange strands? Besides, she could easily hide the white strands with the false hair swatches.

Second, this mummy dates back to the Predynastic Egypt, around 3500 BC (it’s a bit older than the Gebelein Man we discussed here). So, if Egyptians have been dyeing their hair with henna for more than 3 millennia, why no ancient source mentions this habit? As we will see in the next part, the only texts from the Mediatteranean area which refer to Lawsonia inermis as a dye are by Roman and Greek authors. Obviously, they didn’t call the plant “Lawsonia inermis”. 

And, I repeat, I’m not saying henna was not found on the hair of the Screaming Woman or of the woman in burial 16. I’m only saying these two studies don’t provide the necessary evidence, so I don’t understand why, along with the one we saw in the previous part, they are considered the definitive proof of Egyptians having used henna as a hair dye.
Agatha Christie would have said “It is the same motif three times repeated. That cannot be coincidence.” (The A.B.C. Murders)

 

Bloody Orangey Mary

I've recently been reading a book titled The King's Pearl by Melita Thomas. It's about Mary I, Queen of England, aka Bloody Mary. In the book there's the following picture, showing a young Mary looking very red-haired and blue-eyed.

We've seen this image before, but it's nice to see a glossy print in a book.

The red hair is interesting given that her mother was the Spanish Katherine of Aragon. Though she too was said to have been redheaded. Perhaps not altogether surprising given she was of English descent on the maternal side - a great, great grand daughter of John of Gaunt (I'm not sure I have the right amount of greats in there - it's a bit complicated). Still, the preponderance of red hair in all these royal lines is a tad strange. As we've noted many times before.

In the book Mary's stubborn temperament is often blamed on her "Spanish blood" by English courtiers.

Henna and Ochre

As we're on the topic of hair I might as well touch on something related. In recent posts Emanuela has been investigating if the hair of Egyptian mummies was dyed. As she's doing all the hard work I can do a bit of lazy speculation. It all got me thinking about the commonness of red dye throughout human history. Not only do we have henna which is commonly used, but we also have red ochre, which humans have said to have been using for hundreds of thousands of years. Even today some African tribes use it on their hair and skin.

It's odd that dying the hair red was so ubiquitous, whilst, at the same time, actual red hair has been unpopular. According to science, red hair first appeared in humans 30,000 to 50,000 years ago. So seemingly people were using red ochre before red hair appeared. You could speculate that perhaps red hair evolved as people were selecting for something already popular due to the common use of red ochre. And that now such dyes are out of fashion, red hair, like an old pair of flares, has become dated and unpopular too.

That would be a touch silly, but nevertheless, the common use of red pigments is something to wonder at. 

Henna or not henna, that is the question - 1st part

INDEX
1st part: the mummy of Asru
2nd part: the Screaming Woman and the woman in burial 16 from Nekhen
3rd part: the French research on ancient henna

In the first part of my article about fair-haired mummies there is a short paragrapgh about henna, which I suggest you to read before this one.
There, I pointed out that no Egyptian source mentions henna in relation to mummification or hair dyeing, and that the only alleged Egyptian source mentioning the plant today known as Lawsonia inermis is the Ebers papyrus, but probably the plant called HNW in this papyrus is not Lawsonia.
So, basically, the use of henna in ancient Egypt is scarcely documented.
I also pointed out a thing that is usually overlooked when speaking of henna. Henna, being a natural dye, can only dye tone on tone, that is, its colour adds up to the colour of your hair. This means that if you have dark hair you will never dye it red with henna. At the very most you will get copper shades, but if you want a colour like the one of natural red hair, you need to have light-coloured hair. Also, depending on the shade of red you want, you will probably need to mix henna with darker herbs.

In this article (which will be probably split into three parts) we are going to examine three studies claiming to have identified traces of henna on the hair of Egyptian mummies and we will see that, actually, they don’t provide the necessary evidence.
After that, I will briefly talk about a French article on henna, which, in my opinion, is interesting on many levels and which can help to clarify the matter.




THE MUMMY OF ASRU (circa 700 BC)
The mummy of Asru and the two associated coffins were presented to the Manchester museum in 1825. They were the first Egyptian antiquities to enter the collection.
Their exact provenance is unknown, but probably they originated at the Egyptian capital of Thebes (modern Luxor). Inscriptions on the coffin provided the information that the owner was named Asru, her mother was Ta-du-Amen and she was a temple chantress. Her duties involved singing to accompany the sacred rituals to the god Amun.
Scientific studies revealed that Asru was 50 or 60 when she died, probably around 700 BC.
As you can see, she comes from the same city as Takabuti and is dated to the same period. 

Coffin of Asru

 

In 2003 an analysis of Asru was published: Asru, an Ancient Egyptian Temple Chantress, by Rosalie Ann David and V. Garner (we have already met David in the article about Takabuti). I’m going to quote some passages:

2.3.2. The identification of henna
Evidence of the use of henna has been found on a sample of hair attached to tissue taken from Asru's scalp. The following procedure was used to investigate this sample using several distinct stages.
Optical microscopy was used to examine the hair sample, and the optical image showed a portion with obvious red colour that was lacking in the rest of the hair, where there appeared to be no pigmentation. This posed the question whether the colour was due to the addition of a colouring agent. for example henna. or to the bleaching of a naturally coloured red hair. In either case, it appeared that the two sections of contrasting pigmentation were the result of the postmortem hair growth: the colour had been absorbed into the hair during life, and new unstained hair had grown after death. When the hair was viewed using the Bio-Rad lR Microscope/Spectrometer, the red portion had additional signals assigned to aromatic and phenolic compounds that were lacking in the non-coloured portion. […]
Application of this technique to the hair sample demonstrated the presence of terpenoid compounds including cadalin and podocarpin, known constituents of vegetation extracts such as henna. […]
The ancient Egyptians are known to have used henna in several ways. The odiferous
pink or cream-coloured flowers of the shrub (Lawsonia illermis L.) [21] may have been added to the perfume of some ointments and, for both the living and the dead, the leaves may have been used to stain the palms of hands, soles of feet, and toenails and fingernails [22].
Henna was used by the Romans to dye their hair red, and the custom is still widespread amongst women in Islamic countries today. The hair of some Egyptian mummies is also evidently dyed red, but the project on Asru's hair sample is the first time that spectrometric studies have been undertaken in order to demonstrate conclusively that the dye was henna.

Basically, organic material was found on the red-coloured portion of hair, while on the white hair grown after death (post-mortem hair growth is not unusual) there was no organic material.

Now, please note the wording. The authors write: “Application of this technique to the hair sample demonstrated the presence of terpenoid compounds including cadalin and podocarpin, known constituents of vegetation extracts such as henna.”
They are not saying that these compunds are exclusive of henna. On the contrary, they are saying these compounds can be found in several vegetation extracts and henna is one of them. Besides, they don’t list all the terpenoid compounds they found: why?

But let’s have a look at the compounds they mention, cadalin and podocarpin.

Cadalin
For starters, the real name of cadalin is cadelene and is found in essential oils of many higher plants. Here’s the list of the plants that contain cadalene and, as you can verify by yourselves, Lawsonia inermis is not listed.
Cadalene has been found is some human remains from Egypt and has been linked to the Atlas cedar, a species of coniferous tree (see here and here). It has also been found on ancient Egyptian pleated textiles along with other elements, suggesting a conifer oil, probably juniper oil.
Interestinlgy, cadalene is found in the essential oil of Lawsonia inermis, but a compound identified in the essential oil cannot automatically be considered a marker of the dyeing paste. Besides, compositions of Lawsonia inermis essential oil may vary.
In any case, the presence of cadalene may be explained with a precursor present in the plant which transformed into cadalene during heating or pyrolysis and, as a matter of fact, the hair sample from Asru did undergo pyrolysis, as the authors explain in the study: 

A minute sample of the coloured hair (1-2 mg) was investigated by MSSV-GC-MS (MicroScale Sealed Vessel pyrolysis coupled to high resolution Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry). In this technique that was developed for the investigation of organic residues in geological materials, the sample is sealed in a silica tube and heated at 300 C [300 °C = 572 °F] for twenty-four hours; any polymeric material undergoes thermal scission to form volatile organic compounds that are released as the tube is opened and transferred in a stream of helium and cryofocussed using liquid nitrogen so that they can be analysed by conventional GC-MS.

(For more information about GC-MS see here).
So, cadalene can be a transformation product of terpene precursors during these thermal processes. To interpret this correctly, one would need to know the behavior of the various henna components under the same pyrolysis conditions.

 

Podocarpin
Apparently, a thing called podocarpin doesn’t exist.
There is the podocarpic acid and the podocarpane, both isolated from species like Podocarpus totara and Dacrycarpus dacrydioides. Podocarpus is a large genus of conifers, the most numerous and widely distributed of the family Podocarpaceae. So, no Lawsonia inermis.
I only found two plants with both cadalene and podocarpane.
One is the Taiwania cryptomerioides, a large coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae (here are its compounds), and, as you can infer from its name, the genus is named after Taiwan and the plant grows in Asia.
The other is the savin juniper (Juniperus sabina), which is native to the mountains of central and southern Europe and western and central Asia, typically growing at elevations of 1,000–3,300 metres (3,300–10,800 feet, here are its compounds).
None of them is a hair dye. 

Reconstructed head of Asru by Richard Neave (source)

 

 

And the lawsone?
Some of you may have noticed something conspicuous by its absence: the lawsone. Lawsone, also known as hennotannic acid, is a red-orange dye present in the leaves of Lawsonia inermis, as well as in the common walnut and water hyacinth. So, one would expect to find traces of it in hair dyed with henna.
However, the absence of lawsone in an ancient find is not a definitive proof that henna was not used. Over the millennia, the compound could have degraded, or it might be present in quantities below the detection threshold. For instance, in this 2024 study focused on identifying natural dyes in medieval Islamic manuscripts, the presence of lawsone was considered reliable in only four of the samples. This demonstrates that degradation can indeed make it difficult to identify henna in archaeological finds, even when sophisticated analytical techniques are employed.
In any case, the authors of the study on Asru should have explained whether they looked for lawsone and, if so, provided possible reasons why they did not find it.

 

Why citing unreliable sources?
If you read again the passage from the study I have quoted in the beginning, you will see there are two footnotes, 21 and 22: 21 refers to 1962 book Ancient Egyptian Materials and Industries, by A. Lucas, and 22 to the 1989 book An Ancient Egyptian Herbal, by Lise Manniche. 
Well, if you search both of them for the word “henna”, you will see a stream of “it is suggested… possibly… probably…”. I’m going to give some example, but you can see the rest by yourselves.

From Ancient Egyptian Materials and Industries (my bold type).

Page 87: In connexion with henna it may be mentioned that the leaves were possibly used in ancient Egypt, much as they are to-day, in the form of a paste to colour the palms of the hands, the soles of the feet, the nails and the hair. Thus, the Romans certainly employed henna, an Egyptian shrub, for colouring the hair, and probably therefore the Egyptians also, and Elliot Smith describes the hair of the mummy of Henttawi (Eighteenth Dynasty) as being dyed a brilliant reddish colour, which he suggests was done with henna.
Page 234: The materials mentioned by Herodotus and Diodorus as having been employed in the mummification process, as also certain materials stated by Pliny to have been used by the Egyptians for embalming and those found in recent times in connexion with mummies, taking them in alphabetical order, are: beeswax, bitumen, cassia, cedar oil, cedri succus, cedrium, cinnamon, gum, henna, juniper berries, natron, ointments, onions, palm wine, resins (including gum-resins and balsams), salt, sawdust, spices and wood tar or wood pitch, all of which may now be considered.

This last passage may give the idea that, in previous pages of the book, henna was mentioned in relation to the works by either Herodotus or Diodorus or Pliny, but that’s not true. None of these authors mentions henna in their works about Egyptian mummification and, as I wrote in this article I have already mentioned, no ancient source whatsoever mentions henna in relation to mummification.


From An Ancient Egyptian Herbal (my bold type).

Page 37: Red dye was extracted from the roots of Alkanna tinctoria, Rubia tinctorum (madder) and the flowers of Carthamus tinctorius. lt is possible that henna was used as well.
Page 47: Sorne Egyptians appear to have dyed their fingernails, but the nature of the red colour used is unknown. lt may have been henna.
Page 114: The leaves have been found in tombs of the Late Period and of Ptolemaic date, but the actual use of the plant as a colouring agent is somewhat disputed.
Although there is evidence that the Egyptians coloured their finger-nails, there is no proof that they used henna to do so. Sorne mummies were found to have
their hair dyed red, and henna may have been used for this.

So, you see how it works. Authors cite books to support their thesis, but when you verify these sources, you find out they don’t support said thesis. 

What is lacking in this study
The authors write: 

This finding was the starting point for an extended project at Manchester which has examined samples from other sources 123], with the aims of detecting the presence of henna in ancient Egyptian hair, using MSSV-GC-MS and comparing ancient and modern dyed samples to ascertain the differences between them.

If they compared ancient and modern dyed samples, where are the figures showing the results of the comparison? The only figure in this study refers to the palm wine used in the mummification process.
Basically, what is missing is the evidence of the following passages.
First of all, they needed to prepare authentic Lawsonia inermis leaves, a dyeing paste obtained from macerated leaves, and modern hair dyed with this paste, possibly including both untreated hair and hair treated with other plant-based dyes.
Then, they needed to subject the reference samples to the same MSSV-GC-MS treatment used for Asru’s hair, identifying which compounds are actually produced following heating to 300 °C.
Then, they needed to compare the profile of Asru’s hair with the experimental profiles, verifying the compounds through retention times, mass spectra, and, where possible, authentic standards.
Finally they needed to determine whether the observed profile effectively distinguishes henna from other plant-based dyes and from naturally red hair.

 

Egyptian mummies and modern science
In the 2008 book by Rosalie David Egyptian mummies and modern science we find the plate below with the following caption:

Visible light and infrared images of a hair from the mummy of Asru. Top left: hair (colourless) with darker coating. Bottom left: Infrared image over entire infrared spectrum, showing organic material unevenly coating the hair (red colour indicates highest infrared activity). Top right: infrared image over the range 1,600–1,700 cm -1 only, indicative of the concentration of C=O on the hair. Bottom right: Anticipated infrared absorbtion area if hair was coated with plant oils.

However, this plate is not a proof of henna, because the caption only mentions “organic material” and “plant oils”, and the red and yellow colours indicate a higher activity or infrared answer.


On page 145 of the book we read: 

Shown in Plate XVI are optical and IR images of a hair from the twentyfifth Dynasty mummy of Asru, a chantress from the Temple of Amun at Karnak. The lumpy nature of the optical picture, echoed by the average IR
picture, is considered to be due to a paste of oils and dyes applied to the scalp and hair. This theory is borne out by the uneven orange colouring on the hair, suggestive of henna.
The active ingredient in henna is hydoxynaphthoquinone, a light yellow crystalline compound when pure. In henna, it complexes and oxidises to produce the characteristic orange colour. The uneven coating on the hair suggests it was applied after death as part of the ritual preparation process rather than as a cosmetic during life, an identical interpretation to that obtained from another mummy (Plate XV). Mapping the 1,600 to 1,700- cm−1 C=O and aromatic carbon region produces an image with bright spots roughly corresponding to the orange areas in the optical picture, not inconsistent with the application of the aromatic oil/henna mix.

As usual, we have the typical wording “suggestive of henna” and “not inconsistent with henna mix”, but zero scientific evidence.
Besides, here they say “The uneven coating on the hair suggests it was applied after death as part of the ritual preparation process rather than as a cosmetic during life”, while in the 2003 study they wrote “The colour had been absorbed into the hair during life, and new unstained hair had grown after death.”

Just to make a comparison, this is a study about red colourants in archaeological textiles from pharaonic Egypt, and if you scroll it you will see several tables and figures with the results of the analyses.

Basically, the authors of the study on Asru are asking us to take their word for it, but this is science, not religion.
Just to be clear, I’m not saying henna was not found on the hair of this mummy. I’m only saying the study by David and Garner doesn’t provide the necessary evidence.

My idea is that cadalene, podocarpic acid/podocarpane and the red colour on Asru’s white hair might come from three different sources. For example, it is possible that one or more substances used during mummification were put on the mummy’s white hair (juniper resin was known for having anti-bacterial and insecticidal properties) and, over the millennia, this substance or substances coloured the white hair red.
Or, it is also possible that Asru used hair products, maybe a “gel” like the one of Takabuti, or something to avoid lice, and this product gave her hair a reddish hue after death (the Ebers Papyrus describes a remedy for lice prepared from date flour).

In the next part we will examine two more studies.

One more red-haired mummy from Egypt: Takabuti

Takabuti was an ancient Egyptian woman who lived in Thebes (modern Luxor) around 660 BC and died between the ages of twenty and thirty. Her mummy and coffin are in the Ulster Museum in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The coffin was opened and the mummy unrolled on 27 January 1835, and the leading Egyptologist Edward Hincks deciphered the hieroglyphs, revealing that she was a noblewoman and the mistress of a great house.
Takabuti was killed by an axe, probably while she was attempting to escape from her assailant. The wound was found in her upper left shoulder, and was more than likely instantaneously fatal. It was also found that Takabuti possessed two very rare mutations: an extra tooth and an extra vertebra.

The coffin and mummy and Takabuti

In 2020, the University of Manchester's KNH Centre analysed Takabuti's mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and determined it was H4a1. This is a European haplogroup, and in the archaeological record it has previously been reported in Guanche remains from the Canary Islands, in Bell Beaker and Únětice remains from Germany and in an individual from early Bronze Age Bulgaria. The oldest reported H4a1 samples are from Cardial Neolithic contexts in Spain and Portugal, dating from c. 5300 BC. Today, this subclade is relatively rare in modern populations, while haplogroup H is the most common mtDNA clade in Europe. As you can read here, H4 “is often found in the Iberian Peninsula, Britain and Ireland at levels between 1 and 5% of the population. It is associated with Neolithic migrations. H4 and H13, along with H2 account for 42% of the hg H lineages in Egypt.”
Interestingly, haplogroup H has been observed among ancient Egyptian mummies excavated at the Abusir el-Meleq archaeological site in Middle Egypt, which date from the pre-Ptolemaic/late New Kingdom and Ptolemaic periods. Additionally, haplogroup H has been found among specimens at the mainland cemetery in Kulubnarti, Sudan, which date from the Early Christian period (AD 550–800).


THE MYSTERY OF TAKABUTI'S HAIR COLOUR
As for Takabuti’s hair colour, the Wikipedia page I linked at the beginning of the article states that the mummy’s hair is auburn, although now (as you can see in the photos below) the colour is more of a yellow-orange.

 

Source

 

However (as you can read here), when the coffin was first opened, the hair was reported to be auburn and a strand was taken and put into a box. This strand (photo below) is said to be still auburn. In the photo, because of the glass, the colour is not very clear, but it looks indeed like a dark red/auburn. The change in colour of the mummy’s hair is attributed to the long exposure to the air since the time of the unwrapping. 

 

Now, the plot thickens and we will see the same pattern we already saw in the five-part article about fair-haired mummies.


First of all, in 2011 a study about Takabuti’s (and other mummies’) hair was published: Ancient Egyptian hair gel: new insight into ancient Egyptian mummification procedures through chemical analysis,  by Natalie C. McCreesh, Andrew P. Gize and Rosalie Ann David.
Hair was analysed with some of the techniques we saw here, such as gas cromatography-mass spectrometry and microscopy, and researchers found out that, in the case of Takabuti, a fatty substance was used to coat the hair, which was interpreted as a product that was used in life to style the hair (similar to a modern day ‘hair gel’ or fixative). It was made up of camphor, tetradecanoic acid, phthalate ester, hexadecanoic acid, octadecanoic acid, dehydroabietic acid, methyl ester, phthalate ester, cholesterol and silicone grease.
No analysis was performed to determine the natural hair colour.

 

In the 2016 book Women in Antiquity: Real Women Across the Ancient World,  
Rosalie David (one of the authors of the 2011 study) writes (page 190): 

Another analytical study was carried out on hair taken from the mummy of Takabuti, a high-
ranking woman who lived at Thebes, c.660 bce (the mummy is now in the Ulster Museum, Belfast (UK)). This demonstrated that the reddish-blonde colour was a result of degradation, not natural pigment or the use of dye. It was also possible to show that the woman’s elaborate hairstyle, which incorporated artificial curls, had been coated with a hair-gel composed of fat mixed with camphor; 63 similar styling products have been found on mummies elsewhere. 64

As you can see, there are two footnotes, 63 and 64, but none of them clarify which study demonstrated that the reddish-blonde colour was a result of degradation (and degradation of what? Keratin or melanin?). The footnote 63 says “Personal communication, N. McCreesh”, while the 64 refers to the 2011 study.
Now, in 2009 Natalie McCreesh published the doctoral thesis Ritual anointing: analyses of hair and coffin coatings in ancient Egypt, of which only the abstract is available. Here we read: 

Another significant finding was that the red coloured hair often seen on mummified remains was caused by the embalming material and degradation of the hair, not by henna dye as has been previously suggested.

This thesis is also mentioned in the book Être vieux en Égypte aux époques lagide et impériale. On page 199 we read (I translate from French): 

The use of henna has often been proposed to explain the reddish color observed on the nails and hair of certain mummies. However, this hypothesis has been challenged in favor of a coloration attributed to embalming products. McCreesh recently conducted research on the ritual anointing of the body and funerary equipment as part of her thesis. Her results show that the red coloration of the hair on the mummies she studied does not stem from the use of henna. The oxidation of products applied during the treatment of the deceased’s body—specifically incense—could be the cause. 

At the end of this paragraph there is the footnote 1004, where the author cites McCreesh’s thesis and writes: “I warmly thank Dr. N. McCreesh for granting me access to her as-yet unpublished work, as well as for the other references she kindly provided.”
So, basically, the work demonstrating that the red hair often seen in mummies COULD be due to the oxidation of products applied during mummification is not available….

 

In 2021, the newsletter of the Ulster Archaeological Society states about Takabuti (page 11, April Lecture by Duncan Berryman): “Analysis of her hair showed that it was naturally auburn”, but unfortunately the author doesn’t say which analysis he is referring to.

Always in 2021, Rosalie David wrote one more book, The Life and Time of Takabuti in Ancient Egypt. I quote from page 58:  

Also noted during the unwrapping of the mummy was the large number of beetles that had penetrated the wrappings, attacking the body, especially the head, and more so on the sides. […] The mummy was fumigated with Phosphine gas in 1987 for conservation. […] The colour of ancient hair is often affected by degradation and mummification procedures, and cannot be presumed to represent its original colour.

Both hair from the mummy and the auburn strand taken in 1835 were analysed with light microscopy and environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM), and with gas cromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).
On page 61 we read: “Pigment retained at the root of the hair indicated the original hair colour to be dark. Cross sections of the hair indicated it to be Caucasian in shape.”

What can we say about these passages?
The first thing that comes to my mind is that researchers keep repeating the usual mantra that the red colour is due to degradation without providing any evidence of that, and this is the opposite of what is called “the scientific method”. And I’m not saying that Takabuti’s hair is not degraded. I’m saying we don’t have any evidence that the auburn colour seen in 1835 was due to melanin or keratin products of degradation. Also, these researchers don’t seem to be interested in ascertain the natural colour of mummies’ hair, in spite of the many techniques available.
Secondly, on the one hand we are constantly told that we cannnot tell the real hair colour of a mummy by simply watching its hair, but on the other this researcher, after seeing Takabuti’s hair roots are “dark”, states that the original hair colour was dark.
And anyway, what does “dark” mean in this case? Because if you watch again the photo of the strand kept in the box, you’ll see it looks quite darkish. It is not a light colour.
And how come in the case of Takabuti the colour of hair roots is considered a proof of her natural hair colour, while in the case of Ramesses II the colour of his hair roots (which is red) is not a proof of his natural hair colour?
Furthermore, there are studies about hair roots getting darker post-mortem.
In 2018 A study of the intrinsic variability and the effect of environmental conditions on the formation of a postmortem root band was published and in 2023 The rate and quality of post-mortem hair root changes in relation to melanin content.
In particular, the 2018 study is about the so-called postmortem root band (PMRB), which is defined as “an opaque ellipsoidal band composed of a collection of parallel elongated air/gas spaces and is approximately 0.5 mm above the root bulb and about 2 mm below the skin surface” which can appear in the root of hairs attached to remains during decomposition. According to the study, an aqueous environment and microbial activity are essential for the formation of PMRB-like features. Clearly, the mummy of Takabuti did not come in contact with water, but since at the moment of unwrapping beetles were found, it is possible that microbes were there too. The interaction with the “hair gel” should be taken into consideration as well.
Besides, the authors write PMRBs can appear antemortem (before the death) as well.
As far as I could understand, researchers did not analyse the roots to verify the nature of the dark colour.

Lastly, in 2023 a new analysis on Takabuti was performed, published under the title Enhancing mummy ‘palaeobiographies’ through the use of
multidisciplinary techniques and approaches and, as you can see, we find Rosalie David among the authors. The mummy was examined with several techniques. I quote from the introduction: 

Here we re-examine Takabuti’s mummy to evidence the scope of combining computerised interrogation of CT imaging, an MIP (image intensifier-guided needle biopsy), coupled with analytical technologies (genomics, proteomics, light and electron microscopy, inorganic and organic analysis and radiocarbon dating) and existing Egyptological data, to extend previous understanding of her background, life events and preparation for the afterlife. We describe a toolkit for examining hard and soft tissues and define its scope, allowing not only an “osteo- biography” to be produced but also a more holistic “palaeobiography” that brings enhanced insights about an individual.

No analysis of hair colour. 

 

So, to cut a long story short, here we have a very confused and contradictory situation, but the fact remains that Takabuti’s hair has not been analysed to ascertain the natural hair colour, in spite of the mummy having been analysed twice and with the most modern techniques. And, as usual, researchers go on repeating unproven theories about degradation to explain the red hair colour.
The usual with potatoes, as we would say in Italy.😄

 

Red-haired ancient tribes: the Wusun

The Wusun were an ancient semi-nomadic steppe people mentioned in Chinese records from the 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD. They are generally believed to be an Indo-European people who spoke a language belonging to the Indo-Iranian branch.
The Wusun originally lived between the Qilian Mountains and Dunhuang (Gansu) near the Yuezhi people.

The Wusun and neighbouring polities circa 200 BC, before their westward migration

 

Around 173 BC, the Yuezhi attacked the Wusun and killed their king Nandoumi. According to the legend, Nandoumi's infant son Liejiaomi was left in the wild. He was miraculously saved from hunger being suckled by a she-wolf, and fed meat by ravens. Since this myth shares similarities with those of the Hittites, the Zhou Chinese, the Scythians, the Romans, the Goguryeo, Turks, Mongols and Dzungars, scholars have suggested that the Wusun, Sogdians, or both could represent an Indo-Aryan influence.
In 162 BC, the Yuezhi were finally defeated by the Xiongnu (a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples), after which they fled Gansu, a province in Northwestern China. After the Yuezhi retreat, the Wusun settled in Gansu, as vassals of the Xiongnu.
The Xiongnu ruler was impressed with Liejiaomi, considering him a supernatural being, and adopted the child. When the child grew up, he was appointed leader of the Wusun and a Xiongnu general. Thanks to his leadership, the Wusun took over the Ili Valley. After settling in the Ili Valley, the Wusun became so strong that the Han were compelled to win their friendship in alliance. Liejiaomi finally agreed to the alliance, sending tributary horses and accepting Princess Xijun as his wife. Since Liejiaomi was already an old man, Xijun was married to his successor Cenzou.

Xijun wrote a famous poem, the Beichouge, in which she complains about her exile in the land of the "barbarians":

My family sent me off to be married on the other side of heaven. They sent me a long way to a strange land, to the king of Wusun. A domed lodging is my dwelling place with walls of felt. Meat is my food, with fermented milk as the sauce. I live with constant thoughts of my home, my heart is full of sorrow. I wish I were a golden swan, returning to my home country.

Later location of the Wusun after their migration to the Ili Valley at the time of Princess Xijun

Around 80 BC, the Wusun were attacked by the Xiongnu, who inflicted a devastating defeat upon them. In 72 BC, Kunmi, chief of the Wusun, requested assistance from the Han against the Xiongnu. After their crushing victory against the latter, the Wusun increased in strength, achieving significant influence over the city-states of the Tarim Basin.
In the 5th century AD, the Wusun were pressured by the Rouran and may have migrated to the Pamir Mountains. They are last mentioned in Chinese historical sources in 436 AD, when a Chinese envoy was sent to their country and the Wusun reciprocated.


Wusun’s physical appearance

The Book of Han and Shiji do not make any special note of the physical appearance of the Wusun. The first description of the Wusun's physical appearance is found in a Western Han dynasty book of divination, the Forest of Changes by Jiaoshi Yilin, which describes the women of the Wusun as 

"with deep eyesockets, dark, ugly: their preferences are different, past their prime [still] without spouse."

A later 7th century commentary to the Book of Han by Yan Shigu says:

Among the barbarians (戎; Róng) in the Western Regions, the look of the Wusun is the most unusual. The present barbarians (胡人; húrén) who have green eyes and red hair, and look like macaque monkeys, are the offspring of this people.

In Chinese: 烏孫於西域諸戎其形最異。今之胡人青眼、赤須，狀類獼猴者，本其種也。

A Chinese depiction of the Wusun, from Gujin Tushu Jicheng, 18th century.

 

The above English translation is the one we find on Wikipedia, but, apparently, it is not entirely correct, because in the original Chinese the author is not talking about the hair on the head, but about the beard. Also, the term referring to eye colour does not mean only green, but it can be used for all light-coloured eyes (blue/green).
Besides, it is important to understand that here Yan Shigu is not describing the Wusun, but some groups belonging to the peoples called “barbarians” by the Chinese of his time. These groups, according to the author, are the offspring of the Wusun.
So, a better translation would be 

Among the barbarians (戎; Róng) in the Western Regions, the look of the Wusun is the most unusual. Those among the present barbarians (胡人; húrén) who have light-coloured eyes and a red beard, and look like macaque monkeys, are the offspring of this people.

So we have:
青眼、赤須
qīng yǎn, chì xū

where:
• 青 (qīng) = blue, light blue, green
• 眼 (yǎn) = eye, eyes
• 赤 (chi) = red, reddish
• 須 (xū) = beard, moustaches, facial hair

While the red hair on the head would be 赤髮= chì fà.

As for the comparison with the macaque monkey, it is clearly a reference to the Caucasoid peoples being more hairy than peoples from other races. 

Average male body hair in indigenous populations

 

Connection with the Yenisei Kyrgyz
In this previous article we talked about another ancient tribe of central Asia described as red-haired in Chinese records, the Yenisei Kyrgyz.
According to Russian historian Nikolai Aristov (1847 - 1903), a part of the ancient Kyrgyz had remained in the Yenisei, while another migrated southwards. This group was later called Wusun in Chinese records (more information here). Modern archaeological research, however, highlights the close relationship between Wusun and Yenisei Kyrgyz, but scholars don’t go as far as to say they were the same people.
In 2018, a DNA analysis was performed on the remains of four Wusun individuals. The only Y-DNA found was R1a1a-Z93 and as we have seen in the article about the Kyrgyz, the R1a haplogroup is common in Eurasia, extending from Scandinavia and Central Europe to Central Asia, Siberia and South Asia, and the question of the origins of R1a1a is relevant to the ongoing debate concerning the urheimat of the Proto-Indo-European people.

Haplogroup R1a distribution

 

As for the mtDNA (passed from mother to children), four haplogroups have been found: C4a1, HV6, J1c5a and U5b2c.
The Wusun were suggested to be descended from Western Steppe Herders (at a proportion of 47%), who admixed with peoples related to the Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex (32%) and Late Bronze Age herders (Ancient North-East Asians, 21%). 

 

More articles about ancient red-haired tribes:
the Budini 
the Rutuli 
the Ngāti Hotu 
the island of Toprabane 
the Schytians 
Easter Island 
Genghis Khan 
Various tribes  

Jesus had red hair, now we have proof of it. Or do we?

In 2017, the authors of the study about the DNA analysis of Napoleon Bonaparte published an analysis of a small fragment of hair found on the Shroud of Turin, a fragment of hair which, apparently, was reddish-blond.
The study is Scanning Electron Microscopic Characterization and Elemental Analysis of One Hair Located on the Face of the Turin Shroud, by Gérard Lucotte e Thierry Thomasset. 
Now, obviously, we all know that debates about the authenticity of the Shroud are still ongoing, and we don’t know who this fragment of hair came from. However, since it is probably reddish, and (as far as I could understand) this is the only human hair found on the Shroud, I thought you might be interested.
Besides, if you follow this blog, you know that there are many paintings depicting Jesus (and often the Virgin Mary as well) with red hair, and you must admit this is quite curious: why choosing the rarest hair colour on earth? Did painters have no trouble finding sitters with this hair colour?

The hair fragment (called b1) is 14 × 9 μ (micrometers) and was found in 1978 between the eyebrows of the face, in a red spot deemed to be a blood spot (although others claim it was found in 1988). 

On the top of the image, the area where the fragment was found

The authors call it “down hair”, that is, a normal body hair, because they found it to be thinnest than a facial hair or a hair from the head or from the eyebrows. They write it is ten times thinner than a beard or an eyebrow hair.
They analysed it with some of techniques we saw in this article, namely the scanning electron microscope (SEM) and the energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX).

Under the electron microscope, the authors observed the cuticle scales, that is, the overlapping structures that form the outer coating of the hair.
In the fragment, the distance between successive rows of scales is approximately 2 μm, but according to the authors' comparison, this characteristic more closely resembles a strand of beard than their sample. However, since the diameter is so thin, they conclude the fragment is a down hair.

Through EDX analysis, carbon, oxygen, a small amount of sulfur and a small amount of calcium were found.
Carbon and oxygen are consistent with the organic component of the hair. Sulfur, on the other hand, is interpreted by the authors as a component of keratin, the primary structural protein in hair. Notably, cysteine molecules can form disulfide bridges with one another and these bonds contribute to the three-dimensional structure and strength of keratin. It is precisely this characteristic that makes hair relatively strong.
The authors note that the sulfur peak in this fragment is quite low (3%) compared to that observed in the modern human hairs used for comparison, therefore they argue the hair's sulfur content may have decreased during the preservation process.
As for the small calcium peak, the authors state that it likely corresponds to a residual calcium deposit on the fragment's surface, rather than the fundamental composition of the hair itself.
They also found copper at both ends of the fragment, attributing this to the fact that the hair was likely cut with a copper or bronze blade.

As for the colour, the authors identify 25 melanosomes on the surface of the fragment: 8 classified as MS1, associated with eumelanin, and 17 as MS2, associated with phaeomelanin. The ratio is therefore approximately 1:2, so they conclude that the fragment was reddish-blond.
According to the studies by Ito and Wakamatsu (like this one), in blond hair the ratio eumelanin/phaeomelanin is 5:1, while for red hair is about 0,8:1, so the colour of the fragment could have really been some sort of reddish-blond, strawberry blond.
If this was a body hair, it is possible the person it belonged to was a redhead, since usually redheads have reddish-blond body hairs. 

 

Schematic representation of the melanosome distributions in the fragment; 1 and 2 numbers concern M1 and M2 melanosome types, respectively

 

Napoleon had red hair, now we have proof of it. Or do we?

On our partner blog Famous Redheads in History we have this post about Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821). In it, we linked several sources describing him as having reddish or chestnut hair. Here are a couple of examples:

- "The hair on his head was not black, but dark reddish-blond; his eyebrows and eyelashes were much darker than the colour of his hair, and his blue eyes, set off by the almost black lashes, gave him a most pleasing expression."
"His very fine chestnut hair, which, until the time of the expedition to Egypt, he had worn long, cut square and covering his ears, was clipped short."

The post also features the photos of two locks of hair.
Red hair is also visible in some portraits, especially (but not only) portraits of Napoleon as a young man. 

Lock of hair from 1817 (source)

 

Now, apparently, we have more solid evidence.
In July 2021 a study was published with the genomic analysis of some phenotypic traits of Napoleon: Napoleon the First, a Corsican with Pale Skin, Clear Eyes and Red Hair: DNA Evidence for these Phenotypic Traits, by Gérard Lucotte, Jacques Macé and Thierry Thomasset.
DNA was extracted from an authenticated lock of hair from 1811.
For the skin colour, the authors studied the F374L polymorphism of the membrane associated transporter protein (MATP) gene (also known as solute carrier family 45 member 2, SLC45A2) and found out Napoleon was homozygous FF for this polymorphism, so he must have had pale skin.
(A cell is said to be homozygous for a particular gene when identical alleles of the gene are present on both homologous chromosomes.)

Bonaparte on the Arcole Bridge on 17 November 1796,  by Antoine-Jean Gros, 1801

 

For eye colour, authors studied the rs12913832 polymorphism near the OCA2 gene. Napoleon resulted to be homozygous CC, so he most likely had blue eyes.
(Please note that on the SNPedia page I’ve linked you’ll find GG instead of CC, but it’s the same thing.)
For hair colour, the whole MC1R gene was sequenced and authors found out Napoleon was heterozygous CG for the rs1805009 polymorphism, corresponding to the D294H mutation. As we have seen in this article, the D294H mutation is considered one of the “strong” (high penetrance) mutations for red hair, but (and authors don’t highlight that) since Napoleon was heterozygous and not homozygous for it, he had a lower chance of red hair than someone with a homozygous mutation. 

Authors wrote they sequenced the whole MC1R gene, but unfortunately they don’t tell us if Napoleon also had low penetrance mutations, which can raise the chances of having red hair in case you have heterozygous mutations. Nor they tell us about Napoleon’s other polymorphisms influencing hair colour. We have to keep in mind that many phenotypic traits are polygenic, which means they are the result of the interaction of multiple genes, even when a single factor (like a certain mutation) may give that trait a particular direction. 

First Consul Bonaparte, by Antoine-Jean Gros (detail), c. 1802

 

Lastly, they analysed Napoleon’s lock of hair with the scanning electron microscope (which we have mentioned here) to study melanosomes. As we saw in the article I have just linked, melanosomes containig eumelanin are ellipsoidal, while malanosomes containing phaeomelanin are spherical. They write: “As the surface area of the piece is more covered by pheomelanin melanosomes than by the eumelanine melanosomes, the colour of the corresponding hair is effectively yellow-brown, so red.”
Unfortunately, they didn’t use the Raman spectroscopy, which can measure the amounts of melanins, thus giving a more precise answer as far as hair colour is concerned.

In any case, if we put all together, I guess we can safely say Napoleon had at least reddish hair. Probably in his youth the red was lighter and darkened in his old age, although in the drawing below, made in Saint Helena, his hair is still red.
We know very well that hair tends to darken in adulthood, and in the case of Napoleon that would be also consistent with his heterozygous mutation. Besides, he suffered from several health issues and this may have influenced his hair colour too.

However, even after this study, both Wikipedia and Grokipedia, in the paragraphs about Napoleon’s appearance, write he had black hair and dark complexion, quoting the same description. Basically, among the many descriptions of Napoleon, they both chose the same, and they both chose the one depicting him with dark colours! What a coincidence… Since he was of Italian origins, he must have had black hair, black eyes and a dark complexion. At least Grokipedia denied the myth of his shortness.
All in all, more red hair erased from history, but not from this blog!

 

Napoleon in Saint Helena, from the book Napoléon à Sainte-Hélène (2018) by C. E. Vial