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Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Hover to magnify, click for fullscreen
Original filePigmentation in ancient Egypt
The image is a horizontal bar graph set against a plain light gray background. Six evenly spaced vertical bars progress from a dark brown on the left to a pale beige on the right. Each bar is associated with a specific label identifying ethnic or geographic groups ranging from 'Nubians (Sudan / South Sudan)' to 'Sea Peoples (Balkanites / Balkaners)'. The text is presented in small, sans-serif font oriented diagonally beneath each bar.
This diagram represents modern pseudo-taxonomic attempts to categorize the diverse populations of the Bronze and Iron Age Mediterranean and Northeast Africa by skin pigmentation. It reflects a contemporary effort to interpret ancient demographic historical data through the lens of modern racial typologies.
Skin type VI Nubians (Sudan / South Sudan) Skin type V Ancient Egyptians & Puntites (Coastal Horn Africans / Eritreans / Puntland) Skin type IV Hyksos / Bedouin Shasu (Arabians / North Africans) Skin type III Asiatics / Aamu (Iranians / Caspian steppe people) Skin type II Hittites, Assyrians, (Caucasic / Anatolians / Levantines) Skin type I Sea Peoples (Balkanites / Balkaners)
Book of Gates
The categorization of ethnic groups in the image references figures commonly depicted in Egyptian funerary texts like the Book of Gates, which classifies humanity into four groups (Egyptians, Asiatics, Nubians, Libyans).
Object
digital illustration
21st Century
Egyptian
scientific
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3.1-flash-lite-preview on April 20, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.