Children

Double the food your mother gave you,

Support her as she supported you;

She had a heavy load in you,

But she did not abandon you.

When you were born after your months,

She was yet yoked to you,

Her breast in your mouth for three years.

As you grew and your excrement disgusted

She was not disgusted, saying ‘What shall I do?’ 

When she sent you to school

And you were taught to write,

She kept watch over you daily,

With bread and beer in her house.

Instruction of the scribe Ani to his son, c. 1300BC

Ta-Kheru was a mother, according to the CT scan’s findings. During childbirth, the pubic bones in a woman’s pelvis separate to allow the baby to pass through the birth canal. The ligaments attached to the bones tear, leaving small grooves on the inside of the pubic bones with each birth. The CT scan showed that Ta-Kheru’s pubic bones had these marks overlapping each other, indicating that she had given birth at least twice.