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| credits Nova Online |
| Unquiet Mummies |
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| credits pbs.org |
| a s t r o n o m y w i t h t r u |
| a s t r o n o m y w i t h t r u |
| a s t r o n o m y w i t h t r u |
| a s t r o n o m y w i t h t r u |
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| Mummies -- named after the bitumen tar, mum, used to coat the linen winding strips around them -- have long held an almost magical fascination. The "civilized" world was titillated by Egypt's elaborate cult of death and by the extreme care devoted to preserving bodies for eternity. It was not uncommon in the 1800s to pick up a box of "mummy pills" made of ground, compressed mummies; they were thought to impart some measure of the eternal. In proper Boston the mummy of a pharaoh's son stood on the bar of a venerable men's club until the late 1960s, when he was returned to his homeland. |
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| Science |
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| Wrapped hands of an Egyptian mummy |
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| A Case Study -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Siberian Ice Maiden, a well-preserved mummy unearthed on the steppes of eastern Russia in 1993, was a spectacular discovery. She was dressed in glorious finery -- fine-woven wool skirt, wild-silk blouse, an elaborate high-status headpiece, and jewelry of wonderful craftsmanship. Interred with household items and familiar treasures, she was laid to rest with respect and reverence. Her finely wrought coffin, sealed with massive metal nails, was accompanied by six horses, ensuring her status and freedom of movement in the next world. The finds suggest that the society of tribal horse nomads she left behind must have been stable and wealthy. |
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| Mummies such as the Siberian Ice Maiden bear a tombful of questions for the inquiring mind. Who was this person? What caused his or her death, and when? Was foul play involved? Could the mummy be the result of a ritual sacrifice? What can this mummy and its arrangement tell us about the society in which it lived? To answer these and other questions, scientists bring a host of tools and techniques to bear. For example, they can inspect the mummy's DNA to study its genealogy, X-ray its bones for injuries or congenital malformations, examine its stomach contents to learn something about the person's diet and cause of death, and search for parasites or other evidence of disease in the internal organs. |
| The Ice Maiden in her tomb. click on pic for more details on the Siberian Ice Maiden |
| The Ice Maiden's Clothing |
| Knowledge at a Price While opening fascinating windows into the past, such investigations of mummies -- from the initial opening of a grave site to display of remains in a museum -- often come at a price. It's a price that can leave one wondering whether it might have been better to have left the mummy in the ground. |
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| For one thing, to study an artifact is often to destroy it. Soon after the Siberian Maiden was found, for example, her protective shroud of ancient ice melted away and she began to decay. Preserved intact for two millennia, she was now assaulted by airborne fungus and bacteria, dehydrated by low humidity, and struck by the first sunlight she'd seen in thousands of years. A vampire would fare better at such a rude daylight awakening. Within days it became apparent to the Russian archeologists who had discovered her that the mummy was degrading rapidly. They helicoptered her to Novosibirsk, but the unrefrigerated delay, including almost a week of transport, took its toll. Even in the freezer labs of Novosibirsk the mummy slept uncomfortably. Hardy fungus attacked air-exposed skin and began to damage it. Desperate to stop the decay of their prize, Russian scientists chose to inter her in the same kind of pickling vat that preserved the bodies of Vladimir Lenin and Josef Stalin. |
| Deteriorating flesh of Ice Maiden |
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