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The island of Seili, in the south-western archipelago of Finland, is famous for its history as a leprosy colony and mental asylum. The island formed a small, hierarchical community run by priests and hospital officials. In this article, we examine the history of the burial crypt in Seili church by comparing information from historical documents and observations made during archaeological fieldwork. The material gathered from these two sources is conflicting, suggesting an interesting history in the use of the burial crypt. It seems that women's coffins could easily be moved elsewhere from the crypt when new coffins belonging to males were interred. It is argued that identifying the buried individuals would be necessary for a taphonomic study of the mummification processes and ensuring that the information about the crypt is based on facts. However, the identification is difficult due to inconsistent historical records. This underlines the importance of Post-Medieval archaeology in studying sites connected to family histories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo are one of the most visited sites on the island of Sicily and are home to one of the world's largest assemblages of human mummies. Within the framework of a multidisciplinary project aimed at investigating the biohistories of non-adults buried at this site, the authors wished to better understand how visitors felt about the display of these young individuals and whether they had prior knowledge of these mummies before their visit. In order to capture guest feedback, questionnaires were distributed to 105 visitors in September 2022. While there were no clear-cut patterns based on the demographic and social attributes of visitors, this research revealed some recurring themes. Several visitors felt that there should be signs warning guests of the Children's Room due to the large number of young individuals displayed in this area. Furthermore, visitors felt that more information was needed throughout the site and queried whether the non-adults, or their kin, had consented to their display. These issues could be addressed by the inclusion of information boards in the catacombs. The findings of this research ultimately have implications for the way in which non-adult remains are displayed in catacombs and other heritage contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The biodeterioration of archaeological mummies is a severe issue, where fungi are the most significant agents deteriorating them. The inhibitory effect of [1,2,4]triazolo[3,4-a]isoquinoline chalcone derivatives on the growth of thirteen deteriorated fungal species (Aspergillus flavus, A. niger, A. terreus, Athelia bombacina, Aureobasidium iranianum, Byssochlamys spectabilis, Cladosporium cladosporioides, C. ramotenellum, Penicillium crustosum, P. polonicum, Talaromyces atroroseus, T. minioluteus, and T. purpureogenus), which isolated and identified from ancient Egyptian mummy cartonnage located in El-Lahun regions, Fayoum government, Egypt were investigated. Antifungal activity and minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the tested four chalcone derivatives with different concentrations (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 mg/ml) were measured. The most efficient chalcone derivatives are chalcone derivative number 4 which causes the maximum significant inhibition in the growth of the thirteen isolated fungal species with MIC ranging from 1 to 3 mg/ml followed by chalcone derivatives number 6 with MIC ranging from 2 to 5 mg/ml. The use of chalcone derivative number 4 for the preservation of cultural assets should be considered for future applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I will argue how Paracelsus's concept of the universal ensoulment of nature may relate to his understanding of the self-healing capacity of the body, as shown in his Grosse Wundartzney (1536). Here, his new approach to medicine is visible, focusing not on retaining or restoring the balance of bodily humours but on strengthening the inner "essence" of life (the so-called "balsam," "mummy," "astral spirit," etc.). This is possible by means of life-endowed essences of healing substances which can affect the body's vital principle by means of inner sympathies. Here, a link is established to medical alchemy as a way to produce more subtle medicines, the "essences" of things. Such an undertaking is possible only in the framework of the natural magic concept with its underlying microcosm-macrocosm analogy. It is my aim to show not only the principles of Paracelsus's new medicine, alchemy, and his worldview in general, but also how his theories may relate to his predecessors, including Marsilio Ficino, one of the few authors who escaped Paracelsus's harsh critique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Paper Conservation is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article explores the house during the Romantic period as a site of intercultural transfer of knowledge. Hosting decentralized networks, the house functioned as a significant conduit in disseminating knowledge or creating new productions. The first part of the paper examines the opening of mummies by Professor Blumenbach as an example of how private collections were curated in several houses of the Fellows of the Royal Society. The second part presents an analysis of the role of the professorial house in Göttingen in transferring knowledge of Edward Jenner's smallpox vaccination in Germany. The final example takes a closer look at a confluence of Anglo-Franco-German literature converging on Villa Diodati in 1816, showing how the famous villa is not a site of solitary creation as illustrated in prints of Byron and Villa Diodati, but the site of communal reading inspiring creativity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2011, a spectacular find was made in the Valley of the Kings, Egypt – a well-known archaeological site, where pharaohs were buried during the New Kingdom (ca. 1500–1100 BCE). A team from the University of Basel's Kings' Valley Project discovered a tomb (KV64) containing two mummies that were buried in different time episodes (unidentified elite burial, 18th dynasty, and Nehemesbastet, 22nd dynasty). Anthropological investigations of the mummies were performed using portable X-ray and photographic documentation. The first burial was an adult individual with bilateral pathological changes at the temporomandibular joints (TMJs), most likely of inflammatory origin, possibly psoriatic arthritis. Investigations of the second burial revealed an intact body of a younger female individual. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I follow the work of technicians organizing a collection of mummified materials in a university of Chile. In doing this, I translate some points of laboratory studies into another context: a deposit of archaeological collections. By following how technicians sort out the collections and exploring their roles in the making of knowledges tinged by hands-on experience, I unravel with a "Whiteheadean twist" how conservation practices are a matter of concern in archaeology. Insofar the mummies are preserved as "material heritages" and witnessed in public as "carriers of civilization," these "ambassadors of the past" are haunted in turn by their histories. But in the hands of technicians, I speculate that mummified materials become archeological objects imbued with a particular mode of existence. Through their work, they get to know the life-histories of mummies and in such stories, I focus on a sense of permanence, felt as an ideal purpose of conservation in archaeological collections. I analyze this with Whitehead's notion of civilization to underscore how conservation processes aim at attaining everlasting things. In this sense, I develop the point that civilizations function as lures for collecting and preserving things. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An interview with Argentine anthropologist and historian Constanza Ceruti is presented. She talks about high altitude archaeology, particularly the challenges and opportunities in said work. She cites some of her experiences in climbing high altitudes to do archaeology. She reminisces on her discovery of the Incan child sacrifice mummies at Llullaillaco mountain in 1999.

A chert object embedded in the cranium of a bison found at the Alexon site, Florida, is cited as direct evidence of human and megafauna interaction at the end of the Pleistocene in the American Southeast. Previous analyses identified the chert object as the mid-section of a lanceolate projectile point. Radiocarbon ages on unpurified bison collagen from two separate bison elements yielded Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene ages. We were able to relocate the site and examine the stratigraphy, but our attempts to radiocarbon date the bone failed. We obtained micro-computed tomography scans and used digital imaging software to generate a three-dimensional rendering of the embedded object. Finally, the skull and embedded object were visually examined. We conclude that the object embedded in the skull is not an artifact and that the Alexon site is a paleontological locality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inner workings of advisory commissions are opaque, which has frustrated inquiries about them. However, relying on data obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request from the Department of Justice, we focus on one readily observable aspect of the Attorney General's Advisory Committee of U.S. Attorneys (AGAC)—its composition. Unique to studies of executive commissions, we know the population from which AGAC membership is drawn. This allows us to definitively characterize the ideological distribution of the population of potential appointees, a significant advance in the empirical study of executive appointments. While the analysis cannot speak to AGAC's operations directly, our findings indicate that AGAC is characterized by asymmetrical political polarization. Democratic administrations are likely to politicize AGACs ideologically but Republicans are not, and we consider possible explanations for this result. In addition to its contribution toward understanding one aspect of informational commissions as an important source of policy development, the study provides the first empirical analysis of one route by which administrations interface with the nation's prosecutorial corps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 19th century, natural mummies of amphibians were discovered in the Quercy Phosphorites. The specific collection site was never formally reported, which hampers precise dating of these specimens. Still, the name Bufo servatus was erected based on the external morphology of one of the mummified specimens. A tomography of a similarly preserved specimen revealed a preserved skeleton, soft tissues and gut contents. We analyze here the holotype of Bufo servatus using CT-scanning in order to investigate its potentially preserved internal features. Like the previous specimen, a subcomplete articulated skeleton was identified in the B. servatus holotype. Surprisingly, this skeleton is almost identical to that of Thaumastosaurus gezei, an Eocene anuran from Western Europe to which other specimens from this mummy series were previously assigned. The few differences between the specimen skeletons highlight ontogenetic and intraspecific variations, making T. gezei a junior synonym of B. servatus and creating the new combination Thaumastosaurus servatus. Given its association with previously described Quercy specimens, this redescribed anuran is probably from the same time interval as T. gezei. Previous phylogenetic analyses assigned T. servatus to Ranoides, with natatanuran affinities. Using data from this newly described specimen, we tested here further its taxonomic affinities. Our analyses confirm this position, and formally identify T. servatus as a Natatanuran member of Pyxicephalidae (currently endemic of equatorial Africa) and more precisely, a stem-Pyxicephalinae. This result confirms the origin of Thaumastosaurus, a member of the African herpetofauna occupying Western Europe before the Grande Coupure at the Eocene/Oligocene transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo (Sicily) are a unique and culturally rich site utilized from the late sixteenth to mid-twentieth century. The Catacombs are home to the largest collection (n = 1,284) of partly or completely mummified remains in Europe, and the largest assemblage of juvenile mummies (n = 163) in Sicily. As a result, the site attracts thousands of visitors every year. This raises a number of ethical concerns in terms of the preservation, display, and scientific analysis of these mummies. This article will investigate the ethical challenges associated with the display and analysis of juvenile mummified individuals in the Capuchin Catacombs. Initially, ethical issues that arise when displaying mummified children at a visitor site will be explored. Subsequently, the value of adopting non-invasive techniques to answer highly focused, ethically grounded research questions will be addressed. Furthermore, this article will demonstrate the importance of transparent, open dialogue with religious groups and cultural heritage bodies in the study of juvenile mummies. Recommendations for best practice are provided at the end of this paper. These guidelines aim to ensure that juvenile mummies are displayed and analysed appropriately, whilst simultaneously respecting the beliefs and wishes of the living and deceased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

False heads have been a recurring accessory for Andean mummies since the Middle Horizon (ca AD750-1000). Made of ceramic, wood, or cloth, they show schematic human features and are placed on the funerary bundles that contain the bodies of the deceased. From a corpus of nearly 80 pieces from the Pachacamac site (excavations and museum collections), a typology is proposed, accompanied by a chronology based on a series of absolute dates. False heads also have recurring characteristics that allow us to understand their particular function. It appears that these objects are associated with certain important ancestors, whom their descendants worshiped. They were active agents, participants in the ritual traditions discussed ethnohistorically. The false head plays a crucial role in the relationship between the dead and the living and sheds light on the specific ontological position of the dead in the ancient Andes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To this day, the robed remains of mummified monks are venerated as 'living Buddhas' in northeastern Japan. Widely believed to have mummified themselves through strict adherence to ascetic regimen, temple patrons claim that these living Buddhas are capable of transmitting telepathic messages and curing disease, even of saving lives in the real time of disaster. In this article, I examine the ontological and symbolic basis of their purported immortality. Also, its politics, which emerge in contested historical narratives and assertions of authenticity about which mummified monks are real, true immortals and which are forgeries, curated corpses on display. As I demonstrate, such narratives are grounded in competing historicities of the automummification process. They are also situated in a competitive tourism industry. I argue that the bodies of these saintly figures are multi-temporal, semiotically charged, and political. Enduring faith in their posthumous vitality is not just a matter of theological exegesis. It is sustained by the interpretations of human suffering, history, and salvation that their anachronistic presence conjures for the living. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technology for mass storage is one of the most important issues facing the use of parasitoids for biological control programmes. The emergence rate, the proportion of females, adult longevity, parasitism rate of Aphidius gifuensis after cold storage of mummies at 5°C for different time periods, and the effect of different diets on their longevity were assessed. The results indicated that 10-30 days was a suitable period for cold storage at 5°C, but that 20 days was optimal. The 5% glucose solution was a successful food supplement for A. gifuensis. These results are important to the commercial exploitation of this economically important parasitic wasp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents research on the relationship between objects, documents, and the practice of collecting Andean mummies by European national museums in the period from 1850 to 1930. Over 200 mummies were analysed as part of this research. These mummies are kept by 18 different national museums in Western European countries. The comparative examination of these mummified human remains and their associated documentation kept by the museums has highlighted the importance of considering the process of formation of collections. This is especially true when dealing with sensitive archaeological 'objects' during a specific historical timeframe, and within a contemporary setting. The importance of considering museum collections as embedded in global narratives, rather than isolated cases of collecting, is also highlighted in this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on gender and psychological threat in Fin-de-Siècle mummy fiction. Topics include Romantic poet Robert Southey stated to have lamented the fashion for Egypt that swept across Europe in the wake of Napoleon Bonaparte's expedition, and a triad of complementary interests in archaeology, the supernatural, and psychology stated to have arisen at the fin de siècle.

Nine ancient Egyptian sarcophagi of the twenty-fifth to twenty-sixth dynasty, one Ptolemaic Hawk Mummy, and one Amarna fresco were examined in the collections of the San Diego Museum of Man. Binding media, pigments, wood identification, deterioration and alteration products were identified. The pigment palette represents the basic suite of ancient Egyptian pigments: charcoal black, red ochre, yellow ochre, Egyptian blue, green earth, calcite, and gypsum. In the case of the Hawk mummy, oxammite was identified as a degradation product, together with magnesium phosphate, the first identification of oxammite in ancient artefacts. In a child’s coffin, realgar and orpiment were additionally identified. The binding media for practically all of the coffins studied was confirmed as gum Arabic with only one example of gum tragacanth found from a wall plaque from Amarna. Wood identification showed that Ficus sycomorus had been used, rather than the assumed cedar of Lebanon for coffin manufacture. One unidentified species of shrubby wood was also found. Some of the coffins had been restored, with one having a completely repainted face, in rutile, and the child’s coffin has an attached foot-box with modern screws. Possible indications of ancient reuse were found during the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mummies are not simply relics from an ancient past. From curiosity to horror, they arouse widely varying emotions and captivate the attention of everyone from archeologists to movie audiences around the world. This article ventures far behind the scenes and uses an alchemical perspective to understand the ancient Egyptian goal of transmuting dead flesh into an eternal body. This sacred ritual was carefully guarded with magical spells and the so-called mummy's curse. Tales of the ancient Egyptian lunar god Osiris and the solar god Aten provide a mythological framework that contextualizes the meaning, purpose, and function of the mummy and mummification. Taking us far beyond initial emotional reactions, the “resurrection” of the mummy in modern times offers a priceless opportunity to reawaken us to a lost wisdom tradition, and in so doing transform our profane culture of technology into a sacred science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the suitability of six mealybug species, namelyPhenacoccus solenopsis,Saccharicoccus sacchari,Paracoccus marginatus,Drosicha mangiferae,Nipaecoccus viridisandFerrisia virgataas hosts toAenasius arizonensis( =Aenasius bambawalei). The study was conducted to ascertain a viable parasitic relationship between a parasitoid species and different mealybug hosts. Successful parasitization, complete development of immature stages within the host and adult emergence was observed only inP. solenopsis, whereas, other mealybug species were not found suitable as hosts by the parasitoid in both choice and no-choice tests. The development studies ofA. arizonensisonP. solenopsisshowed that the mean duration from oviposition to mummy formation was 6.13 days, while, from mummy formation to adult emergence, it was 5.43 and 7.05 days for male and female, respectively. The total development period from oviposition to adult emergence was 11.28 days for males and 13.13 days for females. Female adults (19.96 days) live longer as compared to male adults (7.83 days). Among different mealybug species,P. solenopsiswas observed to be the only ecological and fundamental host ofA. arizonensis. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The congress of the British Archaeological Association in Canterbury in September 1844 was the first archaeological conference in Britain. This paper examines the visual practices of performance and display incorporated within the congress, focusing on three events: a trip to watch a barrow excavation; a visit to the Faussett collection of antiquities; and an unrolling of an Egyptian mummy. Through an analysis of these events the paper examines the ways in which members of the nascent British archaeological community in the early Victorian era learned how to observe archaeology within the correct social, intellectual and spatial frames. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The British Museum’s exhibitionAncient lives, new discoveries(2014–2015) is analysed from the point of view of how medical imaging was used to convey new knowledge about mummies and ancient history to the general public. Real mummies were on display together with interactive visualisations. The dramaturgy was based on eight mummies’ life stories and the audience was encouraged to identify with the mummies as individuals. However, the article argues that the visualisations are not neutral tools, but are based on a certain way of seeing, what Michel Foucault called the ‘medical gaze’ – a distancing gaze applied by doctors that separates the body of the patient from the individual. The prestige and credibility claims of the visualisations are also discussed, as well as the performative and interactive aspects of the exhibition. The article concludes by suggesting that visitors could oscillate between two positions, peers and doctors, and that a third position, as a new kind of discoverer, is a latent possibility. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Mummies are faunal remains that include the preservation of soft tissues, such as skin, muscle, nails and hair as well as bone. These soft tissues are generally rich in collagen or keratin proteins and thus provide potentially suitable material for stable isotope studies. When preserved, such tissues can provide high-resolution information about the diet and migration of humans in the weeks and months before death. Hair, nails and soft tissue provide short-term (months) dietary information in contrast to bone which will represent 5–20 years of dietary history prior to death, depending on the bone analysed. Such high-resolution data can answer questions on the season of death, seasonality of food resources and the movement and relocation of people. This review begins with a summary of the most common isotope techniques (13C/12C,15N/14N) and the tissues concerned, followed by an analysis of the key questions that have been addressed using these methods. Until relatively recently work has focused on bulk protein isotope analysis, but in the last 10 years this has been expanded to on-line compound-specific amino acid analysis and to a wider variety of isotopes (18O/16O,2H/1H and34S/32S) and these applications are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A1AT deficiency- a genetically inherited autosomal codominant disease with more than 120 identified alleles- was first identified by Laurell and Eriksson in 1963. The most common hereditary disorder in adults, A1AT causes an increased risk of developing pulmonary emphysema and liver disease. In A1AT patients, lung disease generally presents at a younger age than “usual” chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and it may be misdiagnosed as asthma. Because A1AT deficiency patients can show the same clinical features as non-deficient COPD (including increased evidence of bronchiectasis, frequent exacerbations, impaired health status and a degree of reversibility of airflow obstruction), the World Health Organization recommend to test every patient with a diagnosis of COPD or adult-onset asthma for A1AT deficiency. Despite these recommendations, the epidemiology of A1AT deficiency remains uncertain. Although recently discovered A1AT deficiency has affected human populations since antiquity. By using scientific data and recently studied skeletons and historical cases, we show that it is now possible to reconstruct the natural history of pathological processes, whether due to genetic, infectious or environmental factors. We believe that the evolution of disease in patients and research to elucidate the relationship between social science and environmental are pertinent contemporaneous subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nineteenth century was fascinated with the display of human remains in museums. The most celebrated of such exhibits was the Egyptian mummy, which served as the subject of a range of sensorial investigations. Museum mummies were gawked at and sometimes handled by museum goers. Outside of the museum, mummy unwrappings were popular public spectacles. Travelers to Egypt often brought back a mummy hand or foot as an essential tourist souvenir. Scientists, for their part endeavored to categorize mummies by their varying colors, textures, and aromas. These multisensory responses to the mummy were complemented by fictional accounts in which revivified mummies were depicted as exerting their own tactile power over their modern handlers. Such practices and stories point to a desire to physically connect with a bygone world in a modern age -- a desire often accompanied by a fear of such contact with the past proving overwhelming. The fact that mummies might be regarded as trophies of conquest by imperialist Europeans suggests that the concern with touching and being touched by the mummy also represented a Western ambivalence towards colonial subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stories of the mummy's curse persist, despite efforts of the enlightened museum to dismiss these tales as superstition. This article follows the story of one particular “cursed” artefact in the British Museum, using archives and other resources to reconstruct the “true” story behind the circulated rumour. The paper concludes that the mummy's curse is a displaced account of the violence of colonial and museal appropriation of objects, a counter-narrative of historical things that resist dispossession by the process of artefaction undertaken by museums. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Record keeping in the Inka Empire of the Andes of ancient Peru was based on the knotted-string recording device, the khipu (or quipu; Quechua: 'knot'). Khipus were produced and consulted by Inka administrators for a variety of purposes, including the recording of censuses, tribute data, as well as life histories and genealogies of the Inka nobility. Cord-keepers were organized in a hierarchical arrangement of officials, from local khipukamayuqs ('knot makers/organizers'), to higher-level officials who staffed provincial administrative centers, to state cord-keepers in the capital, Cusco. The khipu-keepers stored collections of khipus in regional centers and in Cusco where they could be consulted on a variety of matters of interest to the state. This study looks first at the way information was recorded on the knotted-cord records. This is followed by an overview of what we know to date about archival collections of khipus, including a close study of a colonial era khipu archive from the Santa Valley, on the north-central coast of Peru. Of particular note is the fact that many khipus were stored in burial chambers with ancestral mummies, a situation that left these records accessible to descendants of the ancestors, who visited the burial chambers where they paid tribute to the mummies and consulted the knot records. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sigmund Freud fantasized Egyptian antiquity throughout his life, culminating in his Moses and Monotheism (1939). Ancient Egypt was represented in the visual culture of his personal library, where meaningful constellations of photographs, captions, and texts catalyzed to feed his historical imagination. In this material, the photography of “art” (sculpture, archaeological fragments) was hardly separable from the new ethnographic photography that was so closely aligned with medical documentation. All of these images belonged to a common body of visual knowledge. These visual resources shaped Freud's views of cultural history, evident in Moses and Monotheism, where antiquity and ethnography interfaced within a highly imaginative historical narrative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of the American Institute for Conservation is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article considers several texts concerning the broad influence of the Egyptian mummy exhibitions during the early 19th century in the U.S. Particular attention is paid to the first mummy to be exhibited in New York City in the spring of 1826 at Pearle's American Museum and Gallery of Fine Arts. The exhibit inspired an anti-slavery essay by John Russwurm entitled "Mutability of Human Affairs," published in installments in the abolitionist publication "Freedom's Journal." An essay titled "Can the Subaltern Speak?" by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak contends that the mummy becomes a proxy for the silenced subject of colonialism, providing a subjective medium for the ventriloquist to voice his or her dissent. Thomas Dartmouth Rice's 1835 blackface play "The Virginia Mummy" is examined.

The article discusses the symposium "The Value of Human Remains in Museum Collections" held in London, England. The symposium focused on the ethical considerations of human remains as museum property. Human rights activist Helena Kennedy discussed returning remains to communities for cremation. Researcher Mike Parker Pearson discussed the value of skeletons in research of prehistoric societies. Researcher Salima Ikraam discussed social aspects of Egyptian mummies.

Copyright of Journal of the American Institute for Conservation is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper describes pathological abnormalities visible on the skin of mummies in the British Museum, London, and the photographic methods used to record their appearances. Although the mummification process limits the clinical information available, features compatible with eczema were identified for only the second time in mummified remains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During an excavation headed by the German Institute for Archaeology, Cairo, at the tombs of the nobles in Thebes-West, Upper Egypt, three types of tissues from different mummies were sampled to compare 13 well known rehydration methods for mummified tissue with three newly developed methods. Furthermore, three fixatives were tested with each of the rehydration fluids. Meniscus (fibrocartilage), skin, and a placenta were used for this study. The rehydration and fixation procedures were uniform for all methods. The stains used were standard hematoxylin and eosin, elastica van Gieson, periodic acid-Schiff, and Grocott, and five commercially obtained immunohistochemical stains including pancytokeratin, vimentin, alpha-smooth-muscle-actin, basement membrane collagen type IV, and S-100 protein. The sections were examined by transmitted light microscopy. Our study showed that preservation of the tissue is dependent on the quality and effectiveness of the combination of the rehydration and fixation solutions, and that the quality of the histological and histochemical stains is dependent on the tissue quality. In addition, preservation of the antigens in the tissues is dependent on tissue quality, and fungal permeation had no influence on the tissue. Finally, the results are tissue specific. For placenta the best solution combination was Sandison and solution III (both fixed with formaldehyde) while results for skin were best with Ruffer I (using formaldehyde and Schaffer as fixatives), Grupe et al. (using formaldehyde as a fixative) and solution III (in combination with formaldehyde and Bouin fixatives). Ruffer II (using formaldehyde as a fixative) and solution III (in combination with Schaffer fixative) gave the best results for fibrocartilage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on developments related to science research as of November 2004. Discovery of a single bed of rhodoliths near Knight Island in Prince William Sound, Alaska; Use of the multidetector computed tomography for the first time to produce a detailed three-dimensional model of the completely wrapped mummy of an artisan named Harwa; Development of a technique to take extremely fast snap shots of molecular and atomic movement.

J.P. Mallory and Victor H. Mair, The Tarim Mummies, Ancient China and the Mystery of the Earliest Peoples from the West, Thames & Hudson, London, 2000. 352 pp., 44 maps, 17 tables, 146 illustrations including 13 in colour, 2 appendices, bibliography, index. ISBN: 0‐500‐05101‐1 (cloth). US$50.00, Canada $75.00 cloth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The National Museums of Scotland Mummy Project has provided important new information about a burial excavated in Egypt. This has resulted in the facial reconstruction of a woman who was probably a queen at Thebes ca. 1570–1520 BCE. There are strong suggestions from the grave goods and her diet that this woman may have been ethnically Nubian rather than Egyptian. However, it is not yet possible to establish her ethnic identity for sure, so a definitive reconstruction of her appearance in life remains elusive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents an article about visiting China to research on the Taklamakan mummies. Difference of the Taklamakan mummies with the Egyptian mummies; Features of the Taklamakan desert; Examples of the archaeological items viewed during the trip to China.

Explores the interplay among tomb design, death ritual and collective memory in France during and after the French Revolution. Exhumation of corpses at Saint Denis in 1793; Design of the tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte; Description of the mummy of Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, vicomte de Turenne; Artifacts that are related to the exhumations.

An analytical procedure for the characterization of plant resins, waxes, bitumen, oils and their degradation products in mummy balms is described. The method is based on the selective extraction of these compounds from 1g samples with CH2Cl2 and, after drying the residue, with n-hexane, /followed by a Florisil chromatographic clean-up step of the non-polar extract and by the saponification of an aliquot of dried C2Cl2 extract. Polar compounds were derivatized with t-butyl-dimethyl silyl trifluoroacetamide (MTBSTFA). Quantitative determinations were obtained by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The procedure, tested on suitable reference materials such as beeswax and plant resins, showed a recovery of about 100% for non-polar compounds. Using this method, pine resins (P. pinea and P. sylvester), mastic resin (Pistacia lentisca and P. terebinthus), sandarac (Tetraculinis articulata), elemi (Canarium), dammar (Hopea), myrrh (Commiphera) and a pine resin from the second century A.D. were characterized. Identification was based on the characteristic pattern of the diterpenoid amt triterpenoid compounds contained in these natural products. Results on Egyptian mummy samples from the seventh century B.C. were obtained and showed that the main components used in the embalming process were mastic resin from the genus Pistacia, an unidentified vegetable oil, beeswax and bitumen. Terpenoids degraded by a thermal treatment were also found; therefore a hot fluid was used for embalming, confirming the practice hypothesized in the Late Period by egyptologists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conservation of a group of five fragmentary. painted mummy cloths from Roman Egypt is described. The account covers the relaxation of the linen grounds, consolidation of the fragile powdery surfaces and the application of new linen supports using the vacuum hot-table. An analysis of the pigment and media of two of the fragments is also given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the link between art, mummification, and DNA technology. Analysis on the attempt of Egyptians to preserve their dead and their belongings; Description of the measures that have to be taken in order to interpret the message inscribed in one's DNA; Function of art in the illustration of the DNA.

Describes an art project at Hartland School in Latham, New York, to replicate a naturally mummified cadaver found in the Alps. Art materials; Appraisal of the project; Post-production performances; Critique of the project.

The article offers news briefs related to science. It reports on the announcement by the International Institute for Species Exploration and a committee of taxonomists from around the world regarding the top 10 species explored by scientists in 2010. Analysis of mummies from Nubia, is revealing how old irrigation techniques may have increased the plague of schistosomiasis and a fluorescent protein developed to clearly see the internal organs of living animals without imaging techniques.

The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology (University College, London) contains a large collection of encaustic wax on wood portraits from a Roman-period cemetery at Hawara in Egypt. They received some early conservation treatment during or shortly after excavation, usually consolidation with modern wax, softening the ancient wax with heat or facing with paper. Some of the portraits were cleaned during the 1970s and early 1980s, using solvents such as Shellsol T (a mixture of aliphatic hydrocarbons) or white spirit. Water-soluble dirt was removed with aqueous solution of Synperonic NOB (non-ionic detergent) or Vulpex (potassium oleate soap). Fragmentary areas were consolidated, usually with polyethylene glycol. The authors have found that cleaning the portraits mechanically with a polished scalpel blade removes the early conservation wax and the ancient burial debris which overlie and are sometimes intermixed with the pigmented wax, whilst avoiding many of the problems associated with solvent cleaning. Consolidation of loose or detached paint with a solution of Paraloid B72 in acetone ha proved satisfactory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the release of storage and display case planned by the Getty Conservation Institute in Egypt. The move made possible the come back of royal mummies to public view at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo in March 1994. The prototype case is meant to conserve fragile organic materials, boasts a nitrogen atmosphere and a system for supervising temperature. It is constructed by the Egyptian Antiquities Organization.

The article discusses scientists' use of DNA sequencing to determine whether the Two Brothers mummies at the Manchester Museum in England are actually related. Topics discussed include the extraction of DNA from the teeth of the mummies which revealed they belonged to mitochondrial haplotype M1a1 and are half-brothers, the discovery of their joint burial site at Deir Rifeh in Egypt in 1907, and the earlier suggestion of an absence of family ties due to their different skeletal morphologies.