Search

The assignment awarded to pioneering Black sculptor Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller—to envision an inherited past and future offerings for "Americans of Negro lineage" at the 1921 America's Making Exposition—was daunting. The result, Ethiopia, takes this charge as an opportunity to reclaim an African birthright rooted in a decolonial counter-history of Ethiopia and Egypt. Transported in Fuller's work beyond present conditions of archaeological dispossession and eugenicist anti-Blackness, these territories become the grounds for reestablishing kinship across the Black Atlantic in a symbolic act of repair toward the development of an African American selfhood uniquely capable of imagining a future beyond longstanding regimes of systemic racism. Foreshadowing by several decades the full flourishing of pan-Africanism, Ethiopia takes up the nascent Harlem Renaissance quest for a "New Negro" identity and singles out for particular concern the construction of Black womanhood circa 1921 atop a racialized and gendered foundation of "Egyptian" and "Ethiopian/Nubian" as contested discursive formations. Considering the manifold genealogies of Fuller's sculpture and its politics of diasporic relation, I aim to contextualize this polysemous signifier within the immediate legacy of a tumultuous, preceding half century. These decades saw the rise of a particular fascination with ancient Egyptian "heritage" alongside and as part of the development of racial pseudoscience in the United States, the decisive anticolonial Battle of Adwa in Ethiopia, and the momentary promise of decolonization at the end of World War I. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Red Sea was witness to important events during human history, including the first long steps in a trade network (the spice route) that would drive maritime technology and shape geopolitical fortunes for thousands of years. Punt was a pivotal early node in the rise of this enterprise, serving as an important emporium for luxury goods, including sacred baboons (Papio hamadryas), but its location is disputed. Here, we use geospatial variation in the oxygen and strontium isotope ratios of 155 baboons from 77 locations to estimate the geoprovenance of mummified baboons recovered from ancient Egyptian temples and tombs. Five Ptolemaic specimens of P. anubis (404-40 BC) showed evidence of long-term residency in Egypt prior to mummification, consistent with a captive breeding program. Two New Kingdom specimens of P. hamadryas were sourced to a region that encompasses much of present-day Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Djibouti, and portions of Somalia and Yemen. This result is a testament to the tremendous reach of Egyptian seafaring during the 2nd millennium BC. It also corroborates the balance of scholarly conjecture on the location of Punt.

The Capuchins’ Catacombs of Palermo are not the main tourist attraction of the city, however they receive a high number of visitors representing the niche travel market named “dark tourism”. Even though studies have proven that it is not possible to identify a specific traveller known as “dark tourist”, explicitly interested in locations wholly or partly connected to death or sufferings, they highlighted the existence of a building interest to visit sites relating to death and burial grounds, such as crypts and cemeteries. The Capuchins of Palermo were specialists in the Modern Era mummification techniques, but they were not the only ones. In fact, in Sicily today, you can find a great number of similar sites (e.g. Gangi, Savoca) that are involved in important heritage conservation and heritagization processes aiming to attract and generate economic and tourism growth.

Organic blueberry production in the PNW has many challenges, including diseases like mummy berry caused by the fungus Monilinia vaccinii-corymbosi (Reade) Honey. Management recommendations focus on reducing overwintering pseudosclerotia, however, it is unknown how long they survive. Based on qualitative observations pseudosclerotia are hypothesized to survive multiple years after contact with the soil surface. The development of apothecia from M. vaccinii-corymbosi pseudosclerotia was evaluated over multiple years at a location without a history of blueberry production. A total of 1,000 pseudosclerotia were placed on field soil plots in 2018 and replicated eight times. Another 100 pseudosclerotia were placed in wire corrals on field soil and replicated fifteen times. Plots and corrals were regularly examined each spring for the emergence of apothecia. The pseudosclerotia were able to survive, germinate, and produce apothecia for up to five years after their placement. Very few pseudosclerotia produced apothecia in any year, varying from 0 to 18 at any observed time. Pieces of partial or whole pseudosclerotia were observed for up to three years after placement. Our study shows that a pseudosclerotial "seed bank" exists under blueberry bushes, necessitating a long-term implementation of mummy berry cultural management tactics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the expansion of Tawantinsuyo, the Inca Empire sustained its hegemony by using multiple strategies, including moving specialized groups called mitimaes to their conquered territories. This study examines bioarchaeological evidence from the Camarones 9 (CAM-9) Inca period cemetery at the mouth of the Camarones Valley in northern Chile. The waters in this valley contain concentrations of arsenic that are 100 times above the norm (10 μg/L) for human ingestion, causing serious health consequences. We study the environmental health effects on this population, using atomic absorption spectrometry and hydride generation to investigate arsenic concentration in the bone tissues of 16 individuals sampled from this burial site. Three of four individuals presented arsenic levels in their bones that were beyond the standard 1 μg/g, with a median of 3.6 μg/g; in some, the levels were nine times higher than those currently recommended by the World Health Organization. Considering previous and current bioarchaeological evidence, especially the high arsenic levels found in these individuals, we postulate that the CAM-9 site population corresponds to mitimaes who settled on the Camarones coast. This study is relevant to all regions of the world that present ecotoxic loads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In arctic zone of West Siberia, native people’s bodies were sometimes mummified inside the medieval graves. In 2013 to 2017, we conducted the excavations of medieval graves at Zeleny Yar cemetery in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. Among the burials, current report deals with the mummy grave #79. During the investigation, bronze plate and strips, woven or fur clothing, leather strap, beads, bronze bracelets, and iron knife etc. were collected. Anatomical and radiological research showed that the mummy was found intact with hair, skin, and skeletons, but the preservation status of soft tissue differed greatly depending on the area. The brain and eyes were well preserved, but the chest and abdominal organs almost disappeared. The arms were preserved to some extent, but only the bones remained in the legs. The West Siberian mummy could be a great resource for anthropologists to reveal the biological aspects of arctic indigenous people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smallpox caused by the variola virus (VARV) was one of the greatest infectious killers of mankind. Historical records trace back smallpox for at least a millennium while phylogenetic analysis dated the ancestor of VARV circulating in the 20th century into the 19th century. The discrepancy was solved by the detection of distinct VARV sequences first in 17th‐century mummies and then in human skeletons dated to the 7th century. The historical records noted marked variability in VARV virulence which scientists tentatively associated with gene losses occurring when broad‐host poxviruses narrow their host range to a single host. VARV split from camel and gerbil poxviruses and had no animal reservoir, a prerequisite for its eradication led by WHO. The search for residual pockets of VARV led to the discovery of the monkeypox virus (MPXV); followed by the detection of endemic smallpox‐like monkeypox (mpox) disease in Africa. Mpox is caused by less virulent clade 2 MPXV in West Africa and more virulent clade 1 MPXV in Central Africa. Exported clade 2 mpox cases associated with the pet animal trade were observed in 2003 in the USA. In 2022 a world‐wide mpox epidemic infecting more than 80,000 people was noted, peaking in August 2022 although waning rapidly. The cases displayed particular epidemiological characteristics affecting nearly exclusively young men having sex with men (MSM). In contrast, mpox in Africa mostly affects children by non‐sexual transmission routes possibly from uncharacterized animal reservoirs. While African children show a classical smallpox picture, MSM mpox cases show few mostly anogenital lesions, low‐hospitalization rates and 140 fatal cases worldwide. MPXV strains from North America and Europe are closely related, derived from clade 2 African MPXV. Distinct transmission mechanisms are more likely causes for the epidemiological and clinical differences between endemic African cases and the 2022 epidemic cases than viral traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: In an Austrian piglet-producing farm, sudden occurrences of mummified foetuses of various sizes and stillborn piglets were observed, and date of births were delayed in more than 50% of the sows in the respective farrowing group. There are a few pathogens known to be involved in pathogenesis of this particular clinical picture, called SMEDI (short for "stillbirth, mummification, embryonic death and infertility"). All of them were included in the diagnostic work-up of three litters consisting of mummies and stillborns, but were not detected. Instead, high viral loads of the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), a virus known to be involved in the aetiology of a variety of clinical signs in pigs, but not in the one of papyraceous mummifications, were found. This once more shows the variability of the clinical outcome of this pathogen. Diverse origins and causes are described for papyraceous mummifications of porcine foetuses, but the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is not one of them. In contrast, PRRSV is unlikely to cause mid-term placental transmission but may cause late-term abortions and weakness of piglets. This case report describes a sudden occurrence of mummified foetuses of various sizes and stillborns and delayed birth (>115 days) in more than 50% of sows from one farrowing batch, while newborn piglets were mostly vital. Neither increased embryonic death nor infertility was reported. Three litters with mummies, autolysed piglets and stillborn piglets were investigated, and infections with porcine parvoviruses, porcine teschoviruses, porcine circoviruses, encephalomyocarditis virus, Leptospira spp. and Chlamydia spp. were excluded. Instead, high viral loads of PRRSV were detected in the thymus pools of piglets at all developmental stages, even in piglets with a crown–rump length between 80 and 150 mm, suggesting a potential mid-term in utero transmission of the virus. Genomic regions encoding structural proteins (ORF2–7) of the virus were sequenced and identified the virulent PRRSV-1 strain AUT15-33 as the closest relative. This case report confirms the diversity of PRRSV and its potential involvement in foetal death in mid-gestation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper exploits the rich but little-studied corpus of archaeological textiles found in modern Sudan and Nubia and dated to the Meroitic and Postmeroitic periods (c. 350 BCE–550 CE). It allies current approaches developed in the field of mortuary archaeology with an in-depth analysis of textile artefacts discovered in situ in the graves of the ancient Sudanese people. Going beyond the simple description of textile items and their potential place in the tomb, the concept of funerary chaîne opératoire is used to trace and interpret textile gestures around the deceased. Through many examples and the detailed case study of an 'archer' grave from Gebel Adda (Lower Nubia), this article aims at demonstrating the active and important role of textiles in the transformation of the dead, from an inert body to a revered ancestor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 1990s, the Bulgarian chemist Svetlana Balabanova undertook a series of chemical analyses aimed at searching for drugs in almost a thousand human remains from the archaeological sites of four continents. Most of these analyses resulted in findings that were 'impossible' from the point of view of the accepted history of drugs, such as the presence of cocaine in Egyptian mummies, derivatives of Cannabis in Peruvian mummies, and nicotine in Eurasian mummies and skeletons; results that contradicted the established knowledge regarding the post-Columbian diffusion of cocaine, hemp and tobacco between the Old and New Worlds. What caused a sensation and brought Balabanova to global prominence were her theses to justify these results, which conjured up transatlantic journeys by the ancient Egyptians to reach South America, with a commercial exchange of coca and hemp, and the presence of native species of tobacco in the Old World. This article presents a review of the Balabanova affair based on a comprehensive consultation of all the publications of this scholar concerning archaeological and ethnobotanical research. Careful observation of the numerous contradictions and inconsistencies present in these studies lead to new deductions, which reveal the strong possibility of falsification of the results of various chemical analyses, and the likelihood that other chemical analyses were never even performed. The publication of the results of these 'ghost' researches can be explained by analysing Balabanova's character, as evidenced by reading her writings on ethnobotanical revisionism which are generally not taken into consideration, and which show how much Balabanova can--and should be--considered a 'proto-conspiracy theorist', whose only interest was to 'alter our cultural history', at whatever cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Collegium Antropologicum is the property of Croatian Anthropological Society 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 explores the complexities of classifying and reconstructing the Afroasiatic language family, with a specific focus on the connection between Egyptian and Semitic languages. It acknowledges the limited evidence for certain branches of Afroasiatic and the imperfections of the Egyptian writing system. The article also critiques previous research on Afroasiatic etymology and presents different perspectives and approaches to studying these languages. The reviewed book, "Egyptian and Semitic Linguistics in Context," contains articles by various scholars re-examining the relationship between Egyptian and Afroasiatic. The reviewer discusses the chapters and offers a critical analysis, noting the challenges in studying Afroasiatic languages and suggesting that further research is needed to fully understand the connection between Egyptian and other Afroasiatic languages. [Extracted from the article]

Copyright of Ars & Humanitas is the property of Ars & Humanitas 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.)

Copyright of Medical Journal of Ankara Training & Research Hospital is the property of Medical Journal of Ankara Training & Research Hospital 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 investigates the personal adornment that was found in the medieval cave of ‘Āsi al-Hadath in Lebanon, which yielded a magnificent treasure from the second half of the thirteenth century. Indeed, several bodies lay there along with their belongings, all remarkably preserved. Historical sources reveal that this group belonged to the Maronite community. This paper attempts to address the identity of these individuals by studying the associated jewellery finds, thus adding new insights to this well-studied material. On cover: Late Roman wall, the portion immediately south of the West Gate (Porta Oea) with re-used blocks from first-century mausolea (Drawing by Francesca Bigi) and Tombstone of Regina from South Shields (Arbeia) (Tyne and WearArchives and Museums/ Bridgeman Images). E-ISSN (online version) 2611-3686 ISSN (print version) 0065-0900

In February 1890, the remains of around 180,000 mummified cats, weighing about 19.5 tons, were sent from Alexandria to Liverpool and sold at auction to be used as agricultural fertiliser. The mummies originated from a cemetery at Beni Hasan in Egypt. Analysis of contemporary reports in the British press allows this event to be examined in some detail, from the initial discovery of the cemetery and its commercial exploitation locally and internationally, to the popular and academic responses to it. The episode can also be linked to the wider commercial exploitation of mummified remains from ancient Egypt, including as tourist souvenirs, items in private collections, and their acquisition by public museums. Press reports reflected contemporary European attitudes to ancient and modern Egypt, but also domestic concerns with agricultural productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to explore the discovery of magical wax figures in the mummy of Tjanefer from the third intermediate era, and the insights obtained through the use of advanced methods such as CT scanning and Gas Chromatographic analysis. Through these methods, researcher has been able to uncover the various techniques used by ancient Egyptian embalmers to mummify bodies, including the use of wax figurines to protect the internal organs of the deceased. Computed Axial Tomography (CT) scan was an essential tool in the non-destructive detection of archaeological findings inside Egyptian mummies, enabling scholars to determine the methods used by embalmers in mummification operations. In this research, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Gas chromatography GC/MAS, and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used in addition to a CT scan to analyze the data related to the function of these figurines and to examine some samples of the materials used in making them. The results of these analyses provided valuable insights into the religious beliefs and funerary practices of ancient Egyptians, particularly with respect to the role of wax figurines in these practices. The examination of the CT scan of Tjanefer's mummy revealed that the mummification process adhered to the traditional Egyptian practice of removing internal organs, embalming them separately, and then returning them to the body cavity. The discovery of four wax statues representing the four sons of Horus within the body cavity suggests that these figurines were believed to have a protective role for the deceased in the afterlife. The analysis of the wax samples revealed that the production of these figurines likely did not require highly skilled craftsmanship. Furthermore, scanning electron microscopy analysis showed that the wax sample was impure with resins in a neutral mixture, suggesting that the production was of good quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the earliest Chinchorro intentionally made mummies of foetuses, babies and toddlers as skilfully made multimedia sculptures and not just immortalized bodies. Expanding upon palaeoclimatic and bioarchaeological studies, and drawing from examples of prehistoric and contemporary art, this article posits the Chinchorro creative and radical disruption of the natural process of mummification as a healing-artistic practice that was aimed at the physical preservation of the living and not necessarily the dead. The article thus advances a novel interpretation of Chinchorro mummies that decentres the deceased to evidence the potency and effectiveness of artistic practice and the limitations of frameworks of analysis that tend to divest pre-modern and non-Western societies from their aesthetic sensibilities and plastic aptitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses papers published within the issue on topics including the Chichorro mummy-statues of the Atacama desert in Chile, the blank leather masks worn by Nuremberg's elite young men during Schembartlauf, as well as the optical effects of beetle wings on the Tamamushi Shrine's surface.

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of anemias in ancient Egyptian child mummies. Whole‐body computed tomography (CT) examinations of 21 ancient Egyptian child mummies from European museums were evaluated for estimation of sex and age at death. CT examinations were systematically assessed for skeletal effects of anemias using a clinical radiological approach as well as quantitative measurements of the thickness of the cranial vault and diploe. Additionally, the technical feasibility to assess porotic hyperostosis on the available CT data was examined. Twelve children were assessed as male and seven as female, and in two, the sex was indeterminate. The estimated age at death ranged from about 1 year to 12–14 years. One case showed radiological signs of thalassemia (β‐thalassemia major) at the cranial vault and postcranial skeleton. Additionally, this case had a macroglossia that probably indicated Beckwith–Wiedemann syndrome. Quantitative measurements confirmed a high variability of cranial vault thickness and diploe thickness. Compared with clinical reference values, seven out of the 21 (33%) child mummies had a pathological enlargement of the frontal cranial vault that represents a typical finding of chronic hemolytic anemia and iron deficiency anemia. Assessment of porotic hyperostosis was not feasible on the available CT examinations as the image quality was not sufficient for this examination. In conclusion, pathological enlargement of the frontal cranial vault as an indicator for chronic hemolytic anemia and iron deficiency anemia had a high prevalence, especially in the younger children. The mummy with radiological signs of thalassemia seems to be the first case with radiological evidence of skeletal effects of this anemia to the cranial vault and postcranial skeleton from ancient Egypt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Three fungi were identified as mummified skin biodeteriogens. • Volatile EOs showed antifungal activity against the skin biodeterioration fungi. • Oregano showed to be the most effective antifungal volatile EO. The study of the potential use of essential oils in the field of Cultural Heritage has increased in the last decade due to their demonstrated antimicrobial potential and absence of toxicity. This work aimed at assessing, for the first time, the volatile antifungal activity of two essential oils (EOs) (Origanum vulgare and Syzygium aromaticum) against fungi isolated from biodeteriorated archaeological mummified skin. The object of study was a mummified Mustela frenata from the Tiahuanaco culture of Bolivia. The fungi found on the archaeological animal's skin were preliminarily isolated and identified by DNA-based analysis. Subsequently, the volatile essential oil biocidal activity was evaluated on parchments inoculated with the isolated fungi (Aspergillus tabacinus, Aspegillus tennesseensis, and Trichoderma longibrachiatum). Vapour tests were conducted in Petri dishes and parchment specimens to assess the fungicidal effect of volatile components of EOs. The volatile EOs used in this study showed antifungal activity against the tested fungi. The oregano showed to be the most effective EO in the in vitro and parchment tests for the three fungal strains. The use of EOs, particularly oregano EO, represents a promising green strategy for the sustainable conservation of organic-based cultural assets. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on analyses carried out with plant material found in mummy shrouds preserved in the archaeological museum El Museo Canario, a putatively extinct new species of Ruta (Rutaceae) was identified and is described here as R. museocanariensis. The mummies were found in the funerary sites of Acusa and the Barranco de Guayadeque on Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain. This article discusses taxonomic relationships with other species of the genus, aspects of colonization and evolutionary processes on islands. The archaeological plant material consists of vegetative and reproductive branches with leaves, remains of flowers and capsules. Several morphological traits, especially the type of fruits, establish a clear difference between Ruta species from Gran Canaria and the mainland (dehiscent) and species from the W Canary Islands (indehiscent). The discovery of R. museocanariensis, with dehiscent fruits, suggests that indehiscence is a post-colonization evolutionary process in the Canary Islands. It also supports a stepping-stone model of inter-island colonization with Gran Canaria as its starting point, in agreement with the age of the islands and to some extent with their distance from the mainland. Citation: Marrero-Rodríguez Á., Vidal-Matutano P., Delgado-Darias T., Jaén-Molina R., Morales-Mateos J., Alberto-Barroso V. & Velasco-Vázquez J. 2023: Can material of a putatively extinct new species of Ruta (Rutaceae) preserved with mummies provide new knowledge about evolution in the Canary Islands flora? – Willdenowia 53: 5–23. Version of record first published online on 7 February 2023 ahead of inclusion in April 2023 issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

The research paper discusses the facial features on a number of statues of kings and queens from the New Kingdom, and whether they are “realistic or idealistic” when compared to their mummies’ faces. The aim is to try to understand the extent to which the anatomical differences of the individual features of the statues’ faces differ to the facial features found on the corresponding mummies’ faces.

Our understanding of the limits of animal life is continually revised by scientific exploration of extreme environments. Here we report the discovery of mummified cadavers of leaf-eared mice, Phyllotis vaccarum , from the summits of three different Andean volcanoes at elevations 6,029–6,233 m above sea level in the Puna de Atacama in Chile and Argentina. Such extreme elevations were previously assumed to be completely uninhabitable by mammals. In combination with a live-captured specimen of the same species from the nearby summit of Volcán Llullaillaco (6,739 m) 1 , the summit mummies represent the highest altitude physical records of mammals in the world. We also report a chromosome-level genome assembly for P. vaccarum that, in combination with a whole-genome re-sequencing analysis and radiocarbon dating analysis, provides insights into the provenance and antiquity of the summit mice. Radiocarbon data indicate that the most ancient of the mummies are, at most, a few centuries old. Genomic polymorphism data revealed a high degree of continuity between the summit mice and conspecifics from lower elevations in the surrounding Altiplano. Genomic data also revealed equal numbers of males and females among the summit mice and evidence of close kinship between some individuals from the same summits. These findings bolster evidence for resident populations of Phyllotis at elevations >6,000 m and challenge assumptions about the environmental limits of vertebrate life and the physiological tolerances of small mammals. Storz et al. report the discovery of desiccated cadavers ('mummies') of Andean leaf-eared mice on the summits of several >6000 m Atacama volcanoes, elevations that were assumed to be uninhabitable by mammals. Genomic and radiocarbon data shed light on the origin of the mummies and provide a new understanding of the limits of vertebrate life. [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]

Fungal deterioration is one of the major factors that significantly contribute to mummy cartonnage damage. Isolation and molecular identification of thirteen fungal species contributing to the deterioration of ancient Egyptian mummy cartonnage located in El-Lahun regions, Fayoum government, Egypt was performed. The most dominant deteriorated fungal species are Aspergillus flavus (25.70%), Aspergillus terreus (16.76%), followed by A. niger (13.97%). A newly synthesized series of tetrahydro-[1,2,4]triazolo[3,4-a]isoquinoline chalcone derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for their antifungal activities in vitro against the isolated 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). The most efficient chalcone derivatives are new chalcone derivative numbers 9 with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ranging from 1 to 3 mg/mL followed by chalcone derivatives number 5 with MIC ranging from 1 to 4 mg/mL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A description is provided of the crocodile remains that were found during an excavation carried out in 2019 at Qubbat al-Hawā (Aswan, Egypt). The material consists of five more or less complete bodies and five heads that were in varying states of preservation and completeness. The absence of resin, which was apparently not used during the preparation of the mummies, and the almost complete loss of linen bandages, due to insect damage, allowed a detailed morphological and osteometric description of the remains. Attention was focused on the general state of preservation of the crocodiles, the completeness of their skeletons and skulls, the presence of cut or other marks that could indicate the cause of death, and the processing of the carcasses. Moreover, the possible provenance of the crocodiles, the methods of capture and killing of the animals and their possible chronological attribution are discussed. It is concluded that the manner in which these specimens were prepared, as well as the variation observed in the type of 'final product', are unlike any other crocodile material described so far. The preparation method suggests a pre-Ptolemaic date for the deposit. The morphological and metrical features indicate that both Crocodylus niloticus and the recently resurrected species Crocodylus suchus are present among these individuals that range from 1.8 to 3.5 m in length. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the history of a marine zoo-anthropomorphic hybrid, the human-fish (ningyo), within the socioreligious mindscape of Japan from the second half of the seventeenth to the end of the nineteenth century. Because of the interspecific anatomy attributed to them, ningyo have always been addressed from heterogeneous perspectives (religious, literary, political, erotic, scientific) and have thus been subject to continuous hermeneutic oscillations between the fringes and the centers of human/nonhuman networks. Focusing on this bidirectional process, the present study aims to shed light on the phenomenon of the ningyo , taking into account the material culture (taxidermic items, printed talismans), practices (sideshows, public exhibitions), and social actors (itinerant ritualists, scientists, politicians) that conceptually informed and anatomically reified this liminal marine creature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted in the fields of the College of Agriculture and Forestry / the University of Mosul, to identify the effect of plant species that attract parasites, which included (chamomile, coriander, and basil) in increasing the efficiency of the parasite Lysiphlebus fabarum in biological control programs. The results indicated that the chamomile as an L. fabarum attracting plant gave a height average mummy to Myzus persicae and Aphis fabae gave (45.06 ± 8.78, 262.00 ± 12.16) mummy, followed by the coriander plant which showed (35.80 ± 9.15 and 215.00 ± 8.71) mummy for each Myzus persicae and Aphis fabae, respectively. The basil plant showed the least average number of mummies for the two insects (25.78 ± 2.77 and 192.33 ± 13.65) mummy reach of the Myzus persicae and Aphis fabae. However, it was higher than the control upon the Myzus persicae and Aphis fabae (14.71 ± 2.70 and 124.33 ± 22.27) mummy, respectively. The parasitism rate was affected by the increase in the number of mummies, where the chamomile plant showed the highest parasitization rate on Myzus persicae (70.47 ± 4.05) %, followed by the coriander plant (65.90 ± 5.63%), then basil plant (52.77 ±2.24) %, while the control treatment was the least in parasitism (30.38 ± 4.09) %. On the other hand, the percentage of parasitism on Aphisfabae was superior in all treatments of Aphis fabae above the control group (63.29 ± 2.22, 62.16 ± 1.82, 59.66 ± 5.79 and 30.29 ± 1.52). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mummies are the well-preserved remains of humans or animals in which non-bony tissue has been maintained naturally or artificially. Their significance lies in their contribution to paleopathological research, which involves understanding the history and evolution of diseases and providing insights into past populations' cultural and social practices. In recent years, mummies studies used nondestructive methods, including modern imaging techniques, to assess the main pathological features of these unique human remains. This mini-review focuses on the role of paleoradiology in mummies' studies and describes the history of mummy radiography and CT scanning over the last fifteen years. The search strategy was conducted between January and April 2023. One thousand one hundred twenty-four records (1124) were initially identified, and 52 studies were assessed for qualitative synthesis. Three main themes and four subthemes were identified, providing a general overview of the role of paleoradiology or offering methodological guidelines. Also, subthemes assessed the role that the use of radiology has in the diagnosis of specific pathologies. Therefore, imaging techniques in ancient human remains might help understand the history and evolution of past and present diseases and their risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: As glaciers disappear, animal mummies preserved in ice for centuries are released. Depending on the preservation method, residual soft tissues may differ in their biological information content. Paleoradiology, including micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), is the method of choice for the non-destructive analysis of mummies. A 350-year-old Austrian Ardea purpurea glacier mummy from the Öztal Alps was identified with micro-CT, MRI, histo-anatomical analyses, and DNA sequencing. Glaciers are dwindling archives, releasing animal mummies preserved in the ice for centuries due to climate changes. As preservation varies, residual soft tissues may differently expand the biological information content of such mummies. DNA studies have proven the possibility of extracting and analyzing DNA preserved in skeletal residuals and sediments for hundreds or thousands of years. Paleoradiology is the method of choice as a non-destructive tool for analyzing mummies, including micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Together with radiocarbon dating, histo-anatomical analyses, and DNA sequencing, these techniques were employed to identify a 350-year-old Austrian Ardea purpurea glacier mummy from the Ötztal Alps. Combining these techniques proved to be a robust methodological concept for collecting inaccessible information regarding the structural organization of the mummy. The variety of methodological approaches resulted in a distinct picture of the morphological patterns of the glacier animal mummy. The BLAST search in GenBank resulted in a 100% and 98.7% match in the cytb gene sequence with two entries of the species Purple heron (Ardea purpurea; Accession number KJ941160.1 and KJ190948.1) and a 98% match with the same species for the 16 s sequence (KJ190948.1), which was confirmed by the anatomic characteristics deduced from micro-CT and MRI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Paradigma is the property of Universidad Pedagogica Experimental Libertador 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.)

Copyright of Archaeologia Lituana is the property of Vilnius University 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 Náprstek Museum, Prague, holds in its collection a mummy of a large bird. The mummy, along with other ancient Egyptian antiquities, was transferred to the National Museum in 1933 from the Esterházy manor in Tomášikovo, Slovakia. Originally, it was believed to be the mummy of a human child; however, examination through initially destructive and later non-destructive methods identified the object as a mummy of a stork, later of a sacred ibis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objectives Virtual teaching tools have gained increasing importance in recent years. In particular, the COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced the need for media-based and self-regulated tools. What is missing are tools that allow us to interlink highly interdisciplinary fields such as evolutionary medicine and, at the same time, allow us to adapt content to different lectures. Methodology We designed an interactive online teaching tool, namely, the Mummy Explorer, using open-access software (Google Web Designer), and we provided a freely downloadable template. We tested the tool on students and lecturers of evolutionary medicine using questionnaires and improved the tool according to their feedback. Results The tool has a modular design and provides an overview of a virtual mummy excavation, including the subfields of palaeopathology, paleoradiology, cultural and ethnographic context, provenance studies, paleogenetics, and physiological analyses. The template allows lecturers to generate their own versions of the tool for any topic of interest by simply changing the text and pictures. Tests undertaken with students of evolutionary medicine showed that the tool was helpful during their studies. Lecturers commented that they appreciated having a similar tool in other fields. Conclusions and implications Mummy Explorer fills a gap in the virtual teaching landscape of highly interdisciplinary fields such as evolutionary medicine. It will be offered for free download and can be adapted to any educational topic. Translations into German and possibly other languages are in progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Prague Egyptological Studies / Prazské Egyptologické Studie is the property of Charles University Prague, Faculty of Arts 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 evidence for Egyptian Old Kingdom metalworking is reviewed drawing upon archaeology, iconography, metallurgy, history, scientific data and process replication. The charateristics of arsenical copper are considered appropriate for making copper sheet. It is suggested that the ore was initially obtained from the southern Eastern Desert of Egypt where Pre- and Early Dynastic mines are to be found and where there may have been mining and metallurgical expertise amongst the regional nomadic people. Chaîne opératoires are proposed for the fabrication of prestige copper vessels and for the production copper tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early detection and accurately rating the level of plant diseases plays an important role in protecting crop quality and yield. The traditional method of mummy berry disease (causal agent: Monilinia vaccinii-corymbosi) identification is mainly based on field surveys by crop protection experts and experienced blueberry growers. Deep learning models could be a more effective approach, but their performance is highly dependent on the volume and quality of labeled data used for training so that the variance in visual symptoms can be incorporated into a model. However, the available dataset for mummy berry disease detection does not contain enough images collected and labeled from a real-field environment essential for making highly accurate models. Complex visual characteristics of lesions due to overlapping and occlusion of plant parts also pose a big challenge to the accurate estimation of disease severity. This may become a bigger issue when spatial variation is introduced by using sampling images derived from different angles and distances. In this paper, we first present the "cut-and-paste" method for synthetically augmenting the available dataset by generating additional annotated training images. Then, a deep learning-based object recognition model Yolov5s-CA was used, which integrates the Coordinated Attention (CA) module on the Yolov5s backbone to effectively discriminate useful features by capturing channel and location information. Finally, the loss function GIoU_loss was replaced by CIoU_loss to improve the bounding box regression and localization performance of the network model. The original Yolov5s and the improved Yolov5s-CA network models were trained on real, synthetic, and combined mixed datasets. The experimental results not only showed that the performance of Yolov5s-CA network model trained on a mixed dataset outperforms the baseline model trained with only real field images, but also demonstrated that the improved model can solve the practical problem of diseased plant part detection in various spatial scales with possible overlapping and occlusion by an overall precision of 96.30%. Therefore, our model is a useful tool for the estimation of mummy berry disease severity in a real field environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Virtual Archaeology Review is the property of Virtual Archaeology Review 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.)

Copyright of Bulletin of the Center Papyrological Studies (BCPS) is the property of Ain Shams University, Faculty of Archaeology 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.)