Thursday, May 03, 2007

CT scan shows mummy younger than thought

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07123/783077-115.stm
"Refinement of the scans vividly revealed that an 8-inch wooden stake had been inserted into the skull and through the upper spine, possibly to support the head during preparation of the remains. The finding prompted a lively discussion of how the embalmers got it into place. . . . Other curiosities included what appeared to be a bit of bone near the nasal cavity 'that's not ordinarily there. I don't know what to make of that.'
There was no obvious indication of the cause of death, Dr. Towers said. 'Could have been pneumonia, could have been a lot of things,' he said. 'I don't see evidence of physical trauma, other than the preparation that was performed. I don't see evidence of a genetic disease or a developmental disease.'
Carnegie Museum scientists initiated closer study of the mummy because they had thought the child had an enlarged head, or macrocephaly, and wanted to figure out why. If the child were 8 or 9, as once thought, the head would be disproportionately big. But if detailed dental scans support preliminary findings indicating an age between 3 and 5, the head size could be normal. The page is accompanied by a photograph of the mummy going into the scanner, and by one of the CT scan images, which clearly shows the wooden stake.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070502/ap_on_sc/mummy_scan_5
"A CT scan of an ancient Egyptian child's mummified body on display at a Pittsburgh museum has revealed a spearlike object within the upper spine and skull, but scientists say they do not know whether that is what killed the child. 'They don't know if that was the cause of death or if the embalmers did that to keep the head steady in the sarcophagus,' said Ellen James, spokeswoman for the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.
The scan performed Wednesday at a Pittsburgh hospital also revealed that the child, who lived more than 2,000 years ago, was likely between 3 and 5 years old, younger than previously thought. X-rays done in 1986 had led scientists to believe that the child was about 8 years old."

See the above pages for more details.

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