DAVENPORT'S DYNAMIC DIMENSIONS



ALL THE MYSTERIES OF MUMMIES REVEALED BY TECHNOLOGYJesus Diaz 8/02/13 4:54pmWhat Are Mummies?Mummies are well-preserved bodies that have been frozen (sometimes literally) in time. By studying these remnants of the past, we learn about ancient cultures — and bizarre death rituals from history. But how do you get answers out of a mummy? That's a science unto itself.Though the mummies of Egypt are by far the most well-known, they are certainly not the only ones that exist. In fact, archaeologists and others have discovered mummies throughout the world, including in countries such as Chile, Greenland, Italy, Iran and China.Mummies differ from your run-of-the-mill skeleton or dead body, in that the deceased's tissues have been preserved over centuries or even millennia. People have used various techniques to create mummies — but mummies also commonly form from prolonged exposure to a desiccating environment, such as a frigid mountaintop, an oxygen-deprived bog or a dry, hot desert. In the past, studying mummies was a destructive endeavor — scientists would unwrap Egyptian mummies, or dissect other mummies to take a look at internal organs (or what was left of them). But nowadays, numerous non-invasive techniques can be employed to study mummies. For the sake of this discussion, we'll focus on these modern, safer methods. Applying Radiology to the study of MummiesIn 1895, physicist William Roentgen discovered X-rays while working with a cathode ray tube in his lab. A year later, in 1896, scientists applied the new technology to a group of mummies, and X-ray imaging became the first non-destructive technique to study these ancient, well-preserved bodies, according to Emory University's Michael C. Carlos Museum. Within a couple of decades, X-ray imaging became the go-to method to study mummies, because it allowed people to peer beneath Egyptian mummies' wrappings, without having to actually unwrap them.X-ray images can reveal not only what artifacts may be sealed within their wraps or clothing (information that can help tease out how important the mummified person was in life), but also what kinds of health problems the person may have had, including diseases, dental issues, fractures and traumatic wounds. For example, in 1928, the Field Museum X-ray photographed the mummy of a 7th century B.C. Egyptian boy — based on the irregular development of some of his bones, the researchers surmised that the kid had a calcium deficiency and was malnourished. More recently, scientists used X-ray images to study several dozens of Egyptian mummies found in Italian museums, and discovered that a majority of the specimens suffered from joint diseases and dental problems, such as tooth wear and tooth loss, while they were alive. In the 1970s, scientists began complementing their X-ray imaging techniques using computed tomography (CT) scans — which provide a cross-sectional image of a body by combining multiple X-ray images taken from various angles. The scans are able to provide a much clearer internal picture than basic X-rays, allowing scientists to make new discoveries about mummies at a maddening rate. A few years ago, researchers reviewed studies on Egyptian mummies using CT scans. The results further suggested that dental issues, including periodontal diseases, abscesses and cavities, plagued ancient Egyptians; the meta-analysis also showed evidence of numerous other health issues, such as bone disorders, infections and traumas.CT scans of mummies have revealed a number of other interesting finds: coronary arteriosclerotic disease has been around in China for over two millennia; ?tzi the Iceman suffered a fatal blow to the head; ancient Egyptians suffered from atherosclerosis (which is typically considered a modern disease attributed to a sedentary lifestyle); and the 13-year-old Incan "Maiden" had food in her system and had not defecated shortly before her ritual death, suggesting she was not in a state of distress. Within the last decade, scientists have begun using MRI machines on mummies. The technique can typically only be used on hydrated tissues, but that limitation apparently is not a deal-breaker. Last year, researchers examined a dry Egyptian mummy using a newly developed technique for MRI scans and found evidence of the rare Hand-Schueller-Christian's disease.The Value of Mass SpectrometryMass spectrometry is a common chemical analysis technique that scientists can use to sort out different types of atoms and molecules in a sample. Archaeologists have utilized mass spectrometry for decades to study mummies — the technique tells them the specific molecules, and their respective concentration, that are present in tissue, clothing and other samples. Mass spectrometry yields particularly useful information when applied to hair samples. Reason being: Hair provides a record of what substances, including narcotics and other drugs, are swimming in the blood stream when new hair cells form. Back in 1991, for instance, researchers found that benzoylecognine, a metabolite of cocaine, can be reliably detected in the hair of mummies — a finding that's still used in research today.In a study published in the journal PNAS this week, researchers analyzed the hair samples of three famous Incan child mummies — the Maiden (image below), Llullaillaco Boy and Lightning Girl — for cocaine, benzoylecognine and the chemical cocaethylene, which the liver produces when cocaine and ethanol are both in the blood. Knowing that hair grows at a relatively constant rate, they were able to create a timeline showing the levels of coca (from which cocaine is derived) and alcohol that the children consumed in the months leading up to their deaths. 137795889000And in a previous study, the same team of researchers revealed the child mummies' final diets by analyzing hair samples (using mass spectrometry) for different isotopes of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. The results showed that the children ditched their previous diet of potatoes and began to eat "elite" food, including dried llama meat and maize, after they were selected to take part in the sacrificial ritual that ultimately killed them.Of course, mass spectrometry has been used to study other mummies, too. Recently, scientists found nicotine traces in the hair of Chilean mummies dating between 100 B.C. and A.D. 1450. Contrary to previous beliefs, the results showed that people in the area (San Pedro de Atacama) consumed nicotine for over a millennium and on a society-wide basis. In another study, researchers used the technique to analyze the resin on the wrappings of Egyptian mummies. Scientists have even used mass spectrometry to analyze the clothing of the very well-studied Iceman ?tzi to figure out what animals his skins came from. The study showed his moccasins were made of cattle, while his coat and pants were made of sheepskin. You may wonder why the researchers didn't just do a DNA analysis on the skins, but they explain that the hides would have gone through multiple manufacturing processes that would likely have destroyed the DNA — the proteins used in the mass spectrometer, however, are more resilient. ................
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