What have we learned from studying mummies?

A mummy preserves information about lifestyle, diet, diseases, cause of death, and religious and funerary beliefs, giving us an insight into aspects of the civilisation that archaeology and ancient literature alone cannot provide.

Can historians and doctors today learn anything from the Egyptian mummies?

The Study of Mummies Today Ancient writers, modern scientists, and the mummies themselves all help us better understand the Egyptian mummification process and the culture in which it existed.

What do mummies tell us about Egyptian beliefs?

A mummy is the body of a person (or an animal) that has been preserved after death. The Egyptians believed in life after death. They believed that they had to preserve their bodies so they could use them in the afterlife.

What have we learned from mummies about disease in ancient Egypt?

Today these remains, probed by modern CT scans, MRIs, and DNA tests, are offering intriguing insights into how people lived and died long ago. A 2011 study of 52 mummies in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo showed that almost half had clogged arteries, the kind of condition that can lead to a heart attack or stroke.

What technology do archaeologists use to study mummies?

In an entire issue of The Anatomical Record dedicated to mummies, researchers describe how CT (computed tomography) scans – which use X-rays of virtual cross-sections of the body to create three-dimensional images – have become one of the leading diagnostic tools for the in-depth analysis of ancient mummies.

What was the significance of mummification in ancient Egypt?

The purpose of mummification was to keep the body intact so it could be transported to a spiritual afterlife.

Did archaeologists eat mummies?

Since the 12th century, Europeans had been eating Egyptian mummies as medicine. In later centuries unmummified corpses were passed off as mummy medicine, and eventually some Europeans no longer cared whether the bodies they were ingesting had been mummified or not.

Why was mummification so important in ancient Egypt?

The mummification process in ancient Egypt was extremely important as it could help the dead have a nice life in the underworld. The idea came to ancient Egyptians when they saw dead bodies naturally preserved in hot sand. Thus, mummifying became the way to deal with death.

Can you get sick from mummies?

Recent laboratory studies have revealed that some ancient mummies do indeed carry mold, including at least two potentially dangerous species—Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus. These molds can cause allergic reactions ranging from congestion to bleeding in the lungs.

What material evidence will you be interested to know and learn about archaeologist?

Artifacts include tools, clothing, and decorations. Non-portable remains, such as pyramids or post-holes, are called features. Archaeologists use artifacts and features to learn how people lived in specific times and places.