YEARBOOK OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 50:162–190 (2007)
Mummies
Niels Lynnerup*
Laboratory of Biological Anthropology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
KEY WORDS paleopathology; bog bodies; mummified tissue; mortuary practices
ABSTRACT Mummies are human remains with
preservation of nonbony tissue. Mummification by natu-
ral influences results in so-called natural mummies,
whereas mummification induced by active (human)
intervention results in so-called artificial mummies,
although many cultures practiced burial rites, which to
some degree involved both natural and artificial mummi-
fication. Since they are so uniquely well-preserved,
mummies may give many insights into mortuary prac-
tices and burial rites. Specifically, the presence of soft
tissues may expand the scope of paleopathological stud-
ies. Many recent mummy studies focus on the develop-
ment and application of nondestructive methods for
examining mummies, including radiography, CT-scan-
ning with advanced three-dimensional visualizations,
By definition, mummies are human (or animal)
remains with preservation of nonbony tissue. Depending
on mortuary practices, the natural environment and the
time span since death, soft tissue preservation may be
excellent or very poor, and there is really no exact bound-
ary line between a skeleton with some preserved soft tis-
sue (skin remnants, ligaments, etc) and a mummy. How-
ever, the word mummy is generally used when soft tissue
preservation is so pronounced that body parts, or the
whole body, have somewhat intact skin and some pre-
served internal structures such as muscle fasciae, liga-
ments, and maybe even tissue of internal organs and
muscle.
Soft tissue is preserved when the postmortem condi-
tions are such that the usual tissue degradation, includ-
ing the action of bacteria and insects, are hindered. At
its most basic, this is a question of tissue dehydration
overtaking tissue postmortem decay. This may be
achieved either naturally due to environmental condi-
tions, such as a hot or very cold, dry climate, or it may
be facilitated by mortuary practices that in a fashion
mimic these environmental conditions, such as removal
of internal organs and drying out of body cavities. Mum-
mification by the former influences hence results in so-
called natural mummies, while mummification induced
by active (human) intervention results in so-called artifi-
cial mummies. The word mummy itself is derived from
the old Persian word, mumeia, or mum (Arabian:
mumiya) for bitumen or pitch. Medicinal properties were
ascribed to this substance, which flowed from the
Mummy Mountain in Persia, (David, 1984, 1997). Since
mummies often presented themselves as blackened or
dark because of the desiccation of the skin, it was
thought that bitumen and asphalt were materials used
by the ancient Egyptians in their mummification pro-
cesses, so the word came to designate embalmed bodies
(David, 1984; Brier, 1998). Unfortunately this meant
that it was thought that mummies also had medicinal
C 2007
V WILEY-LISS, INC.
and endoscopic techniques, as well as minimally-destruc-
tive chemical, physical, and biological methods for, e.g.,
stable isotopes, trace metals, and DNA. This article dis-
cusses mummification and gives a presentation of vari-
ous key mummy finds and a brief history of mummy
studies. A description of the extant key technologies of
natural and medical science that are applied in mummy
studies is given; along with a discussion of some of the
major results in terms of paleopathology. It is also
shown how mummy studies have contributed much to
the knowledge of the cultural habits and everyday life
of past populations. Finally the impact of mummy
studies on analyses of mortuary practices and cultural
history is discussed. Yrbk Phys Anthropol 50:162–190,
2007. V 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
C
properties, and starting in the 14th and 15th century,
Egyptian mummies were literally ground down to pro-
duce ‘‘mummy powder’’ to be imported to Europe and
sold from apothecaries, something which continued up
into the 20th century (Taconis, 2005).
Mummies and bog bodies present unique opportunities
for many scientific fields. Since they are so uniquely
well-preserved, both natural and artificial mummies
may give specific insights into mortuary practices and
burial rites. This may also be due to a parallel preserva-
tion of associated artifacts like clothing, tools, and uten-
sils. The mummified body itself may reveal body orna-
mentation, such as tattoos and details of hair style, etc.
The presence of soft tissues may expand the scope of
pathological studies, so that more acute diseases, and
diseases, which do not affect bone tissue, may be identi-
fied (e.g., Cockburn et al., 1998b; Aufderheide, 2003).
The mummification and preservation of the various soft
tissues, though, is very variable. Interior organs, parti-
cularly of the digestive system are often completely
decomposed, and organs may be very shrunken and diffi-
cult to identify morphologically due to desiccation. Fur-
thermore, various funerary rites comprising embalming
and evisceration may entail the complete removal of
internal organs and the brain. Generally, the soft tissues
most often preserved are tissues with a high content of
collagen, like the dermis, muscle fasciae, and tendons.
Still, even just the presence of skin may give important
clues to pathology and trauma, e.g., penetrating wounds
*Correspondence to: Niels Lynnerup, Laboratory of Biological
Anthropology, The Panum Institute, Blegdamsvej 3, DK-2200
Copenhagen N, Denmark. E-mail: n.lynnerup@antrolab.ku.dk
DOI 10.1002/ajpa.20728
Published online in Wiley InterScience
(www.interscience.wiley.com).
 MUMMIES
and cuts, scars, and even warts. Better soft tissue pres-
ervation may also be indicative of good aDNA preserva-
tion, perhaps also allowing identification of pathogen
DNA. Finally, gut contents may also be seen, allowing
for detailed paleodietary studies, which may complement
stable-isotope-based studies.
However, the very presence of soft tissue, especially the
skin, at the same time makes it difficult to examine the
body. One may conduct an ‘‘autopsy,’’ but while such
mummy autopsies have been carried out often (Aufder-
heide, 2003; David, 1979), most archeologists, conserva-
tors, and indeed osteologists and pathologists, are not
always too enthusiastic about this. An autopsy is an inva-
sive and destructive procedure, meaning that the integ-
rity of the mummy or bog body as an archeological speci-
men may be destroyed. The attitude has perhaps shifted
from an earlier more clinical, medical approach to mum-
mies (in a certain sense seeing the body as any other un-
identified body that must be properly examined in a foren-
sic way) to one of recognition that a mummy is an invalu-
able archeological artifact. This has meant that more
emphasis is being placed on the development of nondes-
tructive methods for examining mummies, including radi-
ography, CT-scanning with advanced three-dimensional
visualizations, and endoscopic techniques, as well as mini-
mally-destructive chemical, physical, and biological meth-
ods for, e.g., stable isotopes, trace metals, and DNA. Many
of these methods will be familiar to the osteologist. Also,
bone and teeth are as much part of a mummy as the other
(mummified) tissues, so that physical anthropological
methods dealing with mineralized tissues may play just
as great a role in the investigation of a mummy, as these
methods would do if a skeleton were being studied.
This article will fall into six major sections: a discussion
on mummification with a presentation of various key
mummy finds; a brief history of mummy examinations
and studies; a description of the key technologies of natu-
ral and medical science which are applied in mummy
studies; some of the major results in terms of paleopatho-
logy; what mummy studies have meant for the reconstruc-
tion of the cultural habits and understanding of everyday
life of past populations; and finally the impact of mummy
studies on our understanding of mortuary practices and
cultural history. However, given that a search on
‘‘Pubmed’’ for ‘‘mummies’’ results in 720 hits, and almost
200 on ‘‘ScienceDirect,’’ it simply will not be possible to
cover all aspects, or even just all the most recent publica-
tions. At the outset it should be mentioned that there are
a number of major publications that provide a thorough,
even encyclopedic, overview of mummies and mummy
studies: ‘‘The Scientific Study of Mummies’’ (Aufderheide,
2003); ‘‘Mummies, Disease and Ancient Cultures’’ (Cock-
burn et al., 1998b); ‘‘The Encyclopedia of Mummies’’
(Brier, 1998); and ‘‘The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Paleo-
pathology’’ (Aufderheide and Rodriguez-Martin, 1998).
MUMMIFICATION
Natural mummies
Natural mummification occurs when soft tissue is pre-
served without human intervention. This is in turn due
to certain postmortem-conditions. Basically, the usual
tissue degradation, including the action of bacteria and
insects, has to be hindered or arrested. At death, the sin-
gle cells of the individual lose their basic cell membrane
functionality at the termination of the supply of oxygen
163
and nutrients. This is mainly due to the uncoupling of
the energy-requiring trans-membranal ‘‘pumps,’’ which
enable the cell to maintain the specific in vivo intracellu-
lar environment. Intracellular structures break up, and
intracellular structures known as lyzosomes ‘‘leak’’ their
content of enzymes, including more than 40 hydrolytic
enzymes such as proteases, lipases, and phosphatises
(Alberts et al., 2002). The enzymes initiate an autodiges-
tive process, leading ultimately to complete loss of cellu-
lar structure. Necrotic cells may also swell and burst,
further releasing these enzymes to their immediate envi-
ronment. Muscle tissue clearly shows these postmortem
changes: a combination of intracellular and extracellular
electrolyte displacement and loss of intracellular ‘‘archi-
tecture’’ of the myofibrils result in a fixation of the myo-
fibrils, i.e., rigor mortis. With ongoing putrefaction and
decay the fixation is then lost (Madea and Henssge,
2003). Another outward sign of the breakdown of the
cells is that all metabolic activity stops, which can be
observed as the postmortem body cooling: gradually, the
body temperature will equate with the environment.
Aside from the autolytic processes (sometimes termed
anaerobic degradation or decay), bacteria contribute to
the decomposition of the dead body (sometimes termed
aerobic degradation or putrefaction) (Micozzi, 1991). Bac-
teria are present in large numbers in the gut, but also in
the lungs and the lower urinary tract, as enteric bacte-
ria. Under conditions where both putrefaction and decay
occur, soft tissue degradation proceeds from within due
to the action of the enteric microorganisms, and from
without by colonization of soil microorganisms (Micozzi,
1991). At a later stage, and depending on how the body
is deposited, arthropod activity will play a part in fur-
ther decay, as may scavenger animals. The end result is
usually that only the mineralized tissues remain intact.
To achieve natural mummification the above chain of
events must be broken. Water is essential for the enzy-
matic breakdown and bacterial growth. Soft tissues also
need to retain some water in order for arthropod coloniza-
tion and activity. Dehydration of the tissues is therefore a
straightforward way to achieve mummification, and this
may thus occur by desiccation. Other mechanisms leading
to mummification include freezing or the presence of a
microenvironment which hinders bacterial activity. The
latter may include an anaerobic environment as found in
bogs, or fixation by mineral salts. If this blockage of the
normal postmortem decay and putrefaction processes
happens at a very early stage, the mummy may present
itself with excellent soft tissue preservation, while the
mummy may appear more degraded if decay and putre-
faction have occurred to some degree.
Desiccation. Examples of natural mummification by
desiccation are not surprisingly found in hot and arid
environments. Geographically, such locations are found
near the Equator, such as Nubia (Peck, 1998), the
Canary Islands (Ascenzi et al., 1998), and sometimes in
combination with arid plateaus, such as in northern
Chile/southern Peru (Allison, 1985; Guillen, 1992;
Arriaza et al., 1998). Other mummy finds due to desicca-
tion are from Amerindian tribes of the American South-
west, (El-Najjar et al., 1980, 1998).
The degree of desiccation will often vary over the body.
The larger the ratio of skin surface is to the underlying
body volume, the more water can be evaporated from the
body segment in question. This means that fingers and
toes, and the extremities to a lesser degree, will often
Yearbook of Physical Anthropology—DOI 10.1002/ajpa
164 N. LYNNERUP

show more pronounced mummification than the trunk,

which often will be more marked by putrefaction and
decay (although this of course is also due to the presence
of the enteric bacteria in the abdomen and thorax). Such
partial mummification of the head and extremities is a
regular finding in forensic cases, e.g., when a deceased
has lain in a heated room for a longer period of time, but
it may also often be the case for many historic and pre-
historic mummy finds.
An environment conducive to desiccation may also be
manmade such as catacombs and subterranean crypts
associated with churches and monasteries. Many such
mummies have been reported in, e.g., Italy (Brier, 1998;
Fornaciari, 1999), and also in Hungary (Spigelman
et al., 2003).
Freezing. Freezing, or perhaps more specifically, freeze-
drying, takes places in cold (and arid) locales. The disrup-
tive effects on the normal postmortem degradation may
be due to a varying combination of cold (less enzymatic
and bacterial action and arthropod activity), dehydration
(exposure to cold, but dry, air), and also obviously direct
freezing (Hart Hansen, 1998). Examples of such mummi-
fication include mummies from Greenland, dated to the
15th century (Hart Hansen, 1989). These mummies had
undergone a natural mummification, as they had lain in
a cave protected from rain and snow and at the same
time been subjected to the dry, cold arctic winds. Many
other human remains have been found in Greenland (see
Fig. 1), but for some their degree of soft tissue preserva-
tion is much less pronounced, because the conditions cited
earlier were not present: for instance a body placed in a
cairn during the summer would be more exposed to rain,
as well as higher bacterial and arthropod activity. Indeed,
there are examples of partially mummified remains,
where decay and putrefaction and arthropod activity has
set in, only to be arrested by freezing winter tempera-
tures. Still, mummies from the Arctic are not that rare,
having been found more or less in all circumpolar regions
where there have been people (e.g., Aleutians, Canada,
and Siberia) (Hart Hansen, 1998). These finds also
include deceased individuals from more recent periods,
such as members of the Franklin Expedition in 1845–48,
found on Beechey Island in the Canadian Arctic (Beattie
Fig. 1. A Greenland Inuit child mummy from Pissisarfik (ca.
and Geiger, 1987); and whalers from the sixteenth 16th century). [Color figure can be viewed in the online issue,
and seventeenth century on the island of Svalbard which is available at www.interscience.wiley.com.]
(Albrethsen, 1989).
High altitude also means low temperatures, so ‘‘ice-
mummies’’ have also been found in the various mountain
chains of the continents; e.g., the neolithic Tyrolian Ice- tissue. Another major process contributing to the preser-
man in the Alps (Ambach and Tributsch, 1992; Spindler, vation is the so-called ‘‘Maillard reaction’’; a reaction
1994); a 550-year-old body from the Rocky Mountains between sphagnan and ammonia and amino acids that
(Monsalve et al., 2003), and not least Inca mummies forms a stable chemical compound (van der Sanden,
placed on the peaks of the mountains of the Andes, e.g., 1986; Aufderheide, 2003). Tannins are also present in
the recent find of three extraordinarily well-preserved the bogs, and probably add to preservation by possessing
child mummies from Mount Llullaillaco near Salta in anti-bacterial properties. The often excellent preserva-
Argentina (Ceruti, 2003). tion of the skin (except the keratinous outer layer which
is often sloughed off) may be due in part to tanning pro-
Bog bodies. Bog bodies are especially found in Northern cesses (Evershed, 1990; Stucker et al., 2001).
Europe (Fischer, 1998). Generally, the bogs have an When found, the bog bodies are wet and all tissues,
acidic and anaerobic microenvironment. If a body is including bones, are pliable. Because of the earlier men-
thrown into a bog, it will usually be enveloped by cold tioned chelation of calcium, calcium is leached from the
water; bacterial putrefaction, as well as arthropod acti- bones, causing a demineralization of the bony tissues,
vity will thus be hindered. Sphagnan, a polysaccharide which consequently lose their hardness and become plia-
compound from the sphagnum mosses in the bogs che- ble (van der Sanden, 1996). The demineralization is not
lates calcium, which in turn is essential for bacterial ac- necessarily uniform, but may differ within the skeletal
tivity (van der Sanden, 1996). This is probably the pro- system or a single bone due to the diagenetic microenvir-
cess most responsible for the preservation of the soft onment. Many bog bodies are also shrunken. While some

Yearbook of Physical Anthropology—DOI 10.1002/ajpa

 MUMMIES
shrinking may take place in the bog, most shrinkage is
probably due to the drying out of the bog bodies when
they are excavated. In modern times, bogs have been
excavated for peat, especially during the period 1930–
1950. Most northern European finds of bog bodies may
be ascribed to this activity (van der Sanden, 1996), i.e.,
they are accidental finds. Peat is still excavated in Ire-
land, and indeed the most recent bog body finds, in
2003, were made in Ireland (‘‘Clony Cavan Man’’; ‘‘Old
Man Croghan’’; and ‘‘Derry Cashel’’) (Kelly, 2006).
Drying out was previously the only preservational and
conservational way to handle excavated ‘‘wet’’ bog bodies.
In the mid-20th century more targeted methods were
used, such as attempts to substitute the water with alco-
hols and tannic oils, bark extracts, and wax, while today
freeze-drying is used (Asingh and Lynnerup, 2007). What-
ever the method, some shrinkage is probably inevitable,
but may be pronounced especially for the older bog finds.
Other types of natural mummification. Recently a
‘‘salt mummy’’ was found in the northern part of Iran,
probably dating back some 1,500 years (Aali, 2005). He
was found in an area rich in salt (sodium chloride),
where salt mining still takes place (open mines, and the
unprocessed salt is used as road salt). However, in ear-
lier times, shaft mining activity had taken place, as salt
was a precious commodity. On the basis of the archeolog-
ical appraisal of the find situation, this was indeed the
corpse of a salt-miner, probably buried when the shaft
collapsed (Aali, 2005). This enclosed him in salt, which
has well-known dehydrating and curing properties. Such
‘‘salt mummies’’ have also been reported from Austria, in
Hallsttat (Aufderheide, 2003). Other related mummifica-
tions have been reported from Chile, where preservation
was enhanced by copper salts (Bird, 1979 cit. in Aufder-
heide, 2003; Brier, 1998; Corthals, 2007).
Enclosure in tightly closed coffins or sarcophagi may
also result in the retention of soft tissues, e.g., a 1,700-
year-old mummy from Greece found in a lead coffin,
which was placed inside a marble sarcophagus (Papa-
georgopoulou et al., 2007). Likewise, what has been con-
sidered as one of the best preserved mummies ever
found, the ‘‘Marquise of Tai’’ from China, dating back
2,100 years (Brier, 1998; Sakurai et al., 1998), was
sealed inside three wooden, tightly sealed coffins.
Fatty tissue may undergo adipocerous change in a
humid or wet environment (Micozzi, 1991; Evershed,
1992), although it has been described also in dry environ-
ments (Evans, 1963). Adipocere results from the postmor-
tem hydrolysis and hydrogenation of body fats (Mant and
Furbank, 1957; Cotton et al., 1987; Bereuter et al., 1996).
Thus, body parts with a high fat content, e.g., buttocks,
may be preserved. Adipocerous change is not uncommonly
found in the brain, since brain tissue is also high in fat
content. Thus well-preserved brains may be found even if
all other soft tissue has decomposed (Tkocz et al., 1979;
Radanov et al., 1992). Adipocire was previously thought to
be a process of saponification of organic fatty acids in the
presence of lime or calcium carbonate (Micozzi, 1991).
This has led to mummies with widespread adipocerous
changes being termed ‘‘soap mummies’’ (Brier, 1998).
Artificial mummification
Artificial mummification implies that mummification is
the result of intentional human activity. These activities
probably often arose in many cultures by observing how
mummification came about naturally. For example, there
165
is a logical short step from the earliest, predynastic Egyp-
tians observing how bodies buried in arid, desert circum-
stances desiccated and became mummies, to applying this
knowledge by packing salts such as natron around the
dead body to achieve desiccation. Putrefaction of internal
organs, which would otherwise bloat and ultimately open
the abdomen of the corpse, could likewise be hindered by
removing the internal organs (although the integrity of
the body could be upheld by putting the internal organs
back into the abdominal and thoracic cavities as
‘‘packets’’). The Egyptians developed artificial mummifica-
tion to a high level, and for many people the word mummy
immediately calls forth images of Egyptian mummies. Of
course, the reason for developing mummification to the
highest levels was the great importance laid upon the
notion that the body of the deceased should be rendered
incorruptible and that the in vivo physical appearance
should be maintained as closely as possible (Peck, 1998).
This was central to their religious ideas of life after death.
Our knowledge of the Egyptian mummification rites is
based on a few recovered fragmentary texts (David, 1984).
An important, but perhaps indirect source, is Herodotus,
who wrote quite specific details on evisceration (for exam-
ple that the brain tissue was removed through the nose
and that dry natron was packed in and around the body)
(Brier, 1998; Peck, 1998). The internal organs were depos-
ited in four canopic jars (a jar each for the liver, the stom-
ach, the intestines, and the lungs). Herodotus’ account
dates to 500 BC century. Another source is Diodorus Sicu-
lus, who wrote in the first century AD, and who mentions
that the heart and kidneys could be left in situ. He also
mentions that at least three classes of mummification
existed, each differently priced (Brier, 1998).
Egyptian artificial mummification is probably the best
studied of the mummification procedures. This is not
least due to the simple abundance of these mummies (to
such a degree that Egyptian mummies have been used
instead of firewood) and due to the ‘‘Egyptomania’’ (see
below) in the 18th and 19th century, which saw muse-
ums and collectors buying Egyptian mummies. Thus
Egyptian mummies were disseminated throughout the
western world, and by implication placed at the disposal
of many mummy-interested natural scientists.
However, many other cultures also practised artificial
mummification, also by employing highly developed
methods, e.g. in South America (Guillen, 2004; Carde-
nas-Arroyo, 2003), where indeed also the oldest artificial
mummies in the world, associated with the Chinchorro
culture, have been found (Guillen, 1992). A mummy
associated with this culture, has been dated to approxi-
mately 7800 BC (Aufderheide et al., 1993). Indeed, the
mummification techniques employed by the Chinchorros
have been said to rival the Egyptian methods in terms of
complexity: internal organs were removed and replaced
with straw, and after defleshing or decay of limb muscu-
lature these were reaffixed to the trunk, and then cov-
ered in black mud, which finally could be painted with,
e.g., the facial details (Arriaza et al., 1998; Brier, 1998;
Aufderheide, 2003). These mummification procedures
could also be extended to children and fetuses (Arriaza
et al., 2003). The shrunken heads of the tribes of the
Amazon are another example of a highly ritualized prac-
tice, involving many specific steps in order to ensure the
wanted quality of the end product (Mann et al., 1992;
Castner, 2002; Mendonca de Sousa et al., 2005).
Finally, there are also some more recent, famous mum-
mified corpses, e.g. the embalmed body of Lenin. Com-
Yearbook of Physical Anthropology—DOI 10.1002/ajpa
166 N. LYNNERUP
pounds with arsenic and mercury salts were used for
embalming in the 17th and 18th centuries (present day
embalming is usually performed with formaldehyde-
based liquids). Plastination is a technique whereby tis-
sues are first dehydrated and then infused with a poly-
mer, which then cures. The method was patented by von
Hagens et al. (1987), and has now become quite well-
known because of some rather spectacular exhibits of
whole plastinated corpses mounted in different postures
(‘‘BodyWorlds,’’ www.bodyworlds.com). Quigley has given
a review of ‘‘modern’’ mummies (Quigley, 1998).
Natural and artificial mummification
The differentiation between artificial mummies and
natural mummies, though, is not clear-cut. Many cul-
tures have practised what might be termed a sort of mix
of natural and artificial mummification. This may
include treatment of the dead body in a manner in which
natural mummification is facilitated, e.g., by specifically
placing the corpse in an arid environment (intentional,
natural mummification), or by performing certain rites
such as partial evisceration or defleshing (Pretty and
Calder, 1998; Zimmerman, 1998). The famous Scythian
mummies from Pacyryk in the Altay mountains of Cen-
tral Asia had been subjected to evisceration, removal of
the brain, and also partly defleshing of muscle through
incisions, which were then stitched. They were then
placed in a tomb. Preservation was then also further
enhanced by the fact that the tomb area was in such an
altitude that there was permafrost (Artamanov, 1965;
Rudenko, 1970).
Similarly, the Guanches of the Canary Islands took
advantage of the arid areas of their islands to place the
dead in burial caves, which ensured desiccation, but
they also performed evisceration before placing the
bodies in the caves (Ascenzi et al., 1998). Dessication
may also be achieved by smoking the corpse, which was
done in North America as well as in Australia (Brier,
1998).
In Japan, priests in the 17th century would intention-
ally reduce their intake of nutrition to alter their consti-
tution to one where they would become very thin (and
thereby achieving a higher skin surface to body volume),
which may have made their corpses more resistant to
putrefactory changes, as desiccation would have pro-
ceeded faster (Sakurai et al., 1998).
A BRIEF HISTORY OF MUMMY STUDIES
Modern studies of mummies using natural scientific
methods arose in the wake of Napoleon Bonaparte’s
invasion of Egypt in 1798. Numerous scientists were
brought along with his army, and their observations of
monuments, hieroglyphs, tombs, and mummies resulted
in a major folio publication (19 volumes) over the follow-
ing decades (and also initiated the efforts of Young and
Champollion to translate hieroglyphic writing). Egypto-
logy and Egyptian artifacts became a la mode. As an
aside to this interest in all things Egyptian, so also was
there an interest in mummies. Museums in the western
world bought mummies for their collections, some of
which turned out to be fakes. Still, fake mummies could
also be ‘‘unrolled’’ for paying onlookers (Aufderheide,
2003; Taconis, 2005). Luckily, serious investigations also
began at this time, which probably rescued mummy
studies from becoming a mere curiosity, or from being a
Yearbook of Physical Anthropology—DOI 10.1002/ajpa
‘‘science’’ based on frauds. Blumenbach (‘‘the father of
physical anthropology’’) unrolled some Egyptian mum-
mies at the British Museum in the 1790s (Taconis,
2005), but the first really systematic work began with Dr
Thomas Pettigrew, who was professor of anatomy at the
Charing Cross Hospital in London. He carried out a dis-
section of an Egyptian mummy in 1833, followed over
the years by 13 more such dissections. He gave lectures
on the subject and published the first book entirely on
mummies in 1934: ‘‘History of Egyptian Mummies’’ (Auf-
derheide, 2003; Brier 1998).
The next wave of serious work came in the early twen-
tieth century with the work of an impressive trio based
at the Cairo Medical School: Grafton Elliot Smith (pro-
fessor of anatomy), Armand Ruffer (bacteriology), and
Alfred Lucas (chemistry) (Peck, 1998). Lucas was called
as a consultant when the tomb of Tutankhamun was
found (Peck, 1998). Elliot Smith made his first detailed
studies of mummification in 1905 (Peck, 1998). In the
following years he made examinations of all the royal
mummies, and published his finds (Smith, 1912); or per-
haps not all the findings: it has been mentioned that
Elliot Smith was responsible for the examination of more
than 30,000 mummies (Dawson, 1938, cit. in Aufder-
heide, 2003). Ruffer’s name is still connected with his
fluid for rehydration and restoration of mummified tis-
sue. He also made significant contributions to the emerg-
ing field of paleopathology (see below). Another major
character in the field at that time was Warren R. Daw-
son. He left a legacy in terms of publications including
basically helping Elliot Smith to publish his findings
(Smith and Dawson, 1924, cit. in Aufderheide, 2003;
Brier, 1998).
In the USA, the first major mummy studies came
about as a result of Hrdlicka’s expeditions to the Aleu-
tians in the late 1930s (Hrdlicka, 1941; Hunt, 2003). He
found many mummies in caves and noted that artificial
mummification had taken place, in that the bodies exhi-
bited evisceration cuts, and that body cavities had been
stuffed with grass. Child mummies were often strapped
in their cradle bags or other containers (Frohlich and
Laughlin, 2002). Many of the mummies Hrdlıcka found
are now curated by the Smithsonian Institution (Hunt,
2003).
Meanwhile at the Manchester Museum, England,
mummy studies had also been performed. Two Egyptian
mummies were unwrapped and studied in 1910 (Murray,
1910, cit. in David and Tapp, 1984). Of tremendous
importance was the careful planning of this interdiscipli-
nary effort, involving curators, physicians, chemists, and
textile specialists. As such, this examination became a
template for future mummy studies, in that today there
is a broadening consensus that mummies are best stud-
ied by a team of specialists, including physicians, arche-
ologists, conservators, and others. This lesson has been
repeated more recently with the examinations of, among
others, PUM II (Cockburn et al., 1998a), the Manchester
Museum Mummy Project (David, 1979), the Tyrolian Ice-
man (Spindler, 1994), the Greenland mummies (Hart
Hansen, 1989), bog bodies of Denmark (Asingh and Lyn-
nerup, 2007), and Ireland (to be published). Aside from
the broad interdisciplinarity and the application of many
modern natural scientific and medical methods, the
establishment of a regular mummy conference in 1992,
subsequently held every third year, has also added sub-
stance to a field that has sometimes been seen as a
fringe science. Rapid dissemination of new investigative
 MUMMIES
techniques and the flow of knowledge on a global basis
are changing the field. Interestingly, many new techni-
ques in medicine and the natural sciences have often
been ‘‘tried out’’ on mummies rapidly after their incep-
tion (David, 1997), or indeed even driven technological
innovation (e.g., a new NASA-NIH imaging program)
(Brown and Herbranson, 2007). The following section
deals with these methods.
METHODS IN MUMMY RESEARCH
The mummy autopsy
Unwrapping and opening of body cavities of mummies
was carried out from the earliest stages of mummy
research. However, an autopsy as well as being an ulti-
mate procedure for procuring detailed patho-anatomical
knowledge, is a somewhat destructive procedure. Earlier,
autopsies were readily carried out on Egyptian mum-
mies, probably not least due to the enormous abundance
of them; the setting may be very different for other
mummies. It has been postulated that mummy research-
ers are somewhat divided into two ‘‘schools’’: researchers
who think that autopsy is very necessary for serious
mummy research; and researchers who think it to be an
unnecessarily invasive and destructive procedure
(Pringle, 2001). This is a gross over-simplification, but
cutting into a mummy is unquestionably an invasive and
destructive procedure. There are two major concerns
when considering an autopsy: the integrity of the mummy
as an archeological and cultural historical specimen, and
ethical concerns. The integrity of the mummy may be an
issue when the mummy is to be put on display, or where
an autopsy would necessitate destructive or semi-destruc-
tive removal of clothing, adornments, burial shrouds, etc.,
which might be viewed as ‘‘tampering’’ too much with an
intact archeological specimen. Ethical concerns often cen-
ter on the fact that the mummy is a deceased person, and
that the peace of the deceased person should be respected,
and that an autopsy would violate beliefs and burial cus-
toms (Holm, 2001). This may be the case for many
cultures, and the discussion of these issues is parallel to
ethical concerns voiced over analyses of skeletal remains,
e.g., Kennewick Man (Downey, 2000; Thomas, 2000).
Overall, there seem to be major differences in how these
questions are handled, from countries with comparatively
codified guidelines or laws, such as those promulgated by
the International Council of Museums (ICOM Code of
Ethics), or the NAGPRA in USA, to more ad hoc attitudes
in other countries.
When autopsies have been carried out, e.g., at the
Manchester Museum project (David, 1979), much
knowledge has been gained. The procedure is not that
different from a present day autopsy, in that much
more definite knowledge may be gained about circum-
stances of death and pathological changes of internal
organs (Cockburn et al., 1975; Zimmerman and Aufder-
heide, 1984; Robertson, 1988). Pathological diagnosis is
still very much based on gross macroscopic inspection,
so being able to study the remains of internal organs
for pathological change is important. Autopsy is also
the best procedure for securing tissue samples from
specific organs, such as heart, lungs, and liver, which
might otherwise be difficult to locate and sample
through other techniques (El-Najjar et al., 1980, 1985).
Similarly, gut contents may be secured (Helbaek, 1958;
Spindler, 1994).
167
Since by far most mummies are desiccated, a mummy
autopsy cannot exactly follow the autopsy procedures
employed when dealing with the newly deceased or with
cadavers still retaining their hydrated, pliable state.
Usually, present-day autopsy procedures entail making a
‘‘Y’’-shaped incision from behind both ears to the jugular
incisure and then down to the pubic symphysis. The ab-
dominal cavity is then opened, and the thoracic cavity is
accessed by cutting the ribs and the clavicles, and then
lifting the ‘‘breast-plate’’ off (Saukko and Knight, 2004).
Obviously, this procedure may be difficult to carry out
with a crouched, desiccated mummy, so mummy autop-
sies are often conducted by making incisions wherever it
is most opportune, e.g. through the side or back of the
thorax and abdomen, and with a varying degree of cavity
opening (Aufderheide, 2003). Postmortem changes may
of course also help, in that the thoracic and abdominal
skin and muscles may have decayed to such a degree
that the cavities are readily visible. Loss of limbs may
also facilitate access to the body cavities, and sometimes
the head may have become separated from the body so
that throat organs may be easily inspected.
If access to the main body cavities has been gained,
internal organs and structures may be inspected. The
appearance will obviously deviate somewhat from the
appearance of more fresh organs, in that postmortem
degradation, putrefaction, etc., together with changes
brought about by the mummification, will have altered
the morphology of the organs (Aufderheide, 2003). Struc-
tures with a high collagen content may still be intact,
albeit desiccated (Wei, 1973). The diaphragm is often
recognizable [even to such a degree that hernia may be
diagnosed (Gerszten et al., 1986)], or if it is not intact,
then the fibrous and muscular attachments along the
abdominal wall and around the vertebral column. Simi-
larly, fibrous tissue such as muscle fascia and ligaments
and tendons is often also identifiable and preserved. In
the thoracic cavity, inspection of the pleura, and the
presence of lung remains and their morphology, may
give important clues as to lung diseases, e.g., past lung
infections and tuberculosis (Aufderheide, 2003). The
internal organs will (for the desiccated, intact mummy)
often present themselves as very shrunken, with those
parts of the organs with the most fibrous tissue perhaps
the most preserved.
For example, the heart may be shrunken almost
beyond gross morphological recognition, but the fibrous
portion around the atrio-ventricular region, with the
major heart valves may still be discerned (Zimmerman,
1972, 1978, 1993). For the abdominal organs, the liver is
often recognizable due to its very dense structure (Auf-
derheide, 2003), whereas the thin-walled stomach and
intestines have often decayed completely. The abdominal
cavity may contain remnants of gut contents as well as
coprolites. As mentioned, these may contribute greatly to
dietary studies if found and analyzed (e.g., Reyman
et al., 1998; Harild et al., 2007). Kidneys are often also
difficult to discern, as is the spleen. Remnants of the eso-
phagus and the big vessels (vena cava and aorta) may be
seen (Aufderheide, 2003). Organs of the lower abdominal
region, mainly the inner genitalia, are often not discerni-
ble. Outside the body cavities, several structures of the
throat (which may be very important to determine
manner and cause of death, e.g. by strangulation) are
often preserved (thyroid cartilage, vocal cords), as are
the bulbar structures of the eyes (although the aqueous
humor will have disappeared, so that the eyes present
Yearbook of Physical Anthropology—DOI 10.1002/ajpa
168 N. LYNNERUP
themselves as flattened structures), and the brain. As
noted, because of the high fat content, the brain may
undergo adipocerous change. This may result in an
excellent morphological preservation showing gyri and
sulci and main brain parts (hemispheres, hindbrain, me-
dulla oblongata with the pons, etc.) (Padanov et al.,
1992). The brain may in other circumstances liquefy
postmortem, so that only a hardened ‘‘rim’’ along the
inside of the skull remains. However, the dura mater
may often be well preserved (Aufderheide, 2003). Finally,
external genitalia may be present (although often very
dependent on mummification procedures) which permits
a definite sex determination of the individual (Aufder-
heide, 2003).
Comprehensive knowledge about artificial mummifica-
tion procedures may also be gained by a full autopsy. The
early autopsies of the Egyptian mummies gave us the
first definite descriptions of the mummification proce-
dures employed, such as the removal of internal organs
and the trans-nasal removal of the brain (Pettigrew,
1834, cit. in Aufderheide, 2003; David, 1979). Likewise, it
must also be remembered that many artificial mummies
may contain various foreign objects, specifically laid into
the body cavities, which may have great archeological
interest. Much knowledge may now be gained in a nonin-
vasive manner, e.g., by the use of endoscopy and radio-
graphy, but such methods will probably never be able to
substitute completely for the exact pathological examina-
tion and specific sampling of target tissues made possible
by direct inspection during an autopsy.
Opening and dissection of a mummy may not only
enable a direct look at internal organs in terms of paleo-
pathological diagnosis; it may also enable the dissection
and removal of bones or parts of bone for the osteologist.
In terms of using many of the standard techniques for
age and sex determination, this may be beneficial. Many
of the ageing methods imply the need to inspect joint
surfaces, e.g. the auricular surface, the symphyseal sur-
face, sternal ribends. (Krogman and Iscan, 1986; Buik-
stra and Ubelaker, 1994; Mays, 1998; White and Folk-
ens, 2005). While the complete removal of the hip bones
may be difficult, many desiccated mummies actually
present themselves as literally a ‘‘bag of bones’’ (the bag
being the hardened desiccated skin), but with the bones
lying disarticulated within, so that single ribs, epiphy-
seal ends in the case of subadults, etc, may be extracted
and directly inspected.
A key point to be kept in mind regarding autopsies is
that the term literally means postmortem examination,
of which the opening of the body cavities is but one part;
careful examination of the surface and skin of the corpse
is also a very important part of the autopsy procedures
in forensic autopsies (Saukko and Knight, 2004). Conse-
quently, while perhaps it is not possible or desirable to
make a complete, invasive autopsy with opening of the
body cavities, the careful examination of the mummified
skin and integuments may yield much information on
trauma, wounds and skin conditions and bodily adorn-
ments (Verbov, 1986; Lowenstein, 2004). Often the skin
of the extremities is so well preserved that finger and
sole prints can easily be seen.
Specific imaging methods may be applied, such as
ultraviolet or infrared light, as well as magnifying equip-
ment. Complete visual inspection is also important for
locating e.g., stones or small metal plates which may
have been placed under the eyelids, just as stones or
other foreign objects may be placed in the mouth (Aufder-
Yearbook of Physical Anthropology—DOI 10.1002/ajpa
heide, 2003). Foreign objects introduced anally or vagi-
nally may also be visible externally [e.g. jade plugs in
Chinese jade mummies (Aufderheide, 2003)].
When perusing the exterior of a mummy, the remains
of hair and nails may often be found (e.g., Brothwell and
Dobney, 1986). Even if there is a somewhat restrictive
attitude to invasive procedures, including tissue sam-
pling, the careful removal of a few hairs for further analy-
ses may be allowed. Hair may provide detailed informa-
tion on dietary changes, drug use, or exposure to pollu-
tants, allow for extraction of aDNA, or be used to
determine place of origin/ethnicity (Báez et al., 2000; Wil-
son, 2005). Keratinized tissues such as hair shaft and
nails have been shown to have DNA contamination resist-
ant properties (Gilbert et al., 2004). In desiccated mum-
mies hair strands may still be attached to the skin and
scalp, whereas in other cases the hair may have been
sloughed off, which is often the case for bog bodies
(Wilson et al., 2001b). Hair morphology may be studied to
determine ethnic affiliation (Hrdy, 1978). Bog bodies often
present hair strands of a reddish color. Inherent natural
hair coloration is determined by the size, frequency and
type of pigment granules embedded within the hair fiber,
and all naturally-pigmented hair contain a mixture of
two compounds, black-brown eumelanin and red-yellow
phaeomelanin (Wilson et al., 2007). A bog environment
reduces the eumelanin, so that the reddish phaeomelanin
remains, an effect which may be further enhanced by the
presence of natural tannins (Wilson et al., 2001a), so that
all bog bodies seemingly have red hair.
Performing an autopsy or not should not be seen as a
dichotomous question: in reality it represents a contin-
uum. On one hand there may be mummy finds where
there is an immediate consensus on leaving the mummy
entirely intact. Other mummy finds allow for more mini-
mal invasive procedures, such as endoscopy, because of
existing openings in the skin, or direct inspection of
some or all the body cavities due to decay of skin or
breakage of the mummy. Finally some mummies are
opened in a true forensic pathological fashion.
Endoscopy
Endoscopy is somewhat associated with autopsy, in
that direct inspection of intracavity structures and organs
may be carried out (Manialawi et al., 1978; Notman et al.,
1986; Tapp and Wildsmith, 1986; Bonfils et al., 1986–87;
Reyman et al., 1998; Gaber et al., 2003; Kim et al., 2006;
Isidro et al., 2006). Endoscopes are equipped with lenses,
resulting in magnification, and furthermore the endo-
scope can be outfitted with devices allowing cutting and
sampling of tissue (Tapp et al., 1984). Today most endo-
scopes are flexible using an optical fiber system. Endo-
scopes are developed mainly for clinical medical proce-
dures, so performing an endoscopic examination on a
mummy usually entails this being done in a medical set-
ting or by medical personnel (e.g., Kruse, 2007). In this
respect, it should be noted that endoscopes are used in a
variety of clinical settings, such as gynecological and ab-
dominal examination and operation, as well as ear and
throat examinations and operations. The endoscopes used
in the former procedures are usually larger in diameter
than the latter. The smaller the diameter of the endo-
scope tube, the less invasive or destructive the procedure,
and body orifices of smaller dimensions may be accessed
(e.g., outer ear opening, pharyngeal and nasal cavities)
(Gaafar et al., 1999; Hagedorn et al., 2004), while a larger
 MUMMIES
endoscope may allow for better sampling and a larger
field of view (Sitaraman, 2006).
Endoscopic examination may be completely nonde-
structive if body openings, both natural or due to post-
mortem decay, can be accessed without having to make
incisions, or it may be minimally destructive if such a
minor incision has to be made. The advantage is also the
possibility of securing tissue and organ samples in a
minimal destructive way (Gaber et al., 2003). Aufder-
heide does note, though, that desiccated skin and fasciae
may be so collapsed into the body cavities that there
simply is not enough space for the endoscope; and that
sampling of hard, brittle tissue may be a challenge (Auf-
derheide, 2003).
Tissue histology
As noted, Ruffer was a pioneer in applying rehydra-
tion techniques on mummified tissue (Ruffer, 1921, cit.
in Aufderheide, 2003). This enabled him to apply histo-
logical techniques (fixing, sectioning, embedding, stain-
ing, etc), to do microscopy. His rehydration method,
though still used extensively, may reduce the integrity of
the tissue, especially due to a detrimental effect on colla-
gen fibers (Aufderheide, 2003). Many researchers have
since tried to circumvent this by refining Ruffers solu-
tion or developing new rehydration techniques, and also
testing various staining methods (Sandison, 1955;
Turner and Holtom, 1981; Allison and Gerszten, 1982;
Fulcheri et al., 1985; Walker et al., 1987; Mekota and
Vermehren, 2005).
Histological analyses may be helpful in determining
the degree of tissue conservation, and to identify cells
and tissues (Williams, 1927; Yeatman, 1971; Zimmerman
et al., 1971; Zimmerman, 1973; Riddle et al., 1976;
Walker et al., 1987; Nerlich et al., 1993; Hess et al.,
1998; Denton et al., 2003; Moissidou, 2003). Recognizable
tissue microstructure has been described for 21,300-
year-old mummified specimens (Zimmermman and Ted-
ford, 1976). Tissue microscopy may obviously be defini-
tive in identifying pathological changes, such as, e.g.,
atherosclerosis (Shattock, 1909, cit. in Aufderheide,
2003); lung pathology including anthracosis and pneu-
moconiosis; liver pathology such as cirrhosis, skin condi-
tions (Speck and Wheeland, 1984; Giacometti and Chi-
relli, 1968; Chapel et al., 1981), and various neoplastic
lesions. Parasitic infestation may also be ascertained
through tissue microscopy (e.g., Allison et al., 1999).
Combining histology with immunoflourescence has been
used to reveal tissue antigens (Wick et al., 1980). Micro-
scopic examination of tattoos may reveal the technique
with which they were made (Hart Hansen, 1989).
Transmission and scanning electron microscopic (TEM,
SEM) studies have been carried out on mummified tis-
sues (Horne and Lewin, 1977; Hino et al., 1982; Curry
et al., 1986; Perrin et al., 1994) revealing for example
parasite eggs (Su, 1987). Rehydration of the tissue sam-
ple is usually done as with samples for light microscopy,
although fixation is different (Aufderheide, 2003). Just
as with many of the other investigative measures, elec-
tron microscopy was rapidly carried out on mummified
tissue after the introduction of the technique in the med-
ical community (Leeson, 1959; Lewin, 1967; Macadam
and Sandison, 1969), showing, among other things,
work-related crystalline contaminants (El-Najjar et al.,
1985), and parasites (Fornaciari et al., 1992). Fornaciari
169
and Marchetti (1986) combined immuno-histopathology
with electron microscopy to detect smallpox virus.
Colposcopy
The use of a colposcope may be thought of as midway
between gross inspection of the skin and surface features
of a mummy and tissue microscopy. A colposcope is a
lighted stereomicroscope usually employed for the gyne-
cological examination of the cervix, vagina, and vulvar
surface. The magnification factor usually ranges from
23 to 253. Since colposcopes are mounted on a series of
joints, and on wheels, they are actually very well suited
for use in mummy studies for examining the skin. Colpo-
scopic examination can thus often be performed if a
mummy is to be examined anyway in a hospital setting,
e.g., for CT-scanning or radiography. This author has
participated in colposcopic examination of Danish bog
bodies, and it was possible to clearly visualize warts and
minor skin defects (results to be published).
Infrared reflectography and
ultraviolet fluorescence
The skin may present itself as very dark in mummies
because of the postmortem changes such as desiccation
and tanning. This means that changes to the skin, e.g.,
pathological, intentional modifications, scars, may be dif-
ficult to observe directly in ordinary light. Using infrared
(IR) and ultraviolet (UV) lighting coupled with specific
recording equipment (infrared and ultraviolet reflectog-
raphy) may be seen as an extension of the range offered
by ordinary light to observe such changes. IR light is
particularly useful for detecting pathological changes
and changes in the normal structure of the skin, while
UV light is better suited to detect foreign material de-
posited directly on the skin surface.
The IR spectrum resides in the range of wavelengths
between ca. 750 nm and ca. 1 mm (Williams and Wil-
liams, 1994). IR wavelengths penetrate the skin to a
depth of about 3 mm, thus visualizing structures below
the outer epidermal layer. Previously, IR imaging was a
laborious task, requiring special single lens reflex photo-
graphic cameras, specific lighting conditions and special
IR sensitive films (which furthermore necessitated spe-
cial film processing and development). IR light also has
a refractory index different from that of ordinary light
which means that focusing is difficult using single lens
reflex photographic cameras (Williams and Williams,
1994). These difficulties have been countered somewhat
by digital IR reflectographical equipment, although it is
not usually available outside conservatorial institutions,
where it is mostly used for analyses of paintings and
prints (Koch and Scharff, 2007). However, IR is actually
easily and readily available by using ordinary commer-
cial digital video (DV) cameras, as these have a built-in
capability for IR. This is because the photosensitive devi-
ces (CCDs) in the cameras are sensitive to IR wave-
lengths. This capability is usually referred to as a
‘‘Night-shot’’ filter (or similar moniker depending on the
make of the DV camera). In reality, it is not a special fil-
ter which is enabled to capture IR wavelengths. Rather
it is a filter (termed ICF–Infrared Cut Filter) which is in
place during normal filming circumstances so that IR-
wavelengths are filtered out. Enabling the IR capability
is therefore a matter of removing this filter, allowing the
full spectrum of wavelengths to hit the CCD. Tattoos
Yearbook of Physical Anthropology—DOI 10.1002/ajpa
170 N. LYNNERUP
Fig. 2. Greenland Inuit mummy with facial, linear tattoo-
ings visualized by DV-camera. [Color figure can be viewed in
the online issue, which is available at www.interscience.wiley.
com.]
may be thus visualized easily because of the deeper pen-
etration through the skin of IR wavelengths, and
because IR is absorbed by the coloring particles intro-
duced in the deeper layers of the skin by tattooing
(Dorfer et al., 1998; Lynnerup and Kragegaard Knudsen,
2002) (see Fig. 2). IR has also been used to investigate
resin residues on tissue samples from an Egyptian
mummy (Klys et al., 1999a).
The use of ultraviolet fluorescence (UVF) in mummy
studies also concerns the skin, but in contrast to IR, it is
not so much intradermal or subdermal changes that are
visualized. Fluorescence is caused by electromagnetic
radiation exciting atoms, i.e., moving electrons from a
neutral to a higher level of energy. As the electrons fall
back to their original position, the energy is re-emitted
as light with a longer wavelength (Stokes shift, causing
the phenomenon of fluorescence (Krauss and Warlem,
1985; West et al., 1992). Fluorescence caused by light in
the visible spectrum cannot be discerned. However,
when illuminating objects with UV light (UV wave-
lengths cover a spectrum of 400–150 nm) in a dark envi-
ronment, fluorescence can be observed (West et al.,
1992). While advanced UVF equipment is available in
museums and conservational departments, simple porta-
ble UV light emitting sources exist, e.g., UV devices
used by philatelists.
In mummy studies UV fluorescence may be used to
achieve a visual separation of tissue and other added
material, for example detection of resins, wax fillings
and micro-organisms. A surface reflection is seen as the
radiation from the UV-source activates these substances
on the surface of the skin. Depending on the chemical
composition of the substances, they will reflect the UV-
radiation differently. The Danish bog body, the Grauballe
man, was found to have undergone varnishings of resins
and wax fillings in a hitherto not realized extent to
remodel his outward features, including his facial fea-
tures, as well as a part of his lower back, which had
been cut away (Frederiksen, 2007). In a conservational
setting, UVF may also be helpful to monitor the status
of the outer surfaces, e.g. mold or yeasts colonizing and
degrading the mummy (Frederiksen, 2007). Recently,
illumination by laser light has been applied to a bog
Yearbook of Physical Anthropology—DOI 10.1002/ajpa
body for holographic examination (Frey et al., 2005).
This allows the production of a virtual replica of the
object being scanned (Frey et al., 2005).
Raman spectroscopy
Raman spectroscopy has been used in several mummy
studies, particularly because it is a noninvasive and non-
destructive technique for determining the molecular
composition of tissue samples (Edwards and Munshi,
2005). When comparing mummified tissue specimens
with spectral results of more recent tissues, the degrada-
tion and decay at an ultrastructural and molecular level
may be determined (Edwards et al., 1999). This has been
utilized for the Tyrolian Iceman (Williams et al., 1995),
and the Greenland Mummies (Gniadecka et al., 1997),
although mainly on skin samples and nails (Edwards
et al., 2002).
Radiography
Of all the so-called minimally destructive or noninva-
sive techniques used for visualizing the internal struc-
tures of mummies and bog bodies, the most well-known
and longest used technique is radiography. Indeed, it
took only a few months after William Röntgen discovered
X-rays in 1895 to the first use of X-rays in mummy
research (Koenig, 1896). As the X-rays pass through the
object to be examined, they interact with the object in
terms of scattering and being absorbed, and the com-
bined effect of this is expressed as the attenuation. After
passing through the object, the X-rays then strike a pho-
tographic plate. Since the X-rays are attenuated differ-
entially by different tissues and materials, they end up
striking the photographic plate at different intensities,
resulting in differing gray-values. After development,
these are rendered from white (tissues or materials with
high attenuation, e.g., bone) to black (e.g., air in body
cavities). Modern clinical radiographical equipment is
now fully digitized, i.e., the X-rays do not end on a pho-
tographic plate but rather in special sensors which
translate the attenuation to direct pixel-based images.
The digital equipment can control the beam modalities
and the image-building more directly, enabling sharper
pictures (e.g., Carlton and Adler, 2001).
Radiography has the advantage of being almost uni-
versally available, and easily performed. As mentioned
earlier, radiography has a long track record when it
comes to mummies and bog bodies, in effect having been
the only method available for ‘‘looking inside.’’ Flinders
Petrie used radiography in his studies of mummies in
1897 (Petrie, 1898). Moodie published the findings of his
analyses of 17 Egyptian mummies at the Field Museum
in Chicago in 1931, and this probably constitutes the
first systematic radiographic analysis of a major collec-
tion of mummies (Moodie, 1931). All the royal mummies
housed at the Cairo Museum were radiographed in 1967
(Harris and Weeks, 1973; Harris and Wente, 1980). Radi-
ography of mummies has also been performed onsite in
some very remote locations (Notman et al., 1987; Not-
man and Beattie, 1995; Nystrom et al., 2004).
The primary focus of radiographic studies of mummies
has often been archeological as well as medical; e.g.,
searching for amulets in Egyptian mummy wrappings
(Christensen, 1969). However, the determination of sex
and age, based on skeletal traits, has usually been car-
ried out whenever possible (e.g., Fawcitt et al., 1984).
 MUMMIES
Grafton Elliot Smith judged the epiphyseal union of the
mummy of Tuthmosis IV to ascertain age at death
(Smith, 1912). Cranial traits, and cranial morphometry
based on X-rays, have been studied to try to establish
kinship (Harris and Wente, 1980). Pre-empting one of
the uses of CT-scanning, namely the production of 3D
solid models of skulls for facial reconstruction purposes
(see below), Neave managed to make a facial reconstruc-
tion of an Egyptian mummy based on radiographs
(Neave, 1979).
The pathological changes observed by radiographic
analysis of mummies include arthritis, atheroma, healed
fractures, and parasitic processes (Brothwell and Sandi-
son, 1967; Christensen, 1969; Harris and Wente, 1973;
Harris et al., 1978; David 1979; Harris and Wente, 1980;
Bloomfield, 1985). Most of the pathological processes
observed reflect diseases affecting bone, or reflect calcified
structures, such as a radiodense structure which was
revealed to be a Guinea Worm parasite at a later autopsy
(David, 1979). This is also a reflection of the limitations of
radiography. Skeletal structures are usually easily identi-
fiable due to the high attenuation, but it may be very
difficult to discriminate between various soft tissues
remains, especially as these will be superimposed on top
of each other on the X-ray film, as basically a three-
dimensional structure is reduced to be presented in two
dimensions. Since the soft tissues may already have near
equal attenuation coefficients, this greatly inhibits the
possibilities for investigating soft tissue pathology.
CT-scanning
A further development of radiography came with the
advent of CT-scanners (Computer assisted tomography).
Unlike conventional X-ray images, the regions of interest
in CT-scans are presented without disturbing superimpo-
sitions of juxtapositional structures. Instead of producing
a two-dimensional image (as with ordinary flat-film X-
raying), the X-ray tube revolves around the item being
analyzed. Coupled with a specific array for reading out
the X-ray attenuation, this means that a CT-scanner will
generate an image which represents a slice of an item.
The item is moved through the CT-scanner, generating
hundreds or thousands of slices, which may be viewed as
serial, two-dimensional slice images (Hsieh, 2002).
The CT-scanner generates the slice images as an array
of pixels (usually 512 3 512), with each pixel having a
value depending on the attenuation of the X-rays as they
pass through the object being scanned (Carlton and
Adler, 2001). The attenuation is represented by Houns-
field Units (HU), which are scaled and calibrated arbi-
trarily according to the attenuation of water, so that
water has a HU of 1,000, and air will have a HU of
21,000 on the Hounsfield scale. The HU are then con-
verted to a gray scale potentially covering 256 shades of
gray. This is more than the human eye can discern, so
consequently the attenuation is remapped to about 20
gray scale shades (image reconstruction).
The development of the first clinical CT-scanners
began in 1967 with Godfrey H. Hounsfield (1976), and
the first clinical CT-scanner was installed in 1971. Since
the introduction of the first scanners, there have been
huge technical advances, generally recorded as ‘‘genera-
tions.’’ First-generation scanners had only one beam
being recorded at a time, while second-generation had
multiple beams enabling a faster recording time. Third-
generation scanners were able to irradiate the entire
171
object, and with the introduction of multislice scanners
came better volume rendering (Hsieh, 2002). This has
also allowed for rapid, whole-body scanning of mummies
(Cesarani et al., 2003).
CT-scanning of mummies was first carried out in 1977
(Harwood-Nash, 1977; Lewin and Harwood-Nash, 1977).
Eleven mummies at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston
were CT-scanned by Marx and D’Auria in what was then
the most systematic CT-scanning of a collection of mum-
mies (Marx and D’Auria, 1986). The increasing comput-
ing power enabled imaging with an ever finer resolution
and rapid three-dimensional visualizations (e.g., Marx
and D’Auria, 1988; Pickering et al., 1990; Taconis and
Maat, 2005). Basically, the CT-scanner computer
‘‘restacks’’ the single slices and, based on different algo-
rithms, connects object boundaries between the slices
(Zollikofer and Ponce de León, 2005). CT-scanners used
in hospitals come equipped with various computer pro-
grams that allow rapid image building and three-dimen-
sional visualization, but it must be noted that the soft-
ware is developed for medical purposes, and tuned to
tissues and organ systems of the living. Mummies and
especially bog bodies may require much more work at
this stage (see below), although the Inca mummies found
on top of Mount Llullaillaco, presented exceptionally
well-preserved internal organs, which were easily visible
upon CT-scanning, probably due to the fact that these
bodies had been frozen (Previgliano et al., 2003).
While the earlier CT-scanners operated with a slice
thickness of several millimeters, new CT-scanners can
achieve slice thicknesses of less than 1 mm, as well as
the capacity for ‘‘overlapping.’’ This is an important pa-
rameter for 3D visualization, since the slice thickness
will affect the quality of the three-dimensional visualiza-
tion. If the slice thickness is several millimeters or more,
the resultant visualization will have a ‘‘terraced’’ appear-
ance. Obviously, this may also lead to misinterpretations
of a three-dimensional structure, so it is always impor-
tant to note the slice thickness when appraising CT-
scans (Hsieh, 2002; Zollikofer and Ponce de León, 2005).
Large, detailed studies on embalming techniques and
mummy wrappings of Egyptian mummies, comprising
3D visualization, have lately been performed by Hoffman
et al. (2002) and Jansen et al. (2002).
Three-dimensional visualization of mummies may be
an important tool for the osteologist. Since CT-scanning
is based on X-rays, bone is generally easy to visualize.
This means that skeletal structures may be visualized so
that they can be assessed morphologically, as well as
measured. Visualizing the skull and pelvis makes it pos-
sible to virtually assess the sex-specific traits and use
many of the methods described for ‘‘real’’ bones (e.g.,
Krogman and Iscan, 1986; Buikstra and Ubelaker, 1994;
Mays, 1998; White and Folkens, 2005). Virtual ageing
may also be performed by focusing on dental develop-
ment and epiphyseal morphology (e.g., Buikstra and
Ubelaker, 1994; Mays, 1998; White and Folkens, 2005).
The benefits of 3D visualization also apply to the
assessment of possible pathological changes. For exam-
ple, a mummy that had already been scanned in 1983
(Vahey and Brown, 1984) was rescanned in 1990, to
make 3D visualizations of the skull and pelvis to confirm
a possible fracture (Pickering et al., 1990). Dental dis-
ease has also been visualized in this way (Melcher et al.,
1997), as has an Egyptian mummy where an intravital,
foreign object, presumably a toe prosthesis (i.e., an artifi-
cial toe), was found (Nerlich et al., 2000). However, given
Yearbook of Physical Anthropology—DOI 10.1002/ajpa
172 N. LYNNERUP

all the mummies which have been CT-scanned, pathologi-

cal or traumatic finds have been rather sparse. Probably
one of the more well-known cases involved the CT-scan-
ning of the Tyrolian Iceman, the glacier mummy found in
Italy in 1992. The mummy had been X-rayed and CT-
scanned after the find (zur Nedden and Wicke, 1992), but
it was after renewed scanning 10 years later, that an
arrowhead was first identified in the left shoulder region
(Gostner and Vigl, 2002). Rheumatoid arthritis has been
diagnosed based on CT-visualized bone erosions and joint
subluxation (Ciranni et al., 2002). A CT-scan of a natural
mummy from the 19th century, found in an ancient friary
in Italy, revealed a distended bladder and a ring of dense
tissue at the site of the prostate, indicative of prostatic
hyperplasia (Fornaciari et al., 2001). Bone tumors have
been identified in two Egyptian mummies (Taconis and
Maat, 2005). Bone pathology as observed by CT-scanning,
indicative of TB, has been correlated with aDNA analyses
(Fletcher et al., 2003). It should be mentioned that CT-
scanning has also been used to locate pathological pro-
cesses or specific organs, to make precise incisions to per-
form biopsies (Notman et al., 1986; Brothwell et al.,
1990), or to guide endoscopic exams (Rühli et al., 2002).
The presence of many layers of mummy wrappings, or
mummy wrappings closely adhering to the skin, as well
as organ removal, etc., may impede the interpretation of
the bodily structures of a mummy. Diagenetic changes,
mainly desiccation, may also have an impact (Rühli et al.,
2004). However, in both natural and artificial mummies,
the skeletal structures are usually intact, which means
that structures for age and sex determination may still be
visualized. Having visualized the skeleton also results in
having many references points, which makes it easier to
assess remains of internal organs and structures. Special
problems in terms of radiography and CT-scanning arise
when the diagenetic changes are so massive that the
remaining tissues, including bone, are severely degraded.
This is perhaps best shown by bog bodies due to the
leaching of calcium from the bones: when a bog body is
radiographed, the result is often very badly visualized Fig. 3. CT-scan image of a Danish bog body, the Tollund
bones, giving the bones an appearance as if they were man, after 3D visualization of anatomical structures. [Color fig-
made of glass. Consequently, when CT-scanning a bog ure can be viewed in the online issue, which is available at
body and applying the ordinary range of HU for bones, as www.interscience.wiley.com.]
for clinical work, this may result in the bones not being
visualized at all. Furthermore, the demineralization is
not necessarily uniform, but may differ within the skele- certain anatomical knowledge, the more so as the bones
tal system or the single bone due to the diagenetic micro- often are bent and deformed (bog bodies) and organs are
environment. This may generate a patchy appearance of often shrunken and desiccated (mummies). There is some
the bone, even though it morphologically is intact. room for subjectivity when performing the segmentation.
Another problem is the fact that other tissues seem to ac- Along with the previously stated caveat on slice thickness
quire a more radio-dense structure (i.e., the attenuation (and indeed on the inherent properties of X-ray based
of the X-ray beams is increased). This is especially seen image acquisition), this means that CT-scanning images
for some of the connective tissues, e.g., ligaments, fasciae, and 3D renderings should not be viewed as a totally
and the subcutis (Lynnerup, 2007). The reason for this is objective and ‘‘true’’ representation of internal structures
probably due to a deposition of soil mineral salts (con- and tissues. Some pathological processes may be falsely
taining metals such as iron) in collagenous tissues. ascribed to diagenetic processes, while some diagenetic
Because of these changes, and warping and shrinkage processes may be falsely ascribed to pathological pro-
which may take place, diagenetically modified tissues and cesses (Lynnerup et al., 2007).
organs may have to be delineated (or segmented) man- Once tissues and organs have been segmented and
ually on almost every single slice. At present, features visualized, they can then be measured and assessed mor-
allowing manual slice by slice image-editing are seldom phologically. An initial benefit is the visualization of
available on the computer programs on CT-scanners used bone structures, which may be used for sex and age
for clinical purposes. The images therefore need to be determination. For example, we segmented the Grau-
transferred to another program which allows editing balle Man’s pelvis into the single constituent bones and
(postprocessing) of the CT-data. This usually involves the were thus able to display the auricular surface to apply
segmentation, i.e., delineation and extraction of specific the auricular surface age scoring method (Lynnerup and
anatomical structures (see Fig. 3). This necessitates a Boldsen, 2007). Although the resolution does not allow a

Yearbook of Physical Anthropology—DOI 10.1002/ajpa

 MUMMIES
direct application of the auricular ageing technique of
Lovejoy et al. (1985), some information may be had. One
should perhaps focus just as much on the physical an-
thropological data derived from CT-scannings. 3D-visual-
izations make it possible to ascertain age and sex, and
these data may in themselves be important when placing
mummies in a biocultural perspective. The Mount Llul-
laillaco mummies were all determined to be children or
juveniles (Previgliano et al., 2003).
MicroCT or microtomography is a relatively new tool in
the field of bone research, but it is briefly mentioned here,
as it has been applied to bones from mummies and bog
bodies. The principle is the same as conventional tomog-
raphy, but because of the small gantry opening, and the
short distance between object and detector, resolutions in
the range of 10–20 lm can be achieved. This enables,
therefore, the production of high-resolution three-dimen-
sional (3D) computer reconstructions of small samples of
bone. With the trabecular structure in digital form it
becomes possible to calculate 3D architectural parame-
ters, like volume fraction and mean trabecular thick-
ness. This has been specifically applied to investigate
taphonomic changes to bog body bones (Warner Boel and
Dalstra, 2007).
Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (NMRI)
NMRI results in visualizations, which are somewhat
equal to the visualizations produced by CT-scanning.
The end result is a pixel-based image of a slice (in any
plane), and the digital image data can be postprocessed
to 3D visualizations. However, the underlying modality
is of a completely different nature, involving magnetic
resonance. Magnetic resonance imaging is produced by
surrounding the object of interest with a very strong
magnetic field, and by manipulation of this magnetic
field, the atomic nuclei will emit radio signals (the reso-
nance), which can be detected and converted to images.
This nuclear resonance is especially due to the action of
protons (i.e. hydrogen), which means that the images
basically reflect the water content (amount of hydrogen
nuclei) of different tissues. This makes for excellent dis-
criminative power of live tissues (except very mineral-
ized tissues with low water content such as bone and
enamel). In terms of mummies this also restricts the
application to a large degree. Since most mummies are
thoroughly desiccated, there are not enough protons to
enable visualization (Notman and Aufderheide, 1995).
This may be circumvented by rehydrating tissues or
organs (Piepenbrink et al., 1986) (but this is obviously
an invasive procedure, and not always possible), or
applying the technique to mummies that are not com-
pletely dehydrated, which may be the case for bog bodies
(Bourke, 1986), and ice-mummies (Gostner et al., 2007).
Lately though, it has been proposed that MRI with a
so-called ultra-short-echo-time may record images from
dessicated mummies (Rühli et al., 2007).
One other important aspect of magnetic resonance is
the ability to produce spectroscopic analyses. Magnetic
resonance spectroscopy is based on the spinning phe-
nomena of nuclei. When placed in a high static magnetic
field they exhibit precession at a specific frequency and
thus being excited by radio waves or identical frequency.
Magnetic resonance spectroscopy can be based on differ-
ent atoms, but in biology the focus is usually on 1H, 13C,
and 31P, although fluorine and sodium are relevant
too (Stødkilde-Jørgensen, 2007). Biological compounds
173
including these elements may thus be analyzed. This
has been applied to a Danish bog body (Stødkilde-
Jørgensen, 2001) and to the mummified brain of an
Egyptian mummy (Karlik et al., 2007).
Stable isotope analyses
Stable isotope analyses of d13C and d15N measured in
bone collagen are routinely used for the reconstruction of
ancient diets and subsistence patterns (e.g., Ambrose,
1993; Katzenberg, 2000). The major difference between
stable isotope studies performed on skeletal remains and
mummies is the availability of other tissue types in the
case of mummies. Still, samples for stable isotope analy-
ses from mummified remains are often taken from bone
and teeth, as the methods may require this: teeth for eval-
uating diet in childhood, weaning, etc.; bone for an overall
average of diet over approximately 10 years, and for direct
comparison with other skeletal material. The advantages
of having mummified tissues for sampling is that different
tissues have different turn-over times/remodeling rates,
and this may be utilized to gain more detailed information
than is otherwise possible if only skeletal material
remains (Sealy, 2001; Aufderheide et al., 1994).
A special tissue in this respect is hair, which is often
present on mummies (Wilson et al., 2001a). Hair is not
remodeled after it forms and hardens, and because hair
grows at a relatively constant rate (roughly 1 cm a
month for human scalp hair), hair enables direct mea-
surement of past dietary intake, in a ‘‘micro-chronologi-
cal’’ fashion. Hair may therefore record short-term varia-
tion in available food resources associated with seasonal
changes to diet during the last few months or years of
life (Sandford and Kissling, 1994; White and Schwarcz,
1994; Macko et al., 1999; O’Connell and Hedges, 1999;
Mays, 2000; Wilson, 2005). New continuous flow isotope
ratio mass spectrometry methods enable the isotopic
measurement of relatively small masses of hair, allowing
the measurement of isotopic variation along individual
hairs (Sharp et al., 2003; Wilson et al., 2007).
Biochemical analyses
Amino acid analyses have been carried out to gain
insights into postmortem protein breakdown (Barraco,
1978; Lubec et al., 1994; Weser and Kaup, 1994; Ber-
trand et al., 2003). Lipids and proteinaceous products,
probably from embalming resins in Egyptian mummies
have been analyzed (Bresciani et al., 1999; Buckley et
al., 1999; Klys et al., 1999a). Testing for blood group
antigens and proteins has also been carried out (Flah-
erty and Haigh, 1984; Klys et al., 1999a,b).
Various chemical substances have been found in mum-
mies, especially in hair. These substances have mainly
been alkaloid drugs, such as traces of cocaine in Peru-
vian mummies due to the fact that individuals chewed
coca-leaves (Cartmell et al., 1991; Springfield et al.,
1993; Báez et al., 2000; Cartmell et al., 2003). Hair from
mummies has also been used to detect alcohol consump-
tion (Cartmell et al., 2003) and the stress hormone, corti-
sol (Nelson et al., 2007).
Trace elements, metals, and
inorganic substances
The occurrence of trace elements in mummified tissues
besides bone, but especially hair, has been used to evalu-
ate diet, as well as migration (Grupe and Dorner, 1989;
Yearbook of Physical Anthropology—DOI 10.1002/ajpa
174 N. LYNNERUP
Sandford and Kissling, 1994). Also, trace element analy-
ses may shed light on the use and composition of resins
used in artificial mummification procedures (Klys et al.,
1999a). Since many trace elements, especially heavy
metals may reflect industrial pollution because of fossil
fuel emissions, the quantification and comparison of
heavy metals between prehistoric and historic and pre-
sent day human populations may be used to evaluate
these trends (e.g., Ericson et al., 1979; Grandjean et al.,
1979; Chen et al., 1981; Parnigotto et al., 1982; Zimmer-
man et al., 1982). Diachronic analyses of how diets have
changed are another example. Trace element content in
Greenland mummies compared with present-day Green-
landers can reflect the change from a hunter-society diet
of almost exclusively marine foodstuffs to a more west-
ernized diet. It can also indicate how a modern, highly
processed, western diet is deficient in some of the neces-
sary trace elements such as selenium, leading to a
decrease in the content of these elements in the tissues
between the mummies and modern individuals (Hansen
and Asmund, 2003).
Individual exposure to certain minerals and metals
has been used to argue for specific, work-related expo-
sure. For example, copper enrichment found in the Tyro-
lian Iceman’s hair was deemed suggestive of involvement
in copper working (Brothwell and Grime, 2003), as well
as geographic origin (Müller et al., 2003).
Numerous studies have focused on therapeutics and
poisonings, and the remains of several historical figures
have been analyzed. U.S. President Andrew Jackson was
seemingly exposed to mercury and lead due to therapeu-
tic usage of various compounds (Deppisch et al., 1999);
King George III’s hair showed high levels of arsenic,
again probably due to medication (Cox et al., 2005); and
in the case of Franceso I de Medici and his wife, low con-
centrations of arsenic were found in beard hair, but toxic
concentrations in mummified tissue (Mari et al., 2006).
Perhaps one of the most comprehensive cases of this
kind, in terms of the number of publications, is the find-
ing of arsenic in Napoleon Bonaparte’s hair (e.g., Weider
and Fournier, 1999; Lin et al., 2004; Kintz et al., 2006).
A general concern about these methods is the fact that
the hair and other tissues may have absorbed the trace
elements from the environment (Price et al., 1992; Snow,
1979). Finally, it is worth noting that some elements,
perhaps most notably strontium, are virtually only found
in bones and teeth, so that these analyses must be car-
ried out on these tissues (e.g., Sealy et al., 1991;
Schweissing and Grupe, 2003).
aDNA
Ancient DNA analyses were first performed on Egyp-
tian mummies (Pääbo, 1985, 1986). This generated much
interest in the application of DNA-testing on historic
and prehistoric human remains (Pääbo, 1989). However,
the credability of results obtained from ancient DNA
analysis of human remains has suffered considerably
during the past 10 years due to the realization that
many previous results were most likely due to contami-
nating modern human DNA (Pääbo et al., 2004; Paken-
dorf and Stoneking, 2005; Willerslev and Cooper, 2005).
Fortunately, recent studies have shown that if strict
measures of authentication are taken, it is possible to
achieve reliable results on ancient human DNA (Di Ben-
edetto et al., 2000; Kolman and Tuross, 2000; Lalueza-
Fox et al., 2004; Haak et al., 2005; Kuch et al., 2007). A
Yearbook of Physical Anthropology—DOI 10.1002/ajpa
wide range of measures to ensure the authenticity of the
aDNA results is now recommended (Cooper and Poinar,
2000). In mummies, the preservation of soft tissue has
been seen as indicative of well-preserved DNA also. On
the other hand, if mummification took place due to hot,
arid environments, this could be potentially degrading
for DNA, while ‘‘ice mummies’’ should in theory better
preserve DNA (Handt et al., 1994; Gilbert et al., 2007).
A specific problem, especially for the more ‘‘famous’’
mummies, is that they may have been extensively
handled under conditions that were not designed to pro-
tect the specimens from DNA cross contamination by the
handlers. An increasing number of studies have demon-
strated that DNA contamination in this way presents a
serious challenge to aDNA studies, often leading to the
generation of erroneous results that are derived from the
contaminant DNA as opposed to that of the ancient spec-
imen (c.f. Kolman and Tuross, 2000; Hofreiter et al.,
2001; Malmström et al., 2005; Gilbert et al., 2005a,b;
Sampietro et al., 2006). In addition to the degree of han-
dling exposure, contamination has been linked to sam-
ple-specific issues such as specimen porosity. Therefore
naturally porous tissues such as bones, teeth and con-
ceivably mummified tissue may often rapidly become
permeated with contaminant DNA. It has also been sug-
gested that hair and nails may be a better source for
aDNA than bone (Gilbert et al., 2006; Tahir et al., 1995;
Jehaes et al., 1998; Gilbert et al., 2007), and hair has
been used as sources of aDNA in specimens that date
back over 64,500 years (Gilbert et al., 2004).
While aDNA may be extracted from bones and teeth,
and so is not an investigative method exclusive to mum-
mies, relatively intact mummies do allow for some in-
triguing paleopathological analyses, whereby pathologi-
cal changes of organs and soft tissues may be correlated
with demonstration of bacterial aDNA (Donoghue et al.,
2004); as well as parasite DNA (Dittmar et al., 2003).
Examining a mummy
Given all the earlier techniques, and undoubtedly
many more yet to come, it is important to plan carefully,
which examinations are possible, and what analyses are
deemed important in connection with the specific
mummy or mummies, all in an interdisciplinary fashion.
Securing tissue specimens, especially before conservation
procedures, and ahead of extensive handling, may be im-
portant for future studies. At the Manchester Museum
in the U.K., a tissue bank of mummified tissue samples
has been created (Lambert-Zazulak, 2000). Access to
such a tissue bank allows researchers to try out small
trials rapidly, e.g., immunohistology (Jesziorska et al.,
2003), and tissue banks may also turn out to be invalu-
able repositories of material for the study of the develop-
ment of diseases.
Finally, attention should be given to ethical and emo-
tional concerns. If such arise they should be taken seri-
ously: on one hand by explaining what may be gained by
the scientific studies (which may also be important in
terms of securing preservation of the mummy itself), and
on the other hand respecting that there may be concerns
regarding invasive or destructive procedures.
MUMMIES AND PALEOPATHOLOGY
A R.W. Shuffeldt is reported to have used the term
paleopathology already in 1892 (Ubelaker, 1982; Thil-
 MUMMIES
laud, 2006), but the term, and its modern usage, is gen-
erally ascribed to Armand Ruffer [of the Ruffer rehy-
dration solution (see above)] (Sandison, 1967; Brothwell
and Sandison, 1967; Aufderheide and Rodriguez-Martin,
1998), underlining how mummies have always played a
major part in this field. While many pathological pro-
cesses may be identified in the skeleton, bones are overall
a ‘‘slow-reacting’’ tissue, so that pathological changes in
bone mainly reflect chronic diseases (e.g., Ortner, 2003).
Mummified soft tissue, on the other hand, allows for the
identification of many more acute diseases, and obvi-
ously pathological lesions that may only be diagnosed on
these tissues (e.g., Rowling, 1961; Lewin, 1977).
The mummy autopsies often focused on determining
pathological changes, diagnosing diseases, and determin-
ing cause of death. Obviously, there is a direct line of
approach in this as these autopsies were often performed
by physicians, for whom the autopsy was the ‘‘gold
standard’’ in medical pathology. However, this perhaps
also meant that the focus of the autopsy was sometimes
very mummy-centric, in that the autopsy, and subse-
quent histology, and radiography, was seen as a way to
establish the personal medical history of the deceased
person. In more recent times, as a result of new diagnos-
tic techniques, especially DNA, it is now being realized
that the mummies yield much information not just about
their own medical history (e.g., Dorfer et al., 1999), but
also in a much broader sense, on the natural history
itself of diseases. Coupled with the emergence of ‘‘new’’
infectious diseases such as AIDS, avian flu, etc., many
scientists have realized that prehistoric and historic
mummies may hold the key as to how such diseases
have developed and changed. The exhumation of whalers
who died almost 100 years ago, and lay buried on Sval-
bard, a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, may
be an example: because of the arctic environment it was
hoped that their mummified bodies might allow for re-
trieval of viral RNA in order to characterize the Spanish
flu epidemic (Davis et al., 2000). This was not the case,
but it was possible to reconstruct the sequence of a viral
gene due to analyses of lung tissue from a Spanish flu
victim buried in permafrost in Alaska (Reid et al., 1999).
As with finds of pathological conditions in prehistoric
skeletons, lesions in mummies provide us with a sense of
depth in time in the story of human diseases. However,
when focusing specifically on mummies the record is
actually somewhat uneven. About some diseases, most
notably parasitic diseases, much has been learned from
studying mummies. Other diseases are more or less com-
pletely absent in the mummy record. Some major disease
categories are described below, specifically in terms of
what mummy studies have or have not shown.
Neoplasms
Only very few visceral tumors have ever been identi-
fied in mummies. This has been linked to the fact that
perhaps the life expectancy was simply too short to allow
the development of neoplasms. However, mummies of
individuals dying at an old age have been found, and
several other age-related diseases, such as vascular and
joint diseases, have been identified in mummies. Another
explanation put forward has been that many neoplasms
are linked with modern lifestyle and environmental fac-
tors, such as pollution (Zimmerman, 1981; Deeley, 1983;
Roberts and Manchester, 2005), and thus we would not
expect neoplasms in any large numbers until industrial
175
times. Still, the number of identified neoplasms is so
small, that Zimmerman (1977a) tried out artificial mum-
mification of tumors (and subsequent rehydration), to
see if neoplastic tissue did not mummify well. In fact,
his study showed that neoplastic tissue was excellently
preserved (Zimmerman, 1977a). Why so few tumors are
identified may perhaps be due to a combination of the
earlier mentioned issues concerning longevity and envi-
ronmental factors, together with a lack of more standar-
dized, epidemiological studies (Nerlich et al., 2006).
Given the above, it is perhaps not surprising that sev-
eral of the few identified neoplasms are skin tumors.
The skin is in a sense the organ most exposed to the
environment, e.g., UV rays from the sun, and it is often
the most extensively preserved soft tissue in mummies.
The identified neoplasms comprise an angiokeratoma
(Horne, 1986), a skin histiocytoma (Zimmerman, 1981), a
squamous pappiloma (Sandison, 1967), a lipoma (Allison
and Gerszten, 1983), and a simple wart (Fulcheri, 1987).
In addition to skin tumors, the few observations we
have on internal organ neoplasms relate to what are
probably leiomyomas (benign tumor of the uterine
smooth muscle) (Strouhal, 1976; Strouhal and Jung-
wirth, 1977; Kramar et al., 1983). A fibroadenoma of the
breast (Reyman and Peck, 1998), and a neurilemmoma
(Strouhal et al., 2003), have also been reported.
Fornaciari published a case of colorectal adenocarci-
noma (in a mummy from the 14th century)(Fornaciari,
1993), and seemingly this case was confirmed by DNA
test for a specific oncogenetic mutation (Thillaud, 2006).
Zimmerman (1995) identified an adenocarcinona in a
Ptolemaic period mummy from Dakhleh, Egypt.
Infectious diseases
A somewhat more rewarding paleopathological area in
terms of mummy studies has been infectious disease. As
noted earlier, new biochemical and molecular biological
diagnostic procedures may sometimes be just as applica-
ble to skeletal material as to mummified remains, but
mummified remains may sometimes in themselves be in-
dicative of good molecular preservation, and furthermore
allow for direct comparison with soft tissue pathological
changes. This is readily exemplified by tuberculosis. Tu-
berculosis has been diagnosed in mummified lung tissue
(Salo et al., 1994), and acid-fast bacilli have been found in
association with tuberculous changes (Allison et al., 1973;
Zimmerman, 1979; Gerszten et al., 2001). It has been pos-
sible to detect mycobacterial DNA (Nerlich et al., 1997;
Mays et al., 2001; Konomi et al., 2002; Zink et al., 2003;
Donoghue et al., 2004; Spigelman et al., 2006). Although
the caveats described earlier for human aDNA studies
certainly also apply to bacterial ancient DNA, the meth-
ods do point to the possibilities of carrying off much
wider, epidemiological studies, e.g., the study by Zink et
al. (2003), where 85 Egyptian mummies were analyzed,
and based on further typing of the DNA, the authors sug-
gested that Mycobacterium tuberculosis did not originate
from the cattle infecting Mycobacterium bovis.
Another disease well known by paleopathologists is
syphilis. Only a single find has been reported concerning
soft tissue lesions: a case from 16th century Italy. The
case concerned a bandaged ulcer, where subsequent
immunoflourescence and histology identified spirochetes
(Fornaciari et al., 1989). Given the different theories as
to the advent of syphilis to Europe, as well as the ori-
gins, similarities and differences between the different
Yearbook of Physical Anthropology—DOI 10.1002/ajpa
176 N. LYNNERUP
treponematoses, procuring more cases with unambiguous
soft tissue changes, and the possibilities for further bio-
chemical analyses, would be very desirable. This would
also apply to leprosy: while extensively documented in
the osteological record (e.g., Møller-Christensen, 1967;
Ortner, 2003), there have been no published reports on
mummified remains with lepromatous changes.
Smallpox (a viral infection) has also been identified in
several mummy finds (Field, 1986; Fornaciari and Mar-
chetti, 1986; Perrin et al., 1994; Marennikova et al.,
1990). This is not only due to the identification of skin
lesions, but also, in later publications, to microscopic and
electron microscopic analyses (Horne and Kawasaki,
1984), and in the most recent, also DNA. Since smallpox
is now defined as eradicated, and vaccination is no lon-
ger performed, there has been some debate as on
whether ‘‘over-wintering’’ vira in frozen mummies might
thaw and unleash new epidemics (Lewin, 1985; Stone,
2002). The title of a paper by El-Mallakh (1985) says it
all: ‘‘Night of the living dead: could the mummy strike
again?’’ This has, however, never been found to be the
case (Stone, 2002). Finally, mycotic infections have also
been identified (e.g., Horne, 1995).
Parasitic diseases
This is perhaps the ‘‘pièce de résistance’’ of mummy
paleopathology because this field has yielded much
knowledge concerning parasitic diseases. Parasitic infes-
tation and spread of vector-borne diseases often is a
rather complicated mix of different species (including
humans) living and dying under specific environmental
constraints. The identification of parasitic diseases may
not only demonstrate the human afflictions, but may also
illuminate the living conditions and cultural history of
the people afflicted. It can also help to elucidate the natu-
ral history and evolution of the diseases and parasites
themselves (Reinhard, 1990; Chastel, 2004). It must also
be remembered, that the parasites themselves, and their
ova, may ‘‘mummify’’, and thus may be identified in
kitchen-middens and latrines (Bouchet et al., 2003).
Trypanosomiasis (Chagas disease caused by the proto-
zoan Trypanosoma cruzi), has been diagnosed in a
mummy from the Inca culture at Cuzco by Fornaciari
et al. (1992) by immunoflourescence techniques, and the
mummy furthermore showed signs of megacolon, megae-
sophagus, and myocardial fibrosis which are all patho-
logical changes indicative of trypanosomiasis. Similar
changes have been reported from other South American
mummies (Rothhammer et al., 1985). The application of
DNA techniques has made paleoepidemiological studies
possible, indicating infestation frequencies of about 41%
in mummies recovered from the Atacama Desert in Chile
(Aufderheide et al., 2004; Salo et al., 2005), and Brazil
(Araujo et al., 2005).
Several Egyptian mummies have been tested for
malaria, whereby positive reactions, indicative of falcipa-
rum antigens, was found in 7 out of 18 mummies (Miller
et al., 1994). A similar frequency (40%) was reported by
Cerutti et al. (1999, 2005), when they investigated 135
mummies from the Gebelen site in Egypt. Soft tissue
changes would especially include splenomegaly, which
was described by Ruffer as the case for several Coptic
mummies (1913), although no organisms have been dem-
onstrated in these cases.
Schistosomiasis was diagnosed by Ruffer in an Egyp-
tian mummies (1910), more recently by Miller et al.
Yearbook of Physical Anthropology—DOI 10.1002/ajpa
(1992) and Cockburn and Cockburn (1980) and David
and Contis (1996), and recently with new diagnostic pro-
cedures (Rutherford, 1999). The disease may cause calci-
fication of the bladder, a pathological change which has
been recorded for a mummy (Isherwood et al., 1979). As
for the earlier mentioned other parasitic diseases,
research is moving to ever broader sampling, so as to
constitute epidemiological studies (Araujo and Ferreira,
1997; Rutherford, 2005).
Leishmaniasis (Zink et al., 2006), as well as several
intestinal parasites (e.g., Giardia, Entamoeba histoly-
tica) have also been identified in mummified remains,
(Goncalves et al., 2003).
Infestations of headlice has been recorded for pre-
Columbian Peruvian mummies (Brothwell and Spear-
man, 1963, Araujo et al., 2005), Aleutian mummies
(Horne, 1979; Horne and Kawasaki, 1984), and Green-
land mummies (Bresciani et al., 1989). Lice were also
found in the gut contents of the latter (Lorentzen and
Rørdam, 1998), indicative of so severe an infestation (and
indeed one mummy had head lice on every third or fourth
hair) that lice simply would be ingested accidentally
when the person was eating (Araujo et al., 2005). The fre-
quency of head lice infestation, as found on the mummies
from two South American populations, has been corre-
lated with degree of social contact (Aufderheide and
Rodriquez-Martin, 1998). Louse infestation has also been
confirmed (Reinhard and Buikstra, 2003). Another faith-
ful human parasite is the flea. Dittmar et al. (2003) per-
formed DNA studies on 1,000-year-old fleas to ascertain
how fleas have evolved (and migrated) with humans,
although because of lack of sufficient data, no exact spe-
cies or specimen distribution pattern were established.
Helminth infections
Helminthic infestations should be detectable in a pale-
opathological setting (Reinhard and Aufderheide, 1990;
Araujo et al., 1998). This is because the agents may end
up in calcified shells or cysts, such as is the case for
echinococciasis (tapeworms), where larvae may produce
hydatid cysts in soft tissue. These have been reported in
an Egyptian mummy (Tapp, 1986), in a 2,000-year-old
tomb near Jerusalem (Zias 1991), and in a Danish medi-
val leprosary (Weiss and Møller-Christensen, 1971). En-
teric helminthic infestation is often diagnosed from gut
contents and coprolites, which is similar for reports on
trematode infestations, in that ova have been found in
corpolites from the Atacama desert [see Aufderheide and
Rodriquez-Martin (1998) for a full review]. Hookworms
have also been identified (Allison et al., 1974c; Araujo
et al., 2005). This case, pertaining to Brazilian material,
highlights that these findings contribute to the discus-
sions of how these parasites spread or migrated with
humans, e.g., if the parasites could pass from Asian ori-
gins to the New World via the Beringian landmass, or if
this would be an unsuitable and perhaps incompatible
environment for the parasites to pass (Aufderheide and
Rodriquez-Martin, 1998). New molecular biological diag-
nostic techniques will without doubt also be applied in
this field (e.g., Vray, 2002).
Other diseases of visceral organs
Vascular diseases such as arterial degenerative disease
(Sandison, 1967b; Magee, 1998), atheroma and arterio-
sclerosis (Zimmerman et al., 1971, 1981; Zimmerman and
 MUMMIES
Aufderheide, 1984; Zimmerman, 1985; Bauduer, 2005)
have been identified, including, e.g., ulceration of the leg
(Haneveld, 1974). Identified cardiac diseases include
myocarditis (Long, 1931; Zimmerman, 1978), secondary
pericarditis (Blackman et al., 1991), and congenital con-
ditions (Robertson, 1988). Aufderheide has stated that
lung tissue may preserve quite well (Aufderheide, 2003),
which means that several pathological conditions, apart
from infections, might be evident. Emphysema, which
has been identified in several mummies (Shaw, 1938;
Allison, 1984a; Allison, 1984b). Lung histology may show
deposition of air-borne particles in lungs due to exposure
to, e.g., soot (see below). Pulmonary hemorrhage has
also been diagnosed (Nerlich et al., 1995), as has pneu-
monia due to aspiration (Allison et al., 1974a).
A pathological condition which should, and does, sur-
face in a paleopathological setting, is the formation of
calculi in the internal organs, as calculi obviously will
tend to be preserved (Hoeppli, 1972). Two major foci
exist for calculus formation: the gallbladder with the bil-
iary tract, and the urinary system. Reviews of these con-
ditions have been made by Aufderheide and Rodriguez-
Martin (1998) and Steinbock (1989, 1990), including also
other gallbladder-related conditions, such as infections
(Munizaga et al., 1978).
Other miscellaneous soft tissue pathology includes
reports of hernia (Munizaga et al., 1978; Gerszten et al.,
1986), appendicitis (Smith and Wood Jones, 1910, cit. in
Aufderheide and Rodriguez-Martin, 1998), hydronephro-
sis (Allison and Gerszten, 1983), and renal disease
(Long, 1931).
Lesions, trauma, and cause of death
As with disease, so mummified remains may also tell
us much about the death of past individuals. Obviously,
many lesions and lethal wounds will not leave any osse-
ous signs, or only ambiguous ones. For example, the
Danish bog body from Grauballe clearly had had his
throat cut and a forensic reconstruction of his execution
was possible: the hyoid bone as well as the larynx were
not fractured, and along with the magnitude of the skin
lesions, this indicated that the cutting had been done
from behind, while holding his head back (Gregersen et
al., 2007). Such a detailed reconstruction would have
been difficult if only skeletal remains had been present.
Likewise, other bog bodies have been found with nooses
around their neck and the use of blindfolds and tying of
hands and feet (van der Santen, 1996; Fischer, 1998). A
noose around the neck as also been reported for a Tihua-
naco child (Allison et al., 1974b). Accidental causes of
death have been described for frozen mummies from
Utqiagvik in Alaska; presumably the roof of their hut
collapsed due to ice, and dislodged poles fell over the
occupants, collapsing their thoracic cages (Zimmerman
and Aufderheide, 1984). Evidence of hanging or strangu-
lation has also been found in Mongolian mummies (Froh-
lich et al., 2005). Pleural effusion containing hemoglobin
may indicate that death was not instantaneous. Death
because of landslide (Zimmerman and Smith, 1975), and
even two cases of probable fatal pneumonia after aspira-
tion of a deciduous tooth (Allison et al., 1974a; El-Najjar
et al., 1985) have been described. Lesions and hemor-
rhaging because of trauma has also been noted in a
study of mummified brains (Gerszten and Martinez,
1995). Wheeler et al. (2007) have presented a case con-
177
cerning of probable child abuse in a two–three year old
child from a Roman period burial at the Dakhleh oasis.
Paleopathology: Old questions, new trends
The presence of mummified tissues does not, however,
make the usual discussions of pathological versus pseu-
dopathological changes and perimortem versus postmor-
tem lesions redundant. Recent examinations using CT-
scanning of the Danish bog bodies has allowed a reap-
praisal of some previously described lesions, which had
been thought to be perimortem. It is our contention that
some previously described lesions associated with the
bog bodies, are more an effect of postmortem activities
rather than trauma. This is complicated by the fact, of
course, that a perimortal lesion will also be diageneti-
cally affected (Lynnerup, in press). Furthermore, in the
case of artificial or partly artificial mummies, many
changes to the body may have been made postmortem,
e.g., cutting into body cavities, sewing up body orifices,
replacing degenerated external genitalia with resin mod-
els, fitting wigs made of human hair onto the corpse
(Aufderheide and Rodriquez-Martin, 1998).
Overall, mummy studies have certainly contributed
much to paleopathology. While all case reports are inter-
esting, and may firmly demonstrate human diseases as
being present in antiquity, it is perhaps the emerging ep-
idemiological studies (e.g., Ege et al., 2005) which may
really advance our knowledge of the history of human
disease. This may also be achieved by coupling these
analyses, which often implement new diagnostic techni-
ques, with more statistical, paleo-epidemiological meth-
ods, such as described by Boldsen (2005). Testing for spe-
cific pathogens on a large scale, which would be possible
for many Egyptian sites and sites in South America,
may give us much new information about the spectrum
between early infection (or parasitic infestation), soft tis-
sue pathological changes, and finally chronic osseous
lesions of specific diseases. This also points to the rele-
vancy of procuring and storing mummified tissues in tis-
sue banks (Pettit and Fildes, 1984): David has described
that by using the Manchester Mummy tissue bank, it
may be possible to establish the paleo-epidemiology of
schistosomiasis in ancient times, and then compare it
with the current epidemiology in present day Egypt
(David, 1997).
CULTURAL HABITS
Everyday life and work
An especially fascinating aspect of mummy studies
have been the revelations of how everyday life and work
and cultural habits impacted physically on the individu-
als. As such, we may directly learn something about life
in historic and prehistoric times. Anthracosis (deposition
of soot particles in the lymph nodes in the lungs) is in-
dicative of the amount of air pollution, and tells us that
the peoples of that specific culture inhaled sooty air due
to living in confined spaces with open fires or use of oil
lamps. The latter would be the case for mummies from
Greenland (Hart Hansen, 1989) and for the Utqiagvik
mummies from Alaska (Zimmerman and Aufderheide,
1984). Anthracosis was also found in Guanche mummies
from Tenerife (Brothwell et al., 1969), mummies from
Hungary (Petranyi, 1996), and Egyptian mummies
(Walker et al., 1987).
Yearbook of Physical Anthropology—DOI 10.1002/ajpa
178 N. LYNNERUP
Inhalation and deposition of other particles may be
suggestive of living in very arid and dusty environments,
as has been the case for mummies from Egypt (Tapp et
al., 1975; Zimmerman, 1977b) and mummies from Chile
(Abraham et al., 1990). Inhalation of particles from
sandy soils, which contains silica (silicon dioxide), may
lead to a condition known as silicosis. The silica has a
local toxic effect causing fibrosis of the lung tissue (Auf-
derheide and Rodriguez-Martin, 1998). The condition
has been found in Chilean mineworkers of the 16th cen-
tury (Munizaga et al., 1975). Exposure to agricultural
dust has also been described for mummies from the
southwestern USA (El-Najjar et al., 1985). Similarly, as
noted earlier, detection of various trace metals may point
to specific activities such as mining and metal working,
as well as migration (e.g., Pabst and Hofer, 1998).
But it is not all work and no fun. Drug use has been
amply described by analyses of hair from mummies
(Cartmell et al., 1991; Parnigotto et al., 1993; Springfield
et al., 1993; Aufderheide et al., 1994; Báez et al., 2000;
Cartmell et al., 2003). The fact that cocaine and nicotine
has been found in pre-Columban European (Balabanova
et al., 1995) and Egyptian mummies (Parsche et al.,
1993; Nerlich et al., 1995), has caused some debate
(Balabanova et al., 1997; Brier, 1998), as these plants
were supposed to be native to the Americas. It has there-
fore been hypothesized that ‘‘Columbus in fact only
brought with him the idea of cigar and pipe smoking to
Europe, whereas Nicotiana (tobacco-plant) and nicotine
had long been known and used for various purposes’’,
e.g. medicinal or as part of religious rites (Balabanova et
al., 2001), although this is somewhat contested (Buck-
land and Panagiotakopulu, 2001). Recently, tests detect-
ing alcohol consumption based on tracing metabolic
products of ethyl alcohol in hair have been reported,
which may make it possible trace the consumption of fer-
mented drinks (Cartmell et al., 2005).
Tracing food, drink, and drug consumption in mum-
mies may help us to reconstruct rituals and understand
the cultural habits of past peoples, and biochemical anal-
yses combined with pathological changes may contribute
to this. For example, trichinosis (infestation with the
trichinella parasites) is still a not uncommon disease in
the Arctic. The parasite is ingested by eating raw meat,
and the parasite ultimately lodges itself in skeletal mus-
cle tissue in the infested individual. In some arctic com-
munities it is still the custom that the season’s first
catch of walrus (a main reservoir of the parasite) is
eaten raw and the meat shared all around (Møller et al.,
2005). We identified the parasites in a Greenlandic child
mummy from the 16th century, which may thus indicate
that this ritual goes back some time (Lynnerup et al.,
2004) (see Fig. 4).
Bodily modifications
Bodily modification is also a very old human cultural
habit. Evident examples from skeletal remains are skull
deformation (Aufderheide and Rodriquez-Martin, 1998)
and dental mutilation (e.g., Arcini, 2005). With mummi-
fied tissues, a more varied picture may be gained of
other such habits. This is of course due to the fact that
many such modifications naturally involve the skin and
the skin is often preserved (Sandison, 1968; Verbov,
1983), but other modifications, such as cosmetic applica-
tions, may also be identified (Yamada et al., 1997). Male
circumcision has been described for Egyptian mummies,
Yearbook of Physical Anthropology—DOI 10.1002/ajpa
Fig. 4. Nematodes embedded in muscle tissue in a Green-
land child mummy from Pissisarfik (HE, 3350). [Color figure
can be viewed in the online issue, which is available at www.
interscience.wiley.com.]
also contributing to discussions of societal differences in
use according to status, as well as the spread of the
practice (Aufderheide and Rodriquez-Martin, 1998).
Extensive tattooing has been described for mummies
from such different places as Mongolia [the Scythian
warriors (Artamanov, 1965; Rudenko, 1970)], Aleuts
(Smith and Zimmerman, 1975); Ancient Egypt (Winlock,
1942, cit. in Aufderheide and Rodriguez-Martin, 1998;
Armelagos, 1969), South America (Vreeland, 1998), and
from New Zealand (the place which gave the practice its
modern name (Carter, 2007). The oldest tattooings to
date were found on the Tyrolian Iceman (Spindler,
1994), dating to 3000 BC. [For an historic overview of
tattooing, see Sperry (1991)]. While tattooing patterns
are best visualized using different light modalities (see
above), microscopy of the dermis may reveal exactly how
the tattoos were made. Most tattoos are made with the
‘‘puncture/dot’’ method, whereby pigments are intro-
duced into the dermis by pricking a pin with the pig-
ments into the dermis, depositing the pigment. However,
it could be shown that for instance the Greenland mum-
mies had facial tattoos made by using a sewing tech-
nique, resulting in long lines running across the brow
and lines running from the nose up to each temple (Hart
Hansen, 1998). This technique consisted of drawing a
needle with a soot-blackened sinew through the skin.
Pigment can of course also be applied directly on the
skin as varnish or paint: high levels of certain metals on
scrapings from nails has been explained as being due to
cosmetic application of nail varnish (Klys et al., 1999a).
Chinchorro mummies from Peru also show application of
paint to nails (Aufderheide, 1993) and skin (Guillen, per-
sonal communication).
Piercing of the earlobe for earrings is also well-
described both for Egyptian mummies (Winlock, 1942,
cit. in Aufderheide and Zimmerman, 1998), and from
South America (Aufderheide and Rodriguez-Martin,
1998). The presence or absence of such bodily modifica-
tions can be used to differentiate between cultures. As
an example, this author was asked to look at some mum-
mified skins, purportedly of a Greenland Inuit, which
was housed at a local museum in the Netherlands (and
labeled ‘‘The stuffed Eskimo’’ in the exhibit, as the skins
had been sewn together so as to form the semblance of a
person sitting in a kayak). The Greenland authorities
 MUMMIES 179
had asked for repatriation of the remains, also based on
ethical concerns, but there was some uncertainty as to
whether the skins really were of Inuit origin. Skin of the
scalp along with the ears was all that remained of the
head, but the ears could be seen to have pieced earlobes.
This had not been described historically or ethnographi-
cally for the Greenland Eskimo before, and so indicated
that the individual probably was not Inuit. Indeed, sub-
sequent stable isotope analyses showed that the individ-
ual had an almost exclusive terrestrial diet, which ruled
out that the individual was from Greenland (especially
as the individual could be radiocarbon dated to the 16th
and 17th century). Ultimately, these finds lead to the
conclusion that the individual was not of Greenlandic
extraction, but probably European (DNA analysis was
attempted but without result).
Human scalp hair has the peculiarity that it keeps
growing, unlike body hair, and unlike hair of other spe-
cies (Neufeld and Conroy, 2004). This means that
humans have to cut or arrange their scalp hair, giving
rise to different hair styles, usage of kerchiefs and ban-
danas. Hairstyles of antiquity has been inferred from
Bronze Age burials and bog bodies (van der Sanden,
1996), and indeed for almost all mummy finds, since
hair often is well-preserved. An interesting recent exam-
ple is the discovery of ‘‘hair gel’’ on an Irish bog body
(Buckley, 2007). Clearly, much cultural information (e.g.,
concerning identity) may be gained from hair style and
adornment.

Facial reconstructions Fig. 5. Mummy portrait on Egyptian mummy (Ptolemaic

As mentioned earlier, mummies may provide examples
of trauma and pathology, which would never have been
found in skeletal finds. Along with preservation of tat-
toos, hairstyle and clothing, this means that the
deceased person may be more fully ‘‘visualized’’ and ‘‘re-
created’’. This is often done for exhibition purposes, e.g.,
the Tyrolian Iceman, where a facial reconstruction, as
well as his bodily physique (including tattoos), was done,
which could be complemented by reconstructions of his
clothing, tools, weapons, furs, etc.
Facial reconstruction is usually made from the bare
skull (see Prag and Neave, 1997 for an overview), and
while the presence of mummified tissues earlier could
impede the access to making a skull replica, this prob-
lem has been solved by applying modern CT-scanning
(Neave, 1979), and more recently, CT-scanning coupled
with so-called stereolithography. This makes it possible
to produce 1:1 models of CAT-scanned structures directly
from the computer visualizations (zur Nedden and
Wicke, 1992; Hjalgrim et al., 1995; Cesarani et al.,
2004), detailing structures at a 1 mm resolution. These
highly accurate resin models are then used as the basis
for the facial reconstructions. Furthermore, facial recon-
structions of mummies and bog bodies may be done more
precisely than facial reconstructions based only on skele-
tal remains, as ears, nose, and hair may be present in
the former cases (e.g., Wilkinson, 2007).
Facial reconstructions of mummies may also have an
impact on the understanding of portraiture (Fletcher
and Neave, 1984). Egyptian mummies from the Ptole-
maic period have a mummy portrait mounted onto the
head part of the wrappings. These mummy portraits
seemingly display naturalistic representations, i.e., they
are actual portraits of actual persons (see Fig. 5). To the
degree they do this, or whether some stylizing has taken
Period). The Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, Denmark. [Color
figure can be viewed in the online issue, which is available at
www.interscience.wiley.com.]
place, has been judged by comparing facial reconstruc-
tions (incorporating physical anthropological data on age
and sex) with the portraits (Wilkinson et al., 2003). It
was found that in some cases the mummy portraits were
probably in fact painted during the lifetime of the indi-
viduals, while in other cases definite ‘‘stylizing’’ seemed
to have taken place. There was even a case were it
seemed that there was a mismatch between portrait and
mummy, presumably due to a mix up during the mum-
mification procedure (Wilkinson et al., 2003).
MORTUARY PRACTICES
Artificial mummification leads straightaway to ques-
tions on the funerary rites and religious connotations of
the culture, which produced these mummies. Artificial
mummies often represent a very high and painstaking
degree of workmanship, often also involving much time
from death until the finished mummy was laid to rest. It
may also seem straightforward that high status of the
individual in life, e.g., in ancient Egypt, should be corre-
lated with the exquisiteness of the mummy at death. Yet
other cultures, such as the Chinchorro, with a relatively
classless society, have produced mummies which clearly
represent a sizeable investment for the society (Cardenas-
Arroyo, 2003). Artificial mummification may have taken
place in parallel with other, completely different, mortu-
ary rites (e.g., Chachapoya culture, Nystrom, 2005). As
Cardenas-Arroyo asks, concerning mortuary practices in
South America: ‘‘Why did people go to such length to pre-
serve a human body in some areas, while in others the op-
posite was sought, such as cremation?’’ (Cardenas-Arroyo,

Yearbook of Physical Anthropology—DOI 10.1002/ajpa

180 N. LYNNERUP
2003: 153). Clearly, the more one can learn from the mum-
mies, not least in terms of the mummification procedures
involved, e.g., removal of internal organs, defleshing, the
better an understanding of the mummification ritual
itself, leading perhaps to a better understanding of what
the religious and cultural ideas were. The Egyptians
believed in an afterlife, and that the preservation of the
deceased’s body in as lifelike form as possible was essen-
tial (David and Tapp, 1984; de Trafford, 2005).
Natural mummies may also provide much information
on past mortuary practices; while perhaps the preserva-
tion of the body was not always planned, some natural
mummies seem to have been ‘‘deliberately’’ produced, in
the sense that it was known that disposal in certain envi-
ronments or in specific burial constructions, might pre-
serve the body. The oak coffin burials in the Danish
Bronze Age burials may be a case of such knowledge: the
burial mounds seem to have been specifically constructed
to result in a mound with a very humid, even watery, core
environment, which would act to preserve the oak coffin,
skins, hair, and clothing (Jensen, 1995). In a land with
(at that time) lots of watery bogs, it was surely known
that special preservation might take place in the bogs, so
that textiles, leather, and even human bodies might be
preserved for a long time. Various procedures for ensur-
ing a slow decomposition, which may have been employed
for selected deceased persons, have also been described
for North American Indians (Cook, 2005).
The Greenland mummies are examples of purely inci-
dental mummies, as the Thule culture burial practices
seem to have been to place the deceased’s body in a stone
cist, but that natural cists, or caves, or rock shelters
could be used. In the case of the mummies from Qilakit-
soq, a rock shelter was used, but the shelter was covered
up by stone slabs. The bodies thus lay protected from
rain and snow, although allowing exposure to the cold
arctic winds (Hart Hansen, 1988; Andreasen, 2003).
Indeed, ‘‘we have no reason to interpret the mummy
graves as a special religious case in any way (Andreasen,
2003, p. 14). Child mummies have also been studied as
special cases of mortuary rites, social constructs and bio-
logical stages (Bourbou, 2005).
Investigating the various burial rituals associated
with mummy finds, both natural and artificial, has led
to various experimental work by applying and testing,
e.g., substances for dehydration, tools, as these have
been found or described in several sources (Zimmerman
et al., 1998; Fulcheri et al., 2003; Brier and Wade, 2005;
Nerlich et al., 2005). Janaway et al., have monitored
postmortem changes in pig carcasses buried in the arid
environments of southern Peru (Janaway et al., 2007)
and peat bogs (Janaway et al., 2003). These have also
been recreated experimentally. Brier and Wade (1995)
even reconstructed an Egyptian mummification proce-
dure by using a human body.
CONCLUSION
People from the past most commonly appear to us in
the form of skeletons. These may probably seem more for-
eign because we do not see them directly as people. But
with a mummy, with skin and hair and perhaps a recog-
nizable human face, the situation is different. Investiga-
tions of mummies demand much greater care to be taken
concerning all aspects of conservation- and preservation-
related problems, but they also demand, possibly in an
unspoken and unreflecting way, a greater degree of
Yearbook of Physical Anthropology—DOI 10.1002/ajpa
respect for the integrity of the corpse. While in earlier
times mummies were seen as curiosities, they are now
regarded both as important cultural historical and arche-
ological objects, harboring much information about past
peoples, but also as the remains of once living people,
with a claim to being handled with respect (Holm, 2001).
Mummies will continue to fascinate and thereby stimu-
late the development and application of new scientific
methods for their study (Reyman et al., 1998). This fasci-
nation must certainly also play a part for so many scien-
tists to involve themselves in the study of mummies.
Perusing the literature one is struck by how often the
most advanced scientific methods have been applied rap-
idly to examinations and reexaminations of mummies.
The scientific fascination perhaps also resides in being
part of a truly cross-disciplinary field: mummy studies
exemplify the benefits and huge advances that may be
made when working ‘‘outside’’ one’s own discipline.
Working with mummies—to paraphrase Berglund
(2003, p. 98): ‘‘One gets closer to the individual human
being, and one is prompted to ask the questions that
concern the universal human aspect. Who were you?
What was your life like?’’
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This paper is dedicated to the late Jens Peder Hart
Hansen, the head of the Greenland mummy investiga-
tions in the 1980s, who initated me to the world of
mummy studies; and to Art Aufderheide, who continues
to be a great inspiration in the field of mummy studies.
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