ABSTRACT
This chapter summarizes recent research on the sex, age, and medical history of an Egyptian mummy now residing in the World Heritage Museum at the University of Illinois. This cooperative venture is another example of how noninvasive techniques such as radiography and CT scanning can be used to study an archaeological artifact. Although this mummy project is included in the section on "Museums and Monuments," it also relates to section III on "Organic Materials and the Reconstruction of Early Environments" (see especially Mastura Raheel's chapter on ancient fibers). The human remains — bones, tissue, blood, etc. — are contained in other materials — wood, cloth, and resin — that can be analyzed for information on the mummy's physical and social setting. There is also the potential for dietary reconstruction by stable isotope analysis when the bone is well preserved.
