Thesis (M.A.)--Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, 2004. / Description based on web page; title from title screen (viewed 26 July 2006). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references. Online version of the print publication.

No description available.

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Natural mummification occurs on every continent and in various environments. While the oldest preserved human being was discovered in the Swiss Alps, the high altitude mountains of Peru and Chile have also produced almost perfectly preserved human remains as well as a myriad of cultural artifacts. The bogs in Europe have also provided hundreds of preserved humans who appear to have fallen victim to ancient sacrificial ceremonies or capital punishment. The arid desert environments of Egypt and parts of Asia have also preserved the remains of individuals in their graves, buried in brightly colored clothing and given personal artifacts to be taken with them into the afterlife. Because the corpses and the cultural artifacts are so well preserved, natural mummies have yielded an enormous amount of previously unknown information. The purpose of this study is to provide a biocultural analysis of naturally mummified individuals and associated evidence to illustrate the lives of the people including information about status, health, diet, wealth, age, and sex of those individuals. To accomplish this objective, this study will focus on the environments responsible for preservation as well as numerous mummies and artifacts that have been found in them.

Thesis (M.Sc.). / Written for the School of Computer Science. Title from title page of PDF (viewed 2007/08/30). Includes bibliographical references.

Since the first modern investigations into Egyptian mummies in the 1970s, anthracosis and silicosis have regularly been found in mummified lungs (Tapp, 1975; Walker et al, 1987). Anthracosis, lung irritation caused by carbon particles, is well researched in modern populations but very little is known about the disease in ancient times. Similarly, little is known about the prevalence of silicosis, caused by the inhalation of particles of silicon, in ancient times. It has been assumed that carbon was inhaled through the combustion of fuel for cooking and illumination whilst silicon came from the desert environment.This study aims to test these assumptions by characterising the shape, size and elemental composition of the organic and inorganic particles contained within ancient lung tissue. When these particles are compared against surrogate carbon and silicon particles, it may be possible to identify them and reveal their aetiology.Surrogate carbon particles were produced through controlled combustion of fuels the ancient Egyptians are likely to have used. The modern silica containing sand was collected from various archaeological sites in Egypt. A sonication method was used to extract particles from ancient tissue. After extraction, individual ancient particles were isolated and examined for size and shape analysis using light microscopy. The surrogate particles were examined in the same manner. The particles were then imaged using environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) and elemental profiles determined by energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX). Bulk analysis by mass spectrometry was then employed to qualitatively and quantitatively analyse the elements contained within ancient lung particles and the modern surrogates. Electron probe micro-analysis (EPMA) was used to map the deposition and elemental composition of inorganic compounds in sections of ancient lung. Further information on the bonds and chain length of soots were obtained through FTIR and Raman spectroscopy.Results have shown the presence of anthracosis and birefringent particles in all ancient lung tissues examined by this study. Both organic and inorganic ancient particles have been found to be respirable (ie, less than 10 microns in diameter) and were present in the lung pre-mortem. EDX and ICP-MS results show the inorganic particles to consist of aluminium silicates (sand) and calcium carbonate (limestone). FTIR and Raman spectroscopy were not accurate enough to detect the ancient or surrogate soot bonds and were not suited to this study.

No / The 15th century Inuit mummies excavated at Qilakitsoq in Greenland in 1978 were exceptionally well preserved and represent the largest find of naturally mummified specimens from the Arctic. The estimated ages of the individuals, their distribution between two adjacent graves, the results of tissue typing, and incomplete STR results led researchers to conclude that the eight mummies formed two distinct family groups: A grandmother (I/5), two daughters (I/3, I/4), and their two children (I/1, I/2) in one grave, and two sisters (II/6, II/8) and a daughter (II/7) of one of them in the other. Using mtDNA from hair and nail, we have reanalyzed the mummies. The results allowed the unambiguous assignment of each of the mummies to one of three mtDNA haplogroups: A2b (I/5); A2a (I/2, I/3, II/6, II/8); A2a-311 (I/1, I/4, II/7), excluded some of the previous relations, and pointed to new ones. I/5 is not the grandmother/mother of the individuals in Grave I, and she is not maternally related to any of the seven other mummies; I/3 and I/4 are not sisters and II/7 is neither the daughter of II/6 nor of II/8. However, I/1 may be the child of either I/4 or II/7 and these two may be sisters. I/2 may be the son of I/3, who may be the daughter of either II/6 or II/8, and these two may be sisters. The observation of haplogroups A2a and A2b amongst the 550-year-old Inuit puts a lower limit on the age of the two lineages in Greenland.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / The ‘Makapan Mummy’ (A1081), the Makapan Child and human and animal remains with desiccated tissue attached indicate that the environment inside Historic Cave was dry enough to cause mummification. Environmental studies conducted in 1992 and 2011 suggest that dry air in the well-ventilated cave preserved the soft tissue and mummified the corpse. The aim of this study is to examine desiccated tissue sampled from the ‘Makapan Mummy’ (A1081) and from the human remains excavated at Historic Cave using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and light microscopy. The morphological features of the naturally desiccated tissue from Historic Cave were recorded and described using the microscopic analyses and were then compared to normal and mummified human tissue. Mummified tissue is hard and dry and often embedded with dust and debris. In its hard and dry state, mummified tissue needs to be prepared differently to normal human tissue. In this study, various methods used to clean, rehydrate and stain the desiccated tissue were investigated and compared. Through this comparative analysis it was possible to determine the most suitable method for examining desiccated tissue from Historic Cave. In the SEM analysis, epidermal keratinocytes and vellus hairs were observed on the surface of the skin tissue. Histological analyses demonstrated the exclusive preservation of collagen fibres in the muscle tissue, the connective tissue and the skin tissue. This suggests that the collagen fibres play an integral part in preserving the structure of desiccated tissue that is devoid of cellular elements. The results are consistent with the histology of desiccated tissue remains from the Republic of Korea, Egypt and the Americas.

No / Four recently discovered frozen child mummies from two of the highest peaks in the south central Andes now yield tantalizing evidence of the preparatory stages leading to Inca ritual killing as represented by the unique capacocha rite. Our interdisciplinary study examined hair from the mummies to obtain detailed genetic and diachronic isotopic information. This approach has allowed us to reconstruct aspects of individual identity and diet, make inferences concerning social background, and gain insight on the hitherto unknown processes by which victims were selected, elevated in social status, prepared for a high-altitude pilgrimage, and killed. Such direct information amplifies, yet also partly contrasts with, Spanish historical accounts.

O Mosteiro da Luz, monumento declarado \"Patrimônio Cultural da Humanidade\" pela Organização das Nações Unidas para a Educação, a Ciência e a Cultura (UNESCO), tombado pelo Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional (IPHAN) e pelo Conselho de Defesa do Patrimônio Histórico, Artístico e Arquitetônico do Estado de São Paulo (CONDEPHAAT), está localizado na cidade de São Paulo e abriga as monjas Concepcionistas da Imaculada Conceição, sendo uma ala ocupada pelo Museu de Arte Sacra. Este edifício apresenta área de cemitério em seu interior que tem grande importância histórica e arqueológica. Assim, as sepulturas, provavelmente com os corpos das monjas falecidas que viveram no Mosteiro na época da fundação, em 1774, constituem objetos de estudos científicos aprovados pelo IPHAN. Um amplo projeto arqueológico no Mosteiro da Luz foi realizado por uma equipe multidisciplinar do Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia (MAE) da Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Foram escavadas 6 sepulturas de parede que apresentaram 11 indivíduos do sexo feminino, pertencentes à Ordem das Concepcionistas, com idades variadas, de origem caucasiana, falecidas entre os anos de 1774 e 1822. Dois dos indivíduos estavam mumificados, outros parcialmente mumificados e degradados com cupim e outros esqueletizados com bioturbação por cupim. Além desses resultados, o trabalho demonstrou que escavações arqueológicas em áreas urbanas requerem cuidados especiais devido a problemas decorrentes desse ambiente, que afetam, sob vários aspectos, os estudos de natureza puramente técnica, de arqueologia funerária e da edificação. Desta forma, serve como exemplo e aprendizado a futuros profissionais. / The \"Mosteiro da Luz\" (Monastery of Light) is a monument declared \"Cultural Heritage of Humanity\" by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural (UNESCO) is listed by Institute of National Historical and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN) and Council for the Defense of the Historical, Artistic and Architectural state of São Paulo (CONDEPHAAT). It is located in the city of São Paulo and it houses the Conception of the Immaculate Conception nuns. A wing is occupied by the Museum of Sacred Art. This building has an interior area of cemetery that has great historical and archaeological importance. Then, the graves probably with the bodies of deceased nuns who have lived in the monastery at the time of the founding, in 1774, are objects of scientific studies approved by IPHAN. An extensive archaeological project at the Monastery of Light was conducted by a multidisciplinary from Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology (MAE), University of São Paulo (USP). As results were excavated 6 graves wall that showed 11 females, belonging to the Order of the Conception, with varying ages of Caucasian origin, died between the years 1774 and 1822. Were excavated Two individuals were mummified, others partially mummified and degraded with termite and other skeletonized with bioturbation by termites. This work demonstrated that archaeological excavations in urban areas require special care due to problems arising from this environment, affecting in many ways, studies of a purely technical nature, of a funerary archeology and of edification. Thus, it serves as an example to learning for future professionals.