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Ancient Greece and Mummies: The Primacy of the Soul over the Body
Galassi, F.M. and Varotto, E. (2020) Ancient Greece and Mummies: The Primacy of the Soul over the Body. In: Shin D.H., Bianucci R. (eds) The Handbook of Mummy Studies. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-3354-9_54 Abstract Ancient Greece did not contemplate embalming practices meant to preserve bodies for eternity. Reports of a mummy found by Schliemann are not to be trusted, while there is some literary evidence of temporary forms of honey- mediated embalming practices adopted for Spartan k ings. Greek s rejected the importance of preserving bodies for eternity because, as it can be found in Plato’s work Phaedo, the soul was considered more important than the body and the only truly immortal…
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Vladimir Il’ič Lenin
The Embodiment of the Leader Bianucci R., Galassi, F.M. and Nerlich A.G., (2020) Vladimir Il’ič Lenin. The Embodiment of the Leader. In: Shin D.H., Bianucci R. (eds) The Handbook of Mummy Studies. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-3354-9_52 This chapter focuses on the fate of the body of Vladimir Il’ič Ul’janov (1870–1924), aka Lenin, from the day after his death, January 22, 1924, till the present day. It is aimed at considering the process of a conservation of the nonliving body of the founder of the Soviet Union over the last 96 years and to elucidate its sociocultural and political significance.
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Life and Diseases of the Neolithic Glacier Mummy “Ötzi”
Nerlich A.G., Fleckinger, A. and Peschel, O. (2020) Life and Diseases of the Neolithic Glacier Mummy “Ötzi”. In: Shin D.H., Bianucci R. (eds) The Handbook of Mummy Studies. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-3354-9_19 Abstract The unusual find of a very well-preserved human adult male mummy in an Alpine glacier in 1991 was the starting point for a unique series of scientific analyses that resulted in a concise reconstruction of life, diseases, and death of the Neolithic individual (dating to c. 3350–3100 BCE). Not only his basic anthropological information, genetic origin, nutritional supply, and physical activity pattern were investigated, but also numerous diseases, possible therapeutic treatment, and a sequence of traumatic injuries have been…
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Medical Imaging in Mummy Studies
Technical Aspects Loynes R.D., Bianucci R. (2020) Medical Imaging in Mummy Studies. Technical Aspects. In: Shin D.H., Bianucci R. (eds) The Handbook of Mummy Studies. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-3354-9_39 Abstract Before the discovery of X-rays, the only available method of scientifically investigating the structure of a mummified body was to dissect it. Since the discovery of X-rays by Roentgen in 1895, Egyptologists and others interested in paleopathology have been using medical imaging to aid research into ancient biological artifacts. In this chapter, the history of medical imaging is briefly considered, particularly as it relates to the imaging of mummies. Various systems are discussed along with their suitability to mummy studies; and possible…
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The Burden of Arteriosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease in Ancient Populations
Insights from Mummified Remains Nerlich A.G., Galassi, F.M. and Bianucci R. (2020) The Burden of Arteriosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease in Ancient Population. In: Shin D.H., Bianucci R. (eds) The Handbook of Mummy Studies. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-3354-9_44 Abstract Arteriosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are chronic inflammatory afflictions of the vascular system leading to stiffening and occlusion of the arterial vessels. The particular involvement of the coronary and carotid arteries may result in lethal ischemia of the heart or brain. Therefore, they represent the most frequent cause of death in the twenty-first century. Recent circumstantial analyses have shown that the prevalence of arteriosclerosis was also very high in human remains in various ancient populations,…
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Paleo-Oncology and Mummies
Nerlich A.G., Bianucci R. (2020) Paleo-Oncology and Mummies. In: Shin D.H., Bianucci R. (eds) The Handbook of Mummy Studies. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-3354-9_38 Abstract Paleo-oncology is a relatively new branch of paleopathology aimed at identifying pathognomonic cancer lesions in ancient human remains while trying to recon- struct its incidence in the history of humankind. Besides the mere identification of cancer types, the central question concerns the prevalence of malignant tumors in different time periods, different populations, and the identification of factors influencing carcinogenesis. Malignant lesions in paleopathology specimens are rare and only five have been identified in mummified remains so far. Currently, the epidemiological data suggest that, in historic populations, shorter life…
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Mummies in Crypts and Catacombs
Nerlich A.G., Bianucci R. (2020) Mummies in Crypts and Catacombs. In: Shin D.H., Bianucci R. (eds) The Handbook of Mummy Studies. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-1614-6_20-1 Abstract There exist numerous crypts and catacombs in churches and cemeteries that harbor mummified human remains. Due to burial customs these are most frequently detected in European countries, mostly as the result of spontaneous (natural) mummification. Beyond those mummies, occasionally artificial mummification has led to permanently preserved bodies. These were performed as either dry or wet type of embalming. All mummified human bodies may represent important information about life, living conditions, diseases, and causes of death in historic populations; they represent a “bio-archive.” Although many mummies seem…
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The Ethics of Presentation of Scientific Data and Images of Cadavers to a Popular Audience: from the Salafia embalming method to the case of Rosalia Lombardo (1918-1920)
Raffaella Bianucci, Simon T. Donell, Francesco M. Galassi, Tiziana Lanza, Grazia Mattutino, Andreas G. Nerlich, Luca Sineo; The Ethics of Presentation of Scientific Data and Images of Cadavers to a Popular Audience: from the Salafia embalming method to the case of Rosalia Lombardo (1918-1920). Paleopathology Newsletter 198, 26-30, 2022 The formal interactions between the living and the dead predate human history. How corpses are treated relate to the cultural and religious societies in which they lived. Differences in burial can also depend on whether the deceased is a member of the society or a social outcast, an enemy, or a criminal. It can also be different according to the cause…
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The discovery of the Salafia handwritten manuscript and formula. Chronological and biological considerations.
Francesco Maria Galassi, Tiziana Lanza, Grazia Mattutino, Luca Sineo, Andreas G Nerlich, Simon T Donell, Raffaella Bianucci; The discovery of the Salafia handwritten manuscript and formula. Chronological and biological considerations Archivio per L’Antropologia e la Etnologia, CLI , 3-20 2021 Abstract Alfredo Salafia (1869-1933) was a famous embalmer from Palermo, Sicily. He created an embalming fluid, the «Perfection fluid», which was supposed to leave the corpse perfectly preserved in a «fresh state». Within the remit of the Human Embalming Project© (H.E.P.), we performed referenced historical research on Salafia’s American period. We further identified what appears to be an anomaly in the chronology of the discovery of the Sicilian embalmer’s handwritten memoirs. Until…
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Correspondence with Forensic Imaging about the mummies of Gangi (Beckett R. et al. 2020)
Correspondence re: Beckett et al. A Paleoimaging Study of Human Mummies held in the Mother Church of Gangi, Sicily: Implications for Mass Casualty Methodology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fri.2020.200426 Dear Professor Thali We read with great interest the recent paper by Beckett et al. on the mummies of Gangi (Palermo, Sicily) [1]. The paleoimaging data com- plement previous macromorphological observations performed by Sineo et al. [2,3] and Piombino-Mascali and Zink [4], both on the mummies and their funerary masks. We support the authors’ classification using a logical numbering and the assessment of the individuals’ age at death, pathologies and funerary treatment; unfortunately, important information is lacking… Beckett RG et al. A Paleoimaging study of…
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The Team
