Editing Mummy (section)

== History of mummy studies ==

[[File:Tuts Tomb Opened.JPG|thumb|upright|[[Howard Carter]] examining the innermost coffin of [[Tutankhamun]]]]

[[File:US Navy 110427-N-2531L-135 Tori Randall, Ph.D. prepares a 550-year old Peruvian child mummy for a CT scan.jpg|thumb|upright|A 550-year-old Peruvian child mummy being prepared for a CT scan]]

While interest in the study of mummies dates as far back as [[Ptolemaic Kingdom|Ptolemaic Greece]], most structured scientific study began at the beginning of the 20th century.{{sfn|Cockburn|Cockburn|Reyman|1998|pp=1–2}} Prior to this, many rediscovered mummies were sold as curiosities or for use in [[pseudoscience|pseudoscientific]] novelties such as [[mummia]].{{sfn|Aufderheide|2003|p=1}} The first modern scientific examinations of mummies began in 1901, conducted by professors at the English-language Government School of Medicine in [[Cairo]], Egypt. The first [[X-ray]] of a mummy came in 1903, when professors [[Grafton Elliot Smith]] and [[Howard Carter]] used the only X-ray machine in Cairo at the time to examine the mummified body of [[Thutmose IV]].{{sfn|Cockburn|Cockburn|Reyman|1998|p=3}} British chemist [[Alfred Lucas (chemist)|Alfred Lucas]] applied chemical analyses to Egyptian mummies during this same period, which returned many results about the types of substances used in embalming. Lucas also made significant contributions to the analysis of [[Tutankhamun]] in 1922.{{sfn|Aufderheide|2003|p=16}}

Pathological study of mummies saw varying levels of popularity throughout the 20th century.{{sfn|Aufderheide|2003|pp=14–15}} In 1992, the First World Congress on Mummy Studies was held in [[Puerto de la Cruz]] on [[Tenerife]] in the [[Canary Islands]]. More than 300 scientists attended the Congress to share nearly 100 years of collected data on mummies. The information presented at the meeting triggered a new surge of interest in the subject, with one of the major results being the integration of [[Medical research|biomedical]] and [[bioarchaeology|bioarchaeological]] information on mummies with existing databases. This was not possible prior to the Congress due to the unique and highly specialized techniques required to gather such data.{{sfn| Aufderheide|2003|p=2}}

In more recent years, CT scanning has become an invaluable tool in the study of mummification by allowing researchers to digitally "unwrap" mummies without risking damage to the body.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Baldock |first1=C |last2=Hughes |first2=SW |last3=Whittaker |first3=DK |last4=Taylor |first4=J |last5=Davis |first5=R |last6=Spencer |first6=AJ |last7=Tonge |first7=K |last8=Sofat |first8=A |year=1994 |title=3-D reconstruction of an ancient Egyptian mummy using x-ray computer tomography |url= http://eprints.qut.edu.au/29982/|journal=Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine |volume=87 |issue= 12|pages=806–808 |pmid=7853321 |pmc=1295009 }}</ref> The level of detail in such scans is so intricate that small linens used in tiny areas such as the nostrils can be digitally reconstructed in [[Stereoscopy|3-D]].<ref name=Gewolb>{{cite journal |last=Gewolb |first=Josh |title=Computer identifies mummy |journal=Science |date=28 September 2001 |volume=293 |issue=5539 |page=2383 |doi=10.1126/science.293.5539.2383a|s2cid=220086568 }}</ref> Such modelling has been utilized to perform digital autopsies on mummies to determine the cause of death and lifestyle, such as in the case of [[Tutankhamun]].<ref name=DeChant>{{cite web |last=De Chant |first=Tim |title=Did King Tut Die in a Chariot Accident? |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/next/ancient/did-king-tut-die-in-a-chariot-accident/ |work=Nova Next |date=12 November 2013 |publisher=PBS |access-date=15 November 2013}}</ref>