Invasive versus Non Invasive Methods Applied to Mummy Research: Will This Controversy Ever Be Solved?
Advances in the application of non invasive techniques to mummified remains have shed new light on past diseases. The virtual inspection of a corpse, which has almost completely replaced classical autopsy, has proven to be important especially when dealing with valuable museum specimens. In spite of some very rewarding results, there are still many open questions. Non invasive techniques provide information on hard and soft tissue pathologies and allow information to be gleaned concerning mummification practices (e.g., ancient Egyptian artificial mummification). Nevertheless, there are other fields of mummy studies in which the results provided by non invasive techniques are not always self-explanatory. Reliance exclusively upon virtual diagnoses can sometimes lead to inconclusive and misleading interpretations. On the other hand, several types of investigation (e.g., histology, paleomicrobiology, and biochemistry), although minimally invasive, require direct contact with the bodies and, for this reason, are often avoided, particularly by museum curators. Here we present an overview of the non invasive and invasive techniques currently used in mummy studies and propose an approach that might solve these conflicts.
Department of Histology and Embryology, Medical School, National Kapodistrian University of Athens, 75 M. Asias Street, 11527 Athens, Greece.
Despina
D
Moissidou
The Ancient Egypt Society of Western Australia Inc., P.O. Box 103, Ballajura, WA 6066, Australia.
Jasmine
J
Day
Division of Paleopathology, Institute of Forensic Science, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 110-799, Republic of Korea.
Dong Hoon
DH
Shin
Department of Public Health and Paediatric Sciences, Legal Medicine Section, University of Turin, Corso Galileo Galilei 22, 10126 Turin, Italy ; Center for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1066, Blindern, 0316 Oslo, Norway ; Anthropologie Bioculturelle, Droit, Ethique et Santé, Faculté de Médecine-Nord, Aix-Marseille Université, 15 boulevard Pierre Dramard, 13344 Marseille Cedex 15, France.
Raffaella
R
Bianucci
D060432:Anthropology, Medical / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009106:Mummies / Q000473:pathology*