Ebook: Human Mummies: A Global Survey of their Status and the Techniques of Conservation

On 15-17 September, 1993, Innsbruck, Austria, search. Another remarkable case, that of the pre-Colum­ hosted the International Mummy Symposium. This bian miner from Restauradora Mine near Chuqincamata does not mean that beautiful North Tyrol was the setting in northern Chile, is the result of impregnation with for a gathering of the world's most prominent mummies copper salts, and the mummy became an attraction as themselves, but rather the exciting discovery of a Late "Copper Man" at various fairs around the country. As he Neolithic glacial mummy released from the ice of the was found with a complete set of miner's tools, the Otztal Alps provided the focus of attention for numerous mummy offers a unique insight into the life and working scholars from many different parts of the world to come conditions of an Indio miner of the first millennium AD. together to address various questions relating to mum­ Even so, the mummified remains comprise only the skel­ mified human remains. eton with a completely rigid covering of skin, whereas Normally researchers studying the remains of histori­ the other soft parts have not survived. calor prehistoric human bodies will at best have bony In contrast, mummification in ice, and especially in substance to work on. It is rarely the case that soft parts the permafrost, can produce much better results.

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The contributions to the volume have their origin in a spontaneously organized meeting of experts at Innsbruck 1991 for finding the best measures for the conservation of the newly found "Man in the Ice”. Due to their target the techniques of conservation of corpses all over the world are described: Smoke-drying (Ecuador), sun-drying (Canary Islands), natural mummification by combination of low temperatures and dry air (Eskimo mummies of Qilakitsoq); the reader also will find descriptions of permafrost mummies of Greenland and "bog-mummies” of North-West-Europe including new methods of investigation in the fields of roentgenological, microbiological, microscopical, and microchemical methods and the latest imaging techniques in medical archaeology.

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The contributions to the volume have their origin in a spontaneously organized meeting of experts at Innsbruck 1991 for finding the best measures for the conservation of the newly found "Man in the Ice”. Due to their target the techniques of conservation of corpses all over the world are described: Smoke-drying (Ecuador), sun-drying (Canary Islands), natural mummification by combination of low temperatures and dry air (Eskimo mummies of Qilakitsoq); the reader also will find descriptions of permafrost mummies of Greenland and "bog-mummies” of North-West-Europe including new methods of investigation in the fields of roentgenological, microbiological, microscopical, and microchemical methods and the latest imaging techniques in medical archaeology.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages I-VIII
Front Matter....Pages 1-1
Mummies and ethics in the museum....Pages 3-7
Current technology in the examination of ancient man....Pages 9-14
Non-invasive investigations of human mummified remains by radiographic techniques....Pages 15-31
Dry human and animal remains — their treatment at the British Museum....Pages 33-38
Front Matter....Pages 39-39
Research on mummies in Egyptology. An overview....Pages 41-45
Development of a prototype storage and display case for the Royal Mummies of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo....Pages 47-56
Front Matter....Pages 57-57
Excavation and preliminary studies of the ancient mummies of Xinjiang in China....Pages 59-69
Collagen in 300 year-old tissue and a short introduction to the mummies in Japan....Pages 71-79
Front Matter....Pages 81-81
Mummies of the Arctic regions....Pages 83-92
The palaeoimaging and forensic anthropology of frozen sailors from the Franklin Arctic expedition mass disaster (1845–1848): a detailed presentation of two radiological surveys....Pages 93-106
The mummy find from Qilakitsoq in northwest Greenland....Pages 107-121
Front Matter....Pages 123-123
Early mummies from coastal Peru and Chile....Pages 125-129
Preparation of the dead in coastal Andean preceramic populations....Pages 131-140
Secondary applications of bioanthropological studies on South American Andean mummies....Pages 141-151
The Prince of El Plomo: a frozen treasure....Pages 153-157
Front Matter....Pages 159-159
European bog bodies: current state of research and preservation....Pages 161-172
Selection of a conservation process for Lindow Man....Pages 173-181
Guanche mummies of Tenerife (Canary Islands): conservation and scientific studies in the CRONOS Project....Pages 183-193
Natural and artificial 13th–19th century mummies in Italy....Pages 195-203
The roman mummy of Grottarossa....Pages 205-217
Front Matter....Pages 159-159
Mummies of Saints: a particular category of Italian mummies....Pages 219-230
Mummification in the Middle Ages....Pages 231-238
The corpse from the Porchabella-glacier in the Grisons, Switzerland (community of Bergun)....Pages 239-246
Front Matter....Pages 247-247
Iceman’s last weeks....Pages 249-263
Post-mortem alterations of human lipids — part I: evaluation of adipocere formation and mummification by desiccation....Pages 265-273
Post-mortem alterations of human lipids — part II: lipid composition of a skin sample from the Iceman....Pages 275-278
Comparison of the lipid profile of the Tyrolean Iceman with bodies recovered from glaciers....Pages 279-281
Trace element contents of the Iceman’s bones....Pages 283-287
Remarks on the anatomy of a mummified cat regarding the extent of preservation....Pages 289-294

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The contributions to the volume have their origin in a spontaneously organized meeting of experts at Innsbruck 1991 for finding the best measures for the conservation of the newly found "Man in the Ice”. Due to their target the techniques of conservation of corpses all over the world are described: Smoke-drying (Ecuador), sun-drying (Canary Islands), natural mummification by combination of low temperatures and dry air (Eskimo mummies of Qilakitsoq); the reader also will find descriptions of permafrost mummies of Greenland and "bog-mummies” of North-West-Europe including new methods of investigation in the fields of roentgenological, microbiological, microscopical, and microchemical methods and the latest imaging techniques in medical archaeology.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages I-VIII
Front Matter....Pages 1-1
Mummies and ethics in the museum....Pages 3-7
Current technology in the examination of ancient man....Pages 9-14
Non-invasive investigations of human mummified remains by radiographic techniques....Pages 15-31
Dry human and animal remains — their treatment at the British Museum....Pages 33-38
Front Matter....Pages 39-39
Research on mummies in Egyptology. An overview....Pages 41-45
Development of a prototype storage and display case for the Royal Mummies of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo....Pages 47-56
Front Matter....Pages 57-57
Excavation and preliminary studies of the ancient mummies of Xinjiang in China....Pages 59-69
Collagen in 300 year-old tissue and a short introduction to the mummies in Japan....Pages 71-79
Front Matter....Pages 81-81
Mummies of the Arctic regions....Pages 83-92
The palaeoimaging and forensic anthropology of frozen sailors from the Franklin Arctic expedition mass disaster (1845–1848): a detailed presentation of two radiological surveys....Pages 93-106
The mummy find from Qilakitsoq in northwest Greenland....Pages 107-121
Front Matter....Pages 123-123
Early mummies from coastal Peru and Chile....Pages 125-129
Preparation of the dead in coastal Andean preceramic populations....Pages 131-140
Secondary applications of bioanthropological studies on South American Andean mummies....Pages 141-151
The Prince of El Plomo: a frozen treasure....Pages 153-157
Front Matter....Pages 159-159
European bog bodies: current state of research and preservation....Pages 161-172
Selection of a conservation process for Lindow Man....Pages 173-181
Guanche mummies of Tenerife (Canary Islands): conservation and scientific studies in the CRONOS Project....Pages 183-193
Natural and artificial 13th–19th century mummies in Italy....Pages 195-203
The roman mummy of Grottarossa....Pages 205-217
Front Matter....Pages 159-159
Mummies of Saints: a particular category of Italian mummies....Pages 219-230
Mummification in the Middle Ages....Pages 231-238
The corpse from the Porchabella-glacier in the Grisons, Switzerland (community of Bergun)....Pages 239-246
Front Matter....Pages 247-247
Iceman’s last weeks....Pages 249-263
Post-mortem alterations of human lipids — part I: evaluation of adipocere formation and mummification by desiccation....Pages 265-273
Post-mortem alterations of human lipids — part II: lipid composition of a skin sample from the Iceman....Pages 275-278
Comparison of the lipid profile of the Tyrolean Iceman with bodies recovered from glaciers....Pages 279-281
Trace element contents of the Iceman’s bones....Pages 283-287
Remarks on the anatomy of a mummified cat regarding the extent of preservation....Pages 289-294
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