If you believe the bible, then this is the face of the man who would have spoken to Moses.
Source Material: The Scientific Study of Mummies by Arthur C. Aufderhiede
I have been fascinated with relics of the past my entire life. I look at archeological sites and objects like a portal to the through time connecting me with countless generations. When I watch antique roadshow I am not concerned with the appraisal value, and it has always frustrated me when I sense that a person is waiting through the explanation of the history of the object in their possession only interested in its market monetary value.
As such, what could possibly be more of exiting prospect to someone like myself than having the chance to peer into the face of someone who lived and died centuries or millenia ago. Their existence alone tells a story, represents a direct physical connection to a time gone by like a wormhole in space connects vast distances in the cosmos.
Faced with images like these I am forced to put my own existence, plans, problems and desires in perspective.
THE SCIENCE/GEOGRAPHY
Mummies have been found in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. Mummies created via natural processes have been found in all of these continents as well, but the highest frequencies of natural mummies occur in East Asia (i.e. Mongolia and Siberia) and South America.
Obviously if you die encased in ice your going to be preserved. It's cryogenics except without the $100,000 fee, and minus the chance of being reanimated considering that your frozen cells have expanded and exploded, sorry Brendan Frasier.
See Otzi the Iceman and Mammoths.
I am going to focus on locations conducive to the natural processes result in preservation of organic remains.
The most frequent finds of the best preserved natural mummies occur in either extremely cold or dry climates, or a mixture of the two. High elevation does not hurt chances of preservation either.
The most popular well preserved bodies are of those of the individuals preserved in the peat bogs of Northern Europe, Britain and Ireland.
Tollund Man died around the year 300 a.d. Note the preservation of facial features.
In these bogs a combination of acidic water, cold temperatures, and lack of oxygen are enough to preserve the tissue, essentially pickling the body. (sciencebuzz.com)
These wet conditions of preservation are the exception however, not the norm.
A goldmine of mummies is the Atacama Desert in South America.
The Atacama desert of Peru and Chile is the driest place on earth. From 1570 to 1971 it received no measurable amount of rainfall. That's 401 years without rain.
As such it operates like a time capsule. Clothes of the deceased retain their vibrant colors, appearing as though they were were sewn yesterday. The 7 year old boy below died in his sleep 500 years ago.
The cold, dry climates dessicated the remains of mummies found here and preserved hair, blood and sometimes the contents of the stomach. (sciencebuzz.org)
THE ICE MAIDEN: A sad, but moving find
Facts: Age 12-14
Death: 1440-1450
Location: Peru
Mummy Jaunita, or the "Ice Maiden" died in a ritual sacrifice. Voluntarily. She would have been selected for sacrifice shortly after her birth and would have lived her entire life knowing of her inevitable fate. Her body was discovered at an elevation of over 20,000 feet. Her trek would have taken her over several hundred miles of some of the most inhospitable land on Earth and analysis of her body showed elevated levels of cocaine, indicating that in order for her to survive the arduous ascent she was made to chew coco leaves for energy and was suffering from altitude sickness. In her final moments she would have been made to drink chicha to induce intoxication. Her death was caused by a blow to the back of the head.
All of these remains invoke thought. Each of these individuals breathed the same air and looked at the same sun as we do. The times were different but the species, the human link, is exactly the same. These treasures are beyond monetary value.
If I were the publisher of the nation’s largest editorial publication I would absolutely consider hiring Eric Smith. His writings are interesting and his research is very thorough. The topics that he writes about are not topic that are often addressed. Like we learned in class on Friday, Eric uses his interest in topics like science that aren’t often addressed in editorials. This fact alone would set him apart from other candidates for the position. However, one thing that would hurt him would be the fact that while he does a thorough job of covering topics for presentation, he hasn’t completed some of the other assignments like the movie review (unless I have accidently skipped over it in my readings). His editing skills are a bit lax, but I wouldn’t expect a blog to have perfect grammar, and he admitted in a post that it is a problem area for him. Eric’s posts are professional, but not to the point that they are dry and difficult to read. Because of the unusual nature of most of his posts I found myself reading a post about something I wasn’t even interested in because it was out of the ordinary. Eric is a good editorial writing, and I would definitely hire him.
ReplyDeleteThis entry was very fascinating. It's eerie how well preserved some of mummies are! I've seen on Nat. Geo. where it was not only the where they buried that mummified them but their conditions of their bodies before they died! Like the supper fat wealthy woman in Asia, or the blond haired blue-eyed child in Europe. Do you think all the preservatives they put in our food will have an affect on our bodies when we die?
ReplyDeleteREPHRASE: Obviously if you die encased in ice your going to be preserved.
ReplyDeleteCOMMENT ON STUDENT EVALUATION:
I concur. You definitely know how to interest an audience.