ANT3026 Exam 1 Review
What is a mummy? How do people become mummies?
"mummy" refers to any form of preserved human or animal remains, and can be a result of natural or purposeful mummification
Flappers
'new breed' of young Western women in 1920s who flaunted disdain for acceptable behavior; fashion influenced by Egyptian discoveries
Kwäday Dän Ts'inchi
("Long ago person found"); an approximately 550-year old mummy found in 1999 by three First Nations hunters at the edge of a glacier in Tatshenshini-Alsek Park, British Columbia, Canada
What kind of environments are best for natural mummification to occur? Why?
dry and hot environments lack humidity, fluids evaporate and reduce bacterial activity, reduce insect activity and preserve soft tissues dry and cold environments lack humidity, fluids freeze and reduce bacterial activity, and reduce insect activity wet environments lack oxygen, have low temperatures, few scavengers, are composed of acids or salts, and may have low currents
Empire Style
early 19th century design style intended to idealize Napoleon's leadership and virtues of Roman Empire; later became Egyptian Revival
Art Deco
eclectic design style that began in Paris in 1920s; represented elegance, glamour, modernity through linear symmetry of industry and visual arts
How would mummies be used for spiritual regulation?
elite subgroup of dead for security, power from mummified remains, allowed living to consult with the dead for advice or prophecies
Greenland Mummies
found in 1872 at an abandoned Inuit settlement called Qilakitsoq, the mummies consisted of a six-month old baby, a four-year-old boy, and six women of various ages, who died around 500 years ago; their bodies were naturally mummified by the sub-zero temperatures and dry winds in the cave in which they were found
Tattoos
found on new zealand's shrunken heads, a mummy from the tarim basin and the siberian ice princess
Boris Karloff
had a classic role in The Mummy in 1932which led the modern concept of mummies taking hold in the cinema
Why did Alan Billis want to be mummified? How was this done?
he wanted to be mummified to allow scientists to learn and discover the experience; he was mummified via natron bath
Tarim Basin
home to over 200 4,000 year old mummies found buried in upside-down boats with hundreds of 13-foot long wooden poles in the place of tombstones; the dry desert climate of this region proved to be an excellent agent for desiccation
Why did Egyptomania become so popular?
humans have a fascination with discovery and the unknown and a natural interest in the past; we want to understand the past because it contributes to our understanding of the present
Undead
being that is dead yet behaves as if alive; may be incorporeal (like ghosts) or corporeal (like mummies, zombies and vampires)
Book of the Dead
belonged to Queen Henettowey of the Twenty-first Dynasty; led to the discovery of a cache of royal mummies
Death
cessation of biological functions that sustain a living organism
Folly
construction primarily for decoration, but its appearance suggests other purpose; extravagance transcends normal range of ornamentation
Body Worlds
created by Gunther von Hagens, traveling exhibitions that exhibit plastinated human bodies internationally
How does cryonics differ from mummification or other means of preserving the body? How does its purpose differ?
cryonics uses vitrification, not drying, and intends to keep the body intact for future reanimation
Guanche People
dating to the time before 14th Century Spanish explorers settled in the area, all deceased people within this culture were mummified, though the level of care taken with embalming and burial varied depending on individual social status; embalming was carried out by specialized groups, and techniques involved evisceration, preservation, and stuffing of the evacuated bodily cavities, then wrapping of the body in animal skins
Autolysis
destruction of body tissues by enzymes released after death (a biochemical reaction); necessary conditions for this include exposure to elements, media for bacterial growth, and ambient temperature
Robbing Cleopatra's Tomb
directed by Georges Méliès and starring Jeanne d'Alcy, is one of the earliest horror films ever made; portrays a man digging inside an Egyptian tomb and chopping up a mummy, which then resurrects the woman inside it
Consumption/Cannibalism
disposal of the dead through ingestion of the remains, either fleshed or cremated; intended to guide souls and symbolize celebration and power while preservation of the physical body is unimportant
Why would mummies be used for political purposes?
in Egypt, purposeful mummification was coincident with the unification of the country and military expansion; the king/pharoah was considered divine, and dramatic mortuary expansion and mummification were symbols of power among the Inca, dead kings continued to have power and were brought out during festivals and fed and clothed; mummification was also possibly related to political instability and military expansion
Inca Mummies
include the Ice Mummies and the venerated mummies of Inca Kings that were destroyed by the Spanish
Can you describe what would be an intrinsic and extrinsic factor affecting taphonomy of the human body?
intrinsic factors are inherent within body and include bone morphology, size and body mass and detriments to body extrinsic factors are outside of body and include disposal method and burial environment
Vitrification
is an ice-free process used in organ transplant in which more than 60% of the water inside cells is replaced with protective chemicals until all chemistry stops at the glass transition temperature (approximately -124°C)
Guanajuato Mummies
mummies created by traditional Aztec mummification that were "bundled" in a woven wrap and often had their faces covered by a ceremonial mask; a collection of these late 19th century mummies have been on display at El Museo de las Momiasin since 1970
Capuchin Mummies
mummies housed in the Catacombs of Palermo (built 16th century by monks); though originally intended to hold the deliberately mummified remains of dead friars, internment in the catacombs became a status symbol for the local population in the following centuries and burials continued until the 1920s, and in all, the catacombs host nearly 8,000 mummies
Bog Bodies
mummies of people deposited in sphagnum bogs, apparently as a result of murder or ritual sacrifices.; in such cases, the acidity of the water, low temperature and lack of oxygen combined to tan the body's skin and soft tissues
What is the purpose of mummification?
mummification can occur for political or religious purposes, though the primary purpose is preservation for any of these reasons
Mokomokai
mummified heads as trophies from tribal warfare, as kept by some Maori tribes in New Zealand
Ice Mummies
naturally-preserved, unintentional mummies dating from the Incan period that have been found in the colder regions of Argentina, Chile, and Peru; recent biochemical analysis of many of these mummies has revealed that they had consumed increasing quantities of alcohol and coca, possibly in the form of chicha, in the months leading up to sacrifice
The Romance of a Mummy
novel by Théophile Gautier ,first published in 1856, that contained almost all then known of the life and customs of the ancient Egyptians
Egyptomania
post-pharaonic fascination with ancient Egypt and its myriad of manifestations
Excarnation
practice of removing the flesh and organs of the dead, leaving only the bones; is natural and purposeful, while preservation of physical body is unimportant
Self-mummification
practiced by the living buddhas who starved and dehydrated themselves prior to their impending deaths
Can you briefly describe the basic types of burials?
primary burial secondary burial mass burial inverted burial
Decomposition
process of decay where an organism is disintegrated into constituent parts
Living Buddhas
refer to the bodies of Buddhist monks that remain incorrupt, without any traces of deliberate mummification; These are venerated by some Buddhists who believe they successfully were able to mortify their flesh to death in order to reach Nirvana
The Mummy (1932)
referred to as the best mummy movie of all time; ignorant of the dangers, British archeologists accidentally revive Egyptian priest Imhotep, who, posing as modern-day Egyptian scholar Ardeth Bey, schemes to resurrect the woman he loved and lost almost 4,000 years earlier
Incorruptible
refers to a Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox belief that divine intervention allows some human bodies (specifically those of saints and other blessed people) to avoid the normal process of decomposition after death as a sign of their holiness; bodies that undergo little or no decomposition, or delayed decomposition are referred to as this
Burial
ritual act of placing something into the ground and covering it over; the earliest occurred 115-130 thousand years ago during the middle paleolithic period
Tsantas
shrunken heads?
Who was Fontana and what did he do?
Domenico Fontana came from a family of architects and had worked with his older architect brother, Giovanni, before he moved to Rome; he is famous for moving the Vatican obelisk
What are some explanations for why some bodies do not decompose?
Drying - By far the most common form of natural preservation, if a body is placed in a dry area or has air circulation, such as might be the case if it is not buried, the tissues may dry out. This stunts microbial activity and keeps the body from decaying. Adipocere - Also known as "grave wax" or "mortuary wax", the process occurs when bacterial hydrolysis converts body fats into a stable organic substance composed of fatty acids. The material is described as being similar to wax or soap. The process occurs in cold damp environments and may be exacerbated by mineral activity. Intentional Embalming - Embalming of one type or another has been around for centuries. Modern embalming is done primarily to prevent decay of a body while it is transported to burial or during a time that it lays in state. It includes the infusion of the body with chemicals such asformaldehyde, which can fix tissue and inhibit decay. This type of embalming has been around for more than a century. Other environmental conditions - Numerous compounds and conditions are known to occur which may result in decay being inhibited. Toxic heavy metals such as arsenic and mercury may have been used in years past in caskets or burial preparations and can inhibit microbial activity. Acidic conditions, such as those found in peat bogs are well known for their ability to preserve organic material. Other local minerals or conditions may play a role."
Mumia vera Aegyptica
For several hundred years, peaking in the 16th and 17th centuries, many Europeans, including royalty, priests and scientists, routinely ingested remedies containing human bones, blood, and fat as medicine for everything from headaches to epilepsy.
What influence did Cleopatra have on Roman women and the popularity of Egypt among the Roman population?
For the first time Romans experienced refinement Egyptian style. When Rome's calendar needed adjusting, Cleopatra sent her astronomer Sosigenes to Rome to straighten things out; she was an educated young woman who ruled a vast empire as a goddess. No one like Cleopatra had ever been seen in Rome. Enthralled by their visiting royalty, many Roman women converted to the cult of Isis
Grand Tours
Hadrian's imperial tour of Egypt during the years 130-131 AD which took more than eight months; starting in Alexandria, he visited Memphis and Saqqara, where he dedicated a sanctuary to the sacred Apis bull, then traveled south on the Nile
How did the appearance of Christianity in Rome and Egypt affect the ancient Egyptian religion and mummification?
The rise of Christianity was the death blow to the ancient Egyptian religion. Not only was it no longer fashionable to worship Isis, it could cost you your life, and mummification was forbidden, as it suggested a pagan physical resurrection of the body, not a spiritual one as in Christianity
Cremation
use of burning to reduce body to basic components, retaining the appearance of dry bone; intended to be purifying of dead while preservation of physical body is unimportant
Obelisks
were almost always erected in pairs at the entrances to Egyptian temples; the pharaohs inscribed their names on all four sides, ensuring that the gods would know which pharaoh had created such great monuments
Under what circumstances and when was King Tut's tomb found?
1922 discovery in the Valley of the Kings by Howard Carter of Tutankhamun's nearly intact tomb, funded by Lord Carnarvon, received worldwide press coverage; sparked a renewed public interest in ancient Egypt
Why is the definition of death so vague?
Is human death simply an instance of organismic death, ultimately a matter of biology? If not, on what basis should it be defined? Whatever the answers to these questions, does death or at least human death have an essence—either de re or de dicto—entailing necessary and jointly sufficient conditions?
Vladimir Lenin
Leonid Krasin and Alexander Bogdanov suggested to cryonically preserve his body and brain in order to revive him in the future. Necessary equipment was purchased abroad, but for a variety of reasons the plan was not realized. Instead his body was embalmed and placed on permanent exhibition in the Lenin Mausoleum in Moscow, where it is displayed to this day.
Bubba Ho-Tep
Resting in the confines of a Mud Creek, TX, nursing home after fading into obscurity following his departure from the limelight, an aging and embittered Elvis befriends a delusional patient named Jack who claims to be John F. Kennedy. Before long the geriatric duo must muster the strength to fend off the malevolent soul sucker
How did Romans change or modify the Egyptian way of mummification?
Romans living in Egypt embraced mummification but improved on the stylized mummy mask, replacing it with a realistic portrait of the deceased that was painted on a wooden board and bound into the mummy wrappings where the mask used to be
Cosmism
Russian movement that envisioned scientific resurrection of dead people
Apothecary Mummy
Specialist literature has, since the 15th century, contained references to the fact that apothecaries stocked not only a mummy powder, but that "apothecary mummies" also existed as whole bodies. The bodies could have been acquired for processing as mumia, or as part of an exhibition of curiosities, just like mandrake roots, puffer fish, or alligators.
What was the significance of the obelisks in Rome and why did the Vatican obelisk need to be exorcised?
The imperial taste for obelisks was not an expression of Egyptomania but rather a political statement to emphasize the dominance of Rome over its new province. Clearly the obelisk was viewed as a pagan monument that might house malevolent forces.
Mumia/Mumiya/Mumeia
The popularity of bitumen strained its natural availability so apothecaries began looking elsewhere for bitumen sources. From an appearance perspective, the black material found within and outside of ancient Egyptian mummies looked very similar to bitumen; it was bitumen, but also was a combination of natron (salts), botanical resins, and spices. Justified for the demand of bitumen (along with some mistranslations of what bitumen actually was), both the term mumia and the medicinal properties that had originally been reserved for bitumen were broadened to include the resins found in and on ancient Egyptian mummies.
Cleopatra (Film)
a 1963 film starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton; for many reasons the movie is memorable, not least of which was the highly publicized love affair between Burton and Taylor; The film also featured the highest cost overrun in cinema history
Howard Carter
a British archaeologist and Egyptologist who became world-famous after discovering the intact tomb of the 18th Dynasty Pharaoh, Tutankhamun in November 1922
Ptolemies
a Macedonian Greek royal family, which ruled the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Egypt during the Hellenistic period; their rule, the last dynasty of ancient Egypt, lasted for 275 years, from 305 to 30 BC until Egypt fell to Roman conquest
Bitumen
a black, tarry substance that found in rocks throughout the Middle East, which we call asphalt and was called mumiya in Arabic
Ma'nene
a festival in Indonesia where bodies of dead relatives are dug up and dressed up every three years
Spirit Cave Man
a middle-aged male mummy nearly 9,000 years old, found completely dressed and lying on a blanket made of animal skin; discovered in 1940 during salvage work prior to mining activity east of Fallon, Nevada
Natron
a mineral salt found in dried lake beds, consisting of hydrated sodium carbonate
Torajan
a small ethnic group indigenous to the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia; in this culture, late loved ones are tended at home for weeks, months, or even years after death and the funeral ritual is an elaborate and expensive event, particularly for those with wealth or high status
Plastination
a technique used in anatomy to conserve bodies or body parts where the water and fat are replaced by certain plastics, yielding specimens that can be touched, do not smell or decay, and even retain most microscopic properties of the original sample
La Momia Azteca
after hypnotizing his lover Flor, Dr. Almada finds out that in a previous life Flor was the Aztec maiden Xochitl, killed and entombed for having an illicit affair with the warrior Popoca; he is able to find the tomb and with it two valuable pieces of jewelry, which he steals, triggering the revivication of Popoca, the living mummy
Alan Billis
allowed his body to be mummified using techniques based on 19 years of research of 18th dynasty Egyptian mummification
Siberian Ice Maiden
also known as Princess Ukok, this mummy was found in 1993 by Russian archaeologists dressed in finely detailed clothing and wore an elaborate headdress and jewelry; alongside her body were buried six decorated horses and a symbolic meal for her last journey, while her left arm and hand were tattooed with animal style figures, including a highly stylized deer
Adipocere
also known as corpse, grave or mortuary wax; a wax-like organic substance formed by the anaerobic bacterial hydrolysis of fat in tissue, such as body fat in corpses
Purposeful Mummification
also referred to as "anthropogenic" mummification; occurs when mummies are deliberately created by the living for any number of reasons, the most common being for religious purposes
Natural Mummification
also referred to as "spontaneous" mummification; occurs when mummies are created unintentionally due to natural conditions such as extremely dry heat or cold, or anaerobic conditions such as those found in peat bogs
King Tut
an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty (ruled c. 1332-1323 BC in the conventional chronology), during the period of Egyptian history known as the New Kingdom or sometimes the New Empire Period
Egyptian Revival
an architectural style with use of motifs and images of ancient Egypt in architecture; public awareness of conquest by Napoleon and discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb
Summum
an esoteric religious organization that introduced "Modern Mummification", a service that utilizes modern techniques along with aspects of ancient methods of mummification
Revenant
animated corpse that was believed to return from the grave to terrorize the living
Can you name and briefly describe the four basic stages of decomposition?
stage 1 "fresh" includes autolytic cell destruction, oxygen depletion, algor and rigor mortis, bacterial invasion, volatile organic compounds and insect activity (flies) stage 2 "bloat" includes bloat and color change, liquification and frothing, marbelization, livor mortis, blistering and skin slippage, moderate odor and insect activity (flies and maggots) stage 3 "putrefaction" includes gas release, black color change, formation of adipocere, loss of body fluids, strong odor, tissue drying, animal scavenging and insect activity (flies, maggots, beetles) stage 4 "dry remains" includes inhibited decay, fully dried tissues, vegetation death, increased soil nutrients, animal scavenging, insect activity (beetles, wasps) and skeletonization
Taphonomy
study of the transformation of materials in the archaeological record; encompasses chemical and physical changes in composition after death with goals to understand actual process to provide meaning to perceptions of undead
Herodotus
the "father of history" a Greek traveler who visited Egypt around 450 BC and exclaimed that Egypt ·contained more remarkable things than any country in the world; wrote earliest account of Egyptian mummification
Ka
the Egyptian concept of vital essence, which distinguishes the difference between a living and a dead person, with death occurring when the ka left the body
Immortality
the ability to live forever; eternal life
Putrefaction
the fifth stage of death; this process references the breaking down of a body of a human or animal post mortem and can be viewed as the decomposition of proteins, the eventual breakdown of the cohesiveness between tissues, and the liquefaction of most organs
Jeremy Bentham
the founder of utilitarianism, left instructions to be followed upon his death which led to the creation of a sort of modern-day mummy; asked that his body be displayed to illustrate how the "horror at dissection originates in ignorance"
Blood from the Mummy's Tomb
the last of British company Hammer Productions' four mummy films; did not feature a bandaged mummy
Chinchorro mummies
the oldest intentionally prepared mummified bodies ever found (beginning in the 5th millennium BC and continuing for an estimated 3,500 years); the bodies were carefully prepared, beginning with removal of the internal organs and skin, before being left in the hot, dry climate of the Atacama Desert, which aided in desiccation
Ötzi
the oldest natural mummy in Europe discovered in 1991 in the Ötztal Alps on the Austrian-Italian border; a 5,300 year-old male believed to be a member of a cultural group of South Tyrol
Cryogenics
the postmortem freezing of a body, following a special treatment with cell-protecting products, and its storage in liquid nitrogen at -196°C (-321°F); this is done with the intention of thawing and resuscitating the body at a later date
Souls
the spiritual or immaterial part of a human being or animal, regarded as immortal.
Alcor
the world's leading cryonics organization since 1972
What was the evidence presented for the Mummy's Curse?
there are occasional instances of genuine ancient curses, most frequently in private tombs of the Old Kingdom era, appearing inside or on the facade of a tomb, as in the case of the mastaba of Khentika Ikhekhi of the 6th dynasty at Saqqara the sudden, early deaths of several others connected to the excavation of Tut's tomb some ancient mummies have been shown to carry potentially dangerous species of mold, and the tomb walls could have been covered in bacteria known to attack the respiratory system
Saints
thought to be "incorruptible"