Mummies provide a window into the traditions and rituals practiced by ancient cultures. Modern analyses on their bones, teeth, hair and preserved soft tissues can also provide information on the health conditions these ancient people experienced, as well as what type of food they ate. Here's the latest news on mummies and what analyses have revealed about their lives.
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'He looked like Ramses the Great': How experimental archaeologists used ancient techniques to mummify a modern-day personExcerpt In his new book, "Dinner with King Tut: How Rogue Archaeologists Are Re-creating the Sights, Sounds, Smells, and Tastes of Lost Civilizations," science writer Sam Kean explains the odd and intriguing world of experimental archaeologists.
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'Political motivations' of Inca emperor led to the sacrifice of 3 children on a snow-capped volcano over 500 years ago, study suggestsAn analysis of corn, cassava and coca plants discovered with sacrificed Inca children reveals they died during the reign of one of the last Inca emperors.
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700-year-old mummy from Bolivia contains earliest confirmed evidence of strep throat bacteria in the AmericasA DNA analysis of pathogens from a pre-Hispanic mummy revealed that the bacterium that causes scarlet fever and strep throat was present in the Americas prior to European colonization.
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2,500-year-old 'primitive prosthetic' found on jaw of mummified Scythian woman who survived complex jaw surgeryResearchers used CT scans to peer inside a partially mummified skull and discovered the woman survived jaw surgery 2,500 years ago.
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CT scans reveal the last moments of Inca children sacrificed as 'messengers to the gods'New CT scans reveal the last moments of the Inca children who were sacrificed and mummified about 500 years ago.
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1,100-year-old mummy found in Chile died of extensive injuries when a turquoise mine caved in, CT scans revealThe mummified remains of a man buried close to a turquoise mine in Chile's Atacama Desert suggest he was a miner who died in a tragic occupational accident.
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1,400 years ago, Nubians tattooed their toddlers. Archaeologists are trying to figure out why.More than a dozen mummies of kids with facial tattoos were found at an archaeological site in Christian-era Nubia.
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Scientists have digitally removed the 'death masks' from four Colombian mummies, revealing their faces for the first timeThe reconstructions are based on the skulls of four mummified individuals who had masks tightly fitted on their faces.
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Ötzi quiz: What do you know about the Iceman mummy who was murdered 5,300 years ago in the Alps?Think you know a lot about Ötzi the Iceman? Don't get left in the cold — take our quiz!
