7 research outputs found
From Egyptian Desert to Scottish Highlands â the radiographic study of a Twenty-Fifth Dynasty coffin and mummy bundle from the Perth Museum and Art Gallery, Scotland
Since 1936, the Perth Museum and Art Gallery, Scotland, has curated a wrapped ancient Egyptian human mummy within a wooden anthropoid coffin. In June 2013, funding was procured to transport the mummy and coffin to the University of Manchester for radiographic study, whereby information regarding the life and death of the individual was sought.The mummy and coffin were imaged using digital radiography (DR) and computed tomography (CT) at the Royal Manchester Childrenâs Hospital. The process revealed that the bundle contained the mummified remains of a single human individual, which had suffered extensive skeletal disruption. This paper focuses on the radiographic analysis of the artefact
Evolution in Australasian Mangrove Forests: Multilocus Phylogenetic Analysis of the Gerygone Warblers (Aves: Acanthizidae)
The mangrove forests of Australasia have many endemic bird species but their
evolution and radiation in those habitats has been little studied. One genus
with several mangrove specialist species is Gerygone
(Passeriformes: Acanthizidae). The phylogeny of the Acanthizidae is reasonably
well understood but limited taxon sampling for Gerygone has
constrained understanding of its evolution and historical biogeography in
mangroves. Here we report on a phylogenetic analysis of
Gerygone based on comprehensive taxon sampling and a
multilocus dataset of thirteen loci spread across the avian genome (eleven
nuclear and two mitochondrial loci). Since Gerygone includes
three species restricted to Australia's coastal mangrove forests, we
particularly sought to understand the biogeography of their evolution in that
ecosystem. Analyses of individual loci, as well as of a concatenated dataset
drawn from previous molecular studies indicates that the genus as currently
defined is not monophyletic, and that the Grey Gerygone (G.
cinerea) from New Guinea should be transferred to the genus
Acanthiza. The multilocus approach has permitted the
nuanced view of the group's evolution into mangrove ecosystems having
occurred on multiple occasions, in three non-overlapping time frames, most
likely first by the G. magnirostris lineage, and subsequently
followed by those of G. tenebrosa and G.
levigaster
Erosive effects of a posterior mediastinal mass in a 18th to early 19th c. Spanish child mummy
International audienceDuring the 2011 restoration works in the central nave of the church of the Assumption of Our Lady, known as âThe Piqueteâ, in the village of Quinto (about 50 kms southwest of Zaragoza, Spain), the remains of 70 individuals were uncovered. Of these there were 32 mummified bodies, four of which have been investigated with CT scans. Here we report on the findings in one such individual, namely a child of between 7 and 8 years of age, whose sex is debatable but may well be female. The main pathological finding is the presence of pressure erosion and distortion of the upper thoracic spine, the cause of which is discussed with the conclusion that this may well represent a neurenteric duplication cyst. The possible consequences of such a lesion are considered
Virtopsy shows a high status funerary treatment in an early 18th Dynasty non-royal individual
This work presents the multidisciplinary investigation of the head of Nebiri (Museo Egizio, Turin S_5109), Chief of Stables, a high status elite person from the 18th Dynasty involving MDCT, 3D brain surface and facial reconstructions accompanied by a consideration of previously presented chemical analysis of the embalming materials found in fragments of bandages used on the head and viscera (lung) found in one of the four canopic jars. Comparison of the techniques used for the cosmetic treatment of Nebiri with those used in other elite and high status non-royal persons confirms the validity of the use of the term "high status elite" in the case of Nebiri. This case highlights the importance of using modern forensic techniques both to enhance new technologies of retrospective diagnosis on altered human remains and to increase knowledge of past populations