Fame after Death: The Unusual Story of a Finnish Mummy and Difficulties Involving its Study

The cool, ventilated milieus beneath the floors of old Finnish churches are responsible for the natural mummification in church graves. One good example of such preservation are the remains of an early 17th-century vicar of Kemi parish, Nikolaus Rungius. He died in 1629 and was put to rest under the old Keminmaa Church in Finnish Lapland. The parish began exhibiting his preserved body in the 18th century after which Vicar Rungius – a locally revered man of cloth in life – gained wide posthumous fame. His dead body became a powerful means to encourage and strengthen people’s faith. The mummy has maintained a human form but has lost its right forearm. On top of that the computed tomography scanning conducted in 2011 revealed that the head was not normally attached. It is unclear when it happened or how but a suspicion arose that once the neck was damaged the head could have fallen to the ground and shattered. A serious concern was whether the head of the mummy was really that of Vicar Rungius as a headless vicar would undoubtedly have prompted a substitution with another mummified head in order to maintain a powerful incentive to the parishioners’ faith.Kuolemanjälkeisestä maineesta: epätavallinen tarina suomalaisesta muumiosta ja sen tutkimiseen liittyvistä ongelmista Viileä, hyvin tuulettuva ympäristö vanhojen suomalaisten kirkkojen lattioiden alla luo olosuhteet luonnolliselle muumioitumiselle kirkkohaudoissa. Hyvänä esimerkkinä tällaisesta säilymisestä voidaan pitää 1600-luvun alkupuolella eläneen Kemin seurakunnan kirkkoherran Nikolaus Rungiuksen muumiota. Kirkkoherra kuoli vuonna 1629 ja hänet haudattiin Suomen Lapissa sijaitsevan Keminmaan vanhan kivikirkon alle. Hänen muumioitunut ruumiinsa on seurakunnan toimesta ollut näytteillä 1700-luvulta lähtien, minkä jälkeen kirkkoherra Rungius – jo eläessään paikallisten kunnioittama kirkonmies – saavutti laajalle levinneen kuolemanjälkeisen maineen. Hänen ruumistaan tuli merkittävä keino rohkaista ja lujittaa ihmisten uskoa. Muumio on säilyttänyt ihmismuotonsa, mutta menettänyt oikeanpuoleisen kyynärvartensa. Sen lisäksi vuonna 2011 suoritettu tietokonetomografia paljasti, ettei muumion pää ollut normaalisti kiinni torsossa. On epäselvää, milloin ja miten pää on irronnut, mutta sen irtoaminen herätti epäilyksen, että niskan vahingoituttua pää oli saattanut pudota maahan ja rikkoontua. Olikin pohdittava, onko muumion pää todellakin kirkkoherra Rungiuksen, sillä kirkkoherran päättömyys olisi epäilemättä nopeasti johtanut pään korvaamiseen jollain toisella muumioituneella päällä seurakuntalaisten uskon vaikutusvaltaisen kannustimen säilyttämiseksi

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Reconstructing physical activity from human skeletal remains:potentials and restrictions in the use of musculoskeletal stress markers

Abstract The purpose of my thesis is to improve the reliability of physical activity reconstructions by gaining better understanding of the effects of physical activity on bone structural adaptations: musculoskeletal stress markers (MSM) at muscle attachment sites and bone biomechanical properties. Bone responds to changes in mechanical loading resulting from activity and body weight. Activity reconstructions are important as they are the only means with which activity patterns of historic humans can be studied. However, MSMs have recently increased the debate about their reliability as activity indicators due to many bias factors which affect their appearance: age, size, sex and pathological changes. I studied the effects of physical activity on entheses from three perspectives. First, individuals performing heavy labour should have higher MSM scores compared to the light labour group due to elevated degree of mechanical loading at enthesis. This was studied on a population with known occupation and was among the first study designs of its kind. Second, a covariance between bone biomechanical properties and MSM was studied to infer etiology of MSM. The affects of activity and body weight on bone biomechanical properties are well known due to studies in sports medicine, whereas the causal mechanisms behind MSMs are not as clear. In theory, both should respond to stress with similar mechanisms. This is a novel approach to investigate the etiology behind MSMs. Third, if there is a possibility of site-specific adaptation of cortical bone, MSMs, which are local adaptations, can also result from site-specific stress. I found that while individuals performing heavy labour had higher scores, age-related changes in MSM override activity effects after biological maturity around 40 to 50 years. Also, MSMs and bone biomechanical properties are likely to remodel under same causal mechanisms as where there is an increase in one there is likely to be an increase in the other. Furthermore, bone has a possibility of site-specific response, as cortical thickness was increased at muscle pull sites compared to sites of no muscle pull. I propose that while MSM can be used to study the intensity of physical activity in individuals before they reach biological maturity, it is important to design studies where biasing factors, such as age, are considered.Tiivistelmä Väitöskirjani tarkoitus on tutkia lihasten kiinnittymiskohtien mahdollisuuksia ja rajoituksia fyysisen aktiviteetin rekonstruktioissa ja näin parantaa rekonstruktioiden luotettavuutta. Aktiviteettihistoriaa voidaan tutkia lihasten kiinnittymiskohdista luun pinnalla tai luun poikkileikkauksen ominaisuuksista, koska luu reagoi muutoksiin mekaanisen rasituksen määrässä. Mekaaniseen rasitukseen vaikuttaa aktiviteetin lisäksi ruumiin koko. Aktiviteetin rekonstruktiot mahdollistavat ammatin ja harrastusten selvittämisen pelkän luustomorfologian perusteella. Ruumiin koon ja aktiviteetin lisäksi myös ikä, sukupuoli, patologiset muutokset sekä ruokavalio vaikuttavat lihasten kiinnittymiskohtiin. Tästä syystä tämän menetelmän rajoitusten selvittäminen on oleellista luotettavien rekonstruktioiden aikaansaamiseksi. Jos aktiviteetti heijastuu lihasten kiinnittymiskohtiin, raskasta ja kevyttä työtä tekevillä ihmisillä tulee olla erilainen luustomorfologia. Lisäksi, lihasten kiinnittymiskohtien morfologian sekä luun poikkileikkausten ominaisuuksien tulee muunnella yhdessä koska molemmat heijastavat aktiviteettia. Luun poikkileikkausten ominaisuuksien aktiviteettisidonnaisuus tunnetaan paremmin liikuntalääketieteellisten tutkimusten ansiosta. Kolmanneksi, jos luu voi vastata rasitukseen paikallisesti kasvattamalla luun paksuutta lihaksen vetosuuntaan nähden, myös luun pinnassa paikallisesti tapahtuvat muutokset ovat mahdollisia. Nämä ovat uusia lähestymistapoja aktiviteettia heijastavien syntymekanismien selvittämisessä. Tutkimustulosteni perusteella raskasta ja kevyttä työtä tekevillä ihmisillä on erilainen luustomorfologia lihaksen kiinnittymiskohdassa. Nämä muutokset ovat alttiita myös ikäsidonnaisille muutoksille, joten noin 40–50 ikävuoden jälkeen fyysisen aktiviteetin intensiteettiä ei voida enää luotettavasti rekonstruoida. Aktiviteetin aiheuttamien muutosten syntymekanismi lihaksen kiinnittymiskohdissa on todennäköisesti sama kuin luun poikkileikkausten ominaisuuksilla, koska molemmat muuntelevat yhdessä. Lisäksi huomasin, että luu voi reagoida rasitukseen myös paikallisesti, koska luun seinämät olivat paksumpia lihaksen vetosuunnassa verrattuna kohtaan, johon ei liittynyt suoraa lihaksen vetosuuntaa. Ehdotan, että lihasten kiinnittymiskohtia voidaan käyttää aktiviteetin rekonstruktioissa, kunhan tutkimuksessa otetaan huomioon muut vaikuttavat tekijät, kuten ikä

Covariation between entheseal changes and cross-sectional properties of reindeer long bones:considering bone functional adaptation as partial contributing factor

Abstract Entheseal changes and bone cross-sectional properties are used as skeletal activity markers for different animal species, although most studies are targeted on humans. While there is compelling evidence on the association between activity and bone cross-sectional properties, studies on association of entheseal changes to activity have presented more contradictory results. In previous research, covariation between entheseal changes and bone cross-sectional properties is considered a possible result of common underlying factor. However, these studies are performed predominantly on human material. We provide beyond-species scope by studying this covariation in reindeer skeleton. The results will provide platform for discussing bone functional adaptation pathway in which activity modifies entheseal appearance. The material are wild forest reindeer, domesticated free-ranging reindeer and zoo reindeer of Northern and North-East Finland. We found that bone formation in most studied entheses (25 out of 27) were associated with increased values in bone cross-sectional properties and proxies of bone/body size. Features of bone resorption, when significant, were also associated with increased values in bone cross-sectional properties and bone/body size. We conclude that as entheseal changes were associated with bone cross-sectional properties and bone/body size, the observed variation at reindeer entheses likely reflects skeletal robusticity. While causal factors resulting in association between skeletal robusticity and entheseal appearance cannot be evidenced, bone functional adaptation can be hypothesized as at least a partial contributing mechanism to entheseal appearance

Influence of captivity and selection on limb long bone cross-sectional morphology of reindeer

Abstract The emergence of pastoralism and animal husbandry has been a critical point in the history of human evolution. Beyond profound behavioural changes in domesticated animals compared to wild ones, characterising the morphological changes associated with domestication process remains challenging. Because reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) can be considered to still be in the early phases of the domestication process, the study of modern populations provides a unique opportunity to examine the impact of captivity and selective breeding on skeletal changes. In this work, we investigated the morphological changes in long limb bone cross-sections using 137 wild and domestic reindeer individuals bred in free-range, in captivity or used for racing and pulling. The shape and shaft cortical thickness of the six long limb bones (i.e., humerus, radioulna, metacarpal, femur, tibia and metatarsal) were measured using a 2D-geometric morphometrics approach taking into account subspecies, sex, body mass and lifestyle differences. These bones are important to understanding functional morphological changes because they can provide information on feeding and locomotor behaviours, as well as on body propulsion and weight bearing. Apart from the effects of taxonomy, etho-ecology and sex, we have found that captivity and selection induced important variations in the size and body mass of modern reindeer. Our results also showed that patterns of variation in cortical bone thickness of long limb bone cross-sections were strongly impacted by body mass and human-imposed restrictions in roaming. This demonstrates that bone cross-sections can provide information on changes in locomotor, reproductive and feeding behaviours induced by the domestication process. These results are valuable not only for (paleo) biologists studying the impact of captivity and selection in ungulates but also for archaeologists exploring the origins of domestication and early herding strategies

Identification of working reindeer using palaeopathology and entheseal changes

Abstract Objective: This paper explores the potential of analyzing pathological lesions and entheseal changes in the identification of working reindeer. Methods: The skeletons of 26 modern working reindeer from Siberia and Northern Finland are analyzed for pathological lesions and entheseal changes. Results: Working results in elevated frequencies of pathological lesions, specifically joint disease in cervical and thoracic vertebrae, humeri, os coxae and proximal phalanges. Entheseal scores indicate the intensified use of shoulder flexors and extensors, and possibly elbow, hip and knee flexors and extensors in working reindeer. Conclusion: Patterns of skeletal changes can be used in the identification of working reindeer from the past. Significance: This study provides first evidence that pathological lesions and entheseal changes can be used to assess draught and cargo use of reindeer. Therefore, the methods presented in this study provide an opportunity to scrutinize past reindeer herding practices, reindeer domestication and human-reindeer cooperation. Limitations: Methods need to be applied with caution due to the multifactorial etiologies of pathological lesions and entheseal changes. Suggestions for future research: We suggest that in future studies, these methods are applied to archaeological material accompanied by osteometric and contextual analyses