8 Mummy Finds Revealing Ancient Disease blog.ericadventures/8-mummy-finds-revealing-ancient-disease/ This perfectly preserved baby from Peru was born with a heart defect. Photography by Robyn Beck, AFP/Getty Images A.R. WilliamsNational Geographic News Published March 21, 2013 Whether laid to rest in a simple grave or a grand tomb, the human body rarely survives the sweep of time. But in a few places where people deliberately mummified their dead, or the environmental conditions were right—very dry or wet—flesh and bone are preserved. Today these remains, probed by modern CT scans, MRIs, and DNA tests, are offering intriguing insights into how people lived and died long ago. A 2011 study of 52 mummies in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo showed that almost half had clogged arteries, the kind of condition that can lead to a heart attack or stroke. What was to blame? Too much beer and bread? Not enough exercise? Chronic inflammation? Or perhaps some genetic predisposition of the interbred royals? Experts could only wonder. As it turns out, those ancient Egyptians weren’t alone. Recent CT scans of 137 mummies from four different regions, spanning more than 4,000 years, revealed that one-third had clogged arteries.Again, the experts are stumped. But the new mummy studies got us thinking: What else have we learned about the history of disease from ancient human remains? Herewith, a selectively macabre list: 1. Millennia of maladies 2. Lingering cough 3. Pain in the gut 4. Toxic metal 5. Cold spots 6. Infant mortality 7. Little person 8. Public health Main Source: news.nationalgeographic/news/2013/03/130321-mummies-diseases-ancient-archaeology-science/
Posted on: Sat, 10 Aug 2013 14:49:59 +0000
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