Mummies, Disease, and Ancient Cultures

Abstract

This journal and others have reported on the use of today's medical equipment and techniques to study mummified human remains from cultures that have long since ceased to exist. For those readers who have found such reports to be fascinating, and for many who have yet to read these accounts, this book may provide a welcome opportunity to engage in some armchair archaeology and passive paleopathology. Contributors discuss mummies of Africa, Europe, Asia, the Americas, and the Pacific, how (intentionally or accidentally) they came to be preserved, and what has been learned about their life, times, and diseases through radiological, chemical, serological, microscopic, and other scientific studies in recent months and years. Numerous helpful photographs and drawings are included. There is a lot of history, mystery, medicine, and human drama here. The chapters are interestingly written and well referenced for those who wish to pursue the subject. This is the