Mummies, Disease and Ancient Cultures

A readable and fascinating account of the story of mummification from around the world.

Thomas Aidan Cockburn (Edited by), Eve Cockburn (Edited by), Theodore A. Reyman (Edited by)

9780521589543, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 30 April 1998

428 pages, 146 b/w illus. 23 tables
24.7 x 19 x 1.9 cm, 0.925 kg

' … this book reads well, with a good balance being struck between laboured description and a superficial skim: it is easy to forget than one is reading for learning rather than entertainment.' C. H. Hoyle, Endeavour

To look upon a mummy is to come face to face with our past. This book presents the story of mummification as a practice worldwide. Mummies have been found on every continent, some deliberately preserved as with the ancient Egyptians using a variety of complex techniques, others accidentally by dry baking heat, intense cold and ice, or by tanning in peat bogs. By examining these preserved humans, we can get profound insights into the lives, health, culture and deaths of individuals and populations long gone. The first edition of this book was acclaimed as a classic. This readable new edition builds on these foundations, investigating the fantastic new findings in South America, Europe and the Far East. It will be a 'must-have' volume for anyone working in paleopathology and a fascinating read for all those interested in anthropology, archaeology, and the history of medicine.

Foreword
Preface
Introduction Aidan Cockburn
Part I. Mummies of Egypt: 1. Mummies of ancient Egypt William H. Peck
2, Disease in ancient Egypt A.T. Sandison and Edmund Tapp
3. Dental health in ancient Egypt James E. Harris, Paul V. Ponitz and Brian Ingalls
4. A classic mummy: PUM II Aidan Cockburn, Robin A. Barraco, William H. Peck and Theodore A. Reyman
5. ROM I: mummification for the common people Nicholas B. Millet, Gerald D. Hart, Theodore A. Reyman, Michael R. Zimmerman and Peter K. Lewin
6. Egyptian mummification with evisceration per ano Theodore A. Reymam and William H. Peck
Part II. Mummies of the Americas: 7. Mummies and mummification practices in the southwestern and southern United States Mahmoud Y. El-Najjar, Thomas M. J. Mulinski and Karl J. Reinhard
8. Aleutian and Alaskan mummies Michael R. Zimmerman
9. Mummies of Peru James M. Vreeland Jr
10. South American mummies: culture and disease Bernardo Arriaza, Felipe Cárdenas-Arroyo, Ekkehard Kleiss and James W. Verano
Part III. Mummies of the World: 11. Bog bodies of Denmark and northwestern Europe Christian Fischer
12. Mummies of Italy, North Africa and the Canary Islands Antonio Ascenzi, Paolo Bianco, Gino Fornaciari and Conrado Rodríguez Martín
13. Mummification in Australia and Melanesia Graeme L. Pretty and Angela Calder
14. Mummies from Japan and China Kiyohiko Sakurai, Tamotsu Ogata, Iwataro Morimoto, Peng Long-xiang and Wu Zhong-bi
15. Mummies from cold regions J. P. Hart-Hansen
Part IV. Mummies and Technology: 16. New investigative techniques Theodore A. Reyman, Henrik Nielsen, Derek N. H. Notman, Karl J. Reinhard, Edmund Tapp and Tony Waldron
Index.

Subject Areas: Human biology [PSX], Physical anthropology [JHMP], Archaeology [HD]