(CNN) — With her mouth wide open, locked for eternity in what appears to be a scream, an ancient Egyptian woman captured the imagination of archaeologists who discovered her mummified remains in 1935 in a tomb near Luxor.
Still fascinated by the “screaming woman” who died some 3,500 years ago, a different team of scientists recently used CT scans to reveal details about the mummy’s morphology, health conditions and preservation and employed infrared imaging and other advanced techniques to “virtually dissect” the remains and understand what might have caused her striking facial expression
Based on a study of a pelvis joint that varies with age, their findings—which were published on Friday in the journal Frontiers in Medicine—showed that the woman was 48 years old when she passed away. A few peculiarities emerged from the mummification procedure.
According to a statement from research author Sahar Saleem, a professor of radiology at Kasr Al Ainy Hospital at Cairo University, her body was embalmed using frankincense and juniper resin, ostentatious, pricey materials that would have been trafficked from abroad.
In line with the assessment made during the initial discovery that the brain, diaphragm, heart, lungs, liver, spleen, kidneys, and intestines were still present, Saleem also discovered that there were no incisions on the body.
According to the study, the removal of internal organs was not common practice during that era of mummification, as all other organs were removed except the heart.
The study was unable to pinpoint the precise cause of death, though.
Sale the precise cause of death, saying, "Here we show that she was embalmed with costly, imported embalming material."
"This defies the conventional wisdom that suggests inadequate mummification because her internal organs were not removed, as well as the mummy's exceptionally well-preserved appearance.”
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Rogers Fund, Metropolitan Museum of Art The coffin of the "screaming" mummy is on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. |
Only a few ancient Egyptian mummies have been found with their mouths open, the study noted, with embalmers typically wrapping the jawbone and the skull to keep the deceased’s mouth shut.
What caused the woman’s chilling expression isn’t clear from the study findings, although the researchers put forward a grisly hypothesis.
What mummification techniques reveal
The woman may have died screaming from pain or suffering if the mummy's "screaming facial expression" is understood as a cadaveric spasm, an uncommon type of muscle stiffness linked to violent deaths, the study suggests.
The authors of the study hypothesized that she may have been mummified within 18 to 36 hours of passing away in order to preserve her open mouth position until her body relaxed or broke down.
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Sahar Saleem CT scans, including of the teeth (left) and brain, have revealed new details about the mummy's morphology, health conditions and preservation. |
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