January 2010

BURIAL VIETNAM: 

Mummy of ancient king reburied after accidental discovery (google.com)

"The mummified corpse of a Vietnamese king who died hundreds of years ago was reburied on Monday, half a century after farmers accidentally dug it up. State television showed a red cloth, decorated with dragons, being draped over the coffin at the Vietnam Museum of History in Hanoi, where the body of King Le Du Tong had been preserved for decades. Dark-suited officials held incense around the coffin, which weighed 700 kilograms (1,540 pounds), television showed. More than 20 royal robes were buried with the king. "This event made us very glad," said Le Van Duat, a representative of the Le clan. "It met the aspiration of several generations of the Le family. It also reflected the aspiration of the Vietnamese people." Farmers accidentally uncovered the king's coffin when they were digging a field in 1958, according to the Vietnam News. They found an "outer coffin" and when they broke a corner of it, they saw a red-lacquer inner coffin trimmed with gold, the report said. After the museum ceremony a procession of at least 100 vehicles escorted the body of the king, who died in 1731, south to Thanh Hoa province for the reburial, said a witness who declined to be identified...."

STRANGE CALIFORNIA: 

Daughter of mummified woman runs for city council in Piedmont (sfgate.com)

"Nancy "Sunny" Bostrom, whom police briefly labeled a "person of interest" last year after her mother's mummified corpse was found seated in the living room of her Piedmont home, is running for City Council in the East Bay town. Bostrom came to the cops' attention in February when the body of Patricia Bostrom, who had not been seen by neighbors for six years, was found in a chair in her unlocked, two-story house at Highland and Blair avenues. Police suspect that Patricia Bostrom, who was about 82 when she was last heard from, had been dead for years. An autopsy concluded she had died of natural causes, however, and the only crime cops came up with was the moving of a dead body. And, "we could never prove Nancy did it because she denied her mother was even dead to begin with," police Capt. John Hunt said...."

MUMMY SCIENCE CONNECTICUT: 

Researchers hope prized Barnum Museum mummy will tell tales (journalinquirer.com)

"Researchers are using the latest imaging technology on an Egyptian mummy to try to unlock secrets of the ancient world, including whether a mysterious packet inside her was an offering to the gods to help secure a place in the afterlife. The high-resolution testing today at Quinnipiac University also may determine the age at which the woman died and whether she gave birth, researchers say. “It really is going to give us a fantastic view of this mummy,” said Ronald Beckett, co-director of the Bioanthropology Research Institute at Quinnipiac. “Every mummy has a story to tell. Every piece of information adds to our understanding of the ancient Egyptians.” The mummy, known as Pa-Ib and believed to be about 4,000 years old, has been in the Barnum Museum in Bridgeport since the 1890s and was a prized exhibit of the flamboyant showman P. T. Barnum. It was to be transported today in a coffin complete with a police escort from the museum to the university’s campus in North Haven. A CT scanner will take images that are eight times the resolution of tests done on the mummy in 2006, and a tiny camera will be inserted inside the mummy...."

--Though final results not expected until March, researchers find no evidence of bird mummy packed inside Pa-lb (news.yahoo.com)

"Researchers who examined an Egyptian mummy with the latest imaging technology found no evidence that a packet inside her was an offering to the gods of the ancient world. Previous tests led to speculation that the packet was a bird mummy — something researchers said would be an unusual and exciting find — but high-resolution tests Thursday at Quinnipiac University showed no remnants of a bird. Instead, researchers said the packet and a few others in the mummy likely contained organs, which were sometimes preserved and placed back in mummies for use in the afterlife. The mummy, known as Pa-Ib and believed to be about 4,000 years old, has been in the Barnum Museum in Bridgeport since the 1890s and was a prized exhibit of the flamboyant showman P. T. Barnum. A CT scanner took thousands of images that are eight times the resolution of tests done in 2006, and a tiny camera was inserted inside the mummy's skull. Researchers expect to report their conclusions in March. Researchers said her teeth were worn, suggesting the diet of a commoner. The woman could have been a servant but probably didn't do a lot of manual labor, given the condition of her joints, said Gerald Conlogue, co-director of the Bioanthropology Research Institute at Quinnipiac...."

STRANGE UK: 

UK's Channel 4 seeks terminally ill patient willing to be mummified (bbc.co.uk)

"A terminally ill patient is being sought to donate their body to be mummified for a Channel 4 TV show. The programme will explore the mysteries of ancient Egyptian embalming, which was believed would help people reach the afterlife. Adverts have been placed asking for dying patients interested in participating to get in touch. Channel 4 said: "If the scientists are able to find a donor, we would be willing to follow the process." It is understood the project - which has been proposed by production company Fulcrum TV - is in its very early stages and may not actually be made. The idea was uncovered when an executive producer from Fulcrum TV, Richard Belfield, spoke to an undercover journalist posing as a possible volunteer...."

MUSEUM MEXICO: 

Guanajuato's famous museum mixes mummies and torture devices (washingtonpost.com)

"The most disturbing thing about visiting the Mummy Museum in Guanajuato, Mexico, isn't the mummies themselves. After three visits over 10 years, I've grown accustomed to the mummies -- more than 100 of them, many staring back (dare I say helplessly?) from behind glass display cases, some upright, some lying down. Nope, it's the torture instruments that make me queasy. El Museo de las Momias, surely one of the most bizarre cultural institutions anywhere, underscores Mexico's obsession with death. Every day is a Day of the Dead celebration in this popular, well-maintained museum, a short bus or cab ride from the leafy main square of Guanajuato, a town also known for its pottery, colonial charm and nearby silver mines. The torture gadgets are displayed alongside several cadavers to illustrate, I can only suppose, that death comes in many ways. One mummy has metal spikes jammed into every part of his body.... The museum traces its roots to the 19th century, when cemetery space was at a premium in hilly Guanajuato, so relatives were charged an annual tax to keep their loved ones buried. Some folks couldn't afford the tax, and their loved ones were exhumed -- or so the legend goes. That's how workers at the main cemetery discovered that the dry mountain air and mineral content of the soil had mummified some of the corpses. Beginning in 1870, the mummies were placed in a room near the cemetery's administrative offices, according to www.guanajuatocapital.com, a privately owned tourism Web site. Foreign visitors discovered the mummies around 1894, and a museum followed...."

--An exhibit of Guanajuato mummies is touring the United States. More Information.

 

DISCOVERY EGYPT: 

Archaeologists discover huge tomb near Cairo complete with mummified eagles (bbc.co.uk)

"Archaeologists in Egypt have said they have discovered the largest known tomb in the ancient necropolis of Saqqara, to the south of Cairo. The tomb dates back 2,500 years to the 26th Dynasty and contains important artifacts, including mummified eagles. It is one of two newly discovered tombs found by an Egyptian team working close to the entrance of Saqqara, the burial ground for Egypt's ancient capital. The tomb consists of a big hall hewn out of the limestone rock. There are a number of small rooms and passageways where ancient coffins, skeletons and well-preserved clay pots were discovered, as well as the mummies of eagles. Egypt's chief archaeologist, Zahi Hawass, who announced the discovery, said that early investigations showed that although the tomb dated back to the 26th Dynasty, it had been used several times...."

--Photos of the tomb (discovery.com)  

DISCOVERY VIETNAM: 

Mystery surrounds the naturally-mummified teenager in the attic (vnagency.com.vn)

"In Phu Thanh Commune on the bank of the Mekong in An Giang Province’s Phu Tan District, every villager knows about the mystery surrounding the remains kept in an old wooden house. In the middle of the river basin the exquisite 130-year-old stilt house built of precious wood is blackened with time. It belongs to Dinh Tri, 57. In the attic, there is a coffin placed on two chairs in front of a Buddhist altar. Made of fine wood and topped with glass, the painted coffin has not been eaten by termites and still looks new, after more than 40 years. The coffin contains the remains of Tri’s older brother, Dinh Hao, who died of a mysterious disease at 17. The sight of Hao’s corpse lying in the coffin as if he was sleeping peacefully sends shivers down people’s spine given that he passed away four decades ago. Although the remains have shrunk and dehydrated after many years, his eyes, nose, mouth and ears are still there, and his black hair is still shining. "

December 2009

CRIME NORTH CAROLINA: 

Mummified body of mother found in New Hanover house; authorities arrest daughter with concealing death for months (starnewsonline.com)

"New Hanover County sheriff's deputies investigating the death of an 87-year-old woman seized deodorizing powders and spray from the bedroom where the woman's body was found. A search warrant deputies filed this week in the New Hanover County Court clerk's office gives a glimpse into what deputies found when they entered the home at 612 Cherry Laurel Court after the death of Blanche Matilda Roth was reported. Authorities have said Roth had been dead for months and have charged her daughter Amy Blanche Stewart, 47, with concealing the death. In the days following the Dec. 15 search, Stewart was arrested and released on a $1,000 bond pending trial on the felony charge. Authorities have said they're investigating the possibility of fraud related to benefits that Roth was receiving...."

DISCOVERY MEXICO: 

37 mummified bodies found during restoration of Zacatecas' Church of Santo Domingo (laht.com)

"Restoration work on a church and a cathedral in the central Mexican city of Zacatecas has resulted in the finding of 37 mummified bodies and a Bible from 1575 written in several languages, authorities said Tuesday. The mummies were found in the Church of Santo Domingo, along with a small stairway leading to a grotto in which the skeleton of a Spanish colonial official was resting, the Zacatecas state government said. Meanwhile, the Bible was found in the bibliographic archive of the Zacatecas Basilica Cathedral. It is written in Hebrew, Chaldean, Greek and Latin, and according to the state government there exist only 100 copies like it in the world. The finds were made during the process of restoration being carried out at both religious locations, a task in which 75 workers are taking part and which is costing a total of 51 million pesos ($4.1 million)...."

EXHIBIT SINGAPORE: 

'Quest for Immortality' features 11 mummies from Viennese museum (bloomberg.com)

"Three Egyptian mummies -- well, 11 if you include two newborn children, a falcon, a cat, an ibis, two crocodiles and a scarab beetle with its own little sarcophagus -- have taken a wrong turn. Instead of taking the journey west to the next life, they’ve headed east on a three-country tour of Asia and Australia, ending up in Singapore, where they are the stars of the National Museum’s latest blockbuster exhibition.... “Quest for Immortality -- the World of Ancient Egypt” uses 230 artifacts, from statues to tiny pots of makeup, to try to explain how the ancient Egyptian obsession with death is really an affirmation of life and the desire to continue it. Museums are allowing priceless artifacts to go on traveling exhibitions to earn money, amid pressure from countries such as Egypt and Italy to recover some treasures. Hairani Hassan, curator for the exhibition from the Singapore museum, said the 3 1/2 month event cost nearly S$2 million ($1.4 million) and took two years to prepare.... The exhibition, which visited Seoul and Sydney, is the first time the mummies have travelled from Vienna. In Singapore, the display gallery in the basement is in almost total darkness, with walls and ramps designed to give the feeling of exploring a pyramid or an ancient burial site. Some statues are set back in hidden chambers, visible through cracks in the partitions.... "

SCIENCE CANADA: 

Tests on soup can from Franklin Expedition confirm that lead levels were 'off the scale' (physorg.com)

"Lead levels that are "off the scale" have been confirmed after tests were done this morning on the lid of a soup can dating back more than 150 years. The findings reopen the mystery surrounding the cause of death of Sir John Franklin and his doomed crew as they searched for the Northwest Passage. Fiona McNeill, associate vice-president, Research, and a professor of medical science and applied radiation, says tests were conducted using x-ray fluorescence, a non-destructive method of analyzing artifacts. McMaster is one of two centers in Canada with this specific kind of x-ray fluorescence capability. As soon as the four-inch diameter lid from the can was scanned, says McNeill, "the numbers showed us lead levels that were pretty much off the scale. It was an instantaneous test. We had already tested the soup found in the can and found high levels of lead, so we were certain we were going to find similar levels in the sealing solder." Franklin set sail from England in 1845 on his fourth Arctic exploration to map the final section of the Northwest Passage. But something happened when his ships became stuck in ice, and the crew was never heard from again. The loss, considered the biggest disaster in British naval history, triggered numerous search parties. In 1988, bodies of some of the crew were found, preserved in the permafrost. The can of soup being tested was found on Dealy Island, and though it was left behind by a search party dispatched from England in 1852 it would be virtually identical to the provisions consumed by Franklin and his crew. With the lead levels confirmed, McMaster's Department of Anthropology will next make a batch of the ox cheek soup and can it using methods from the 1840s. Over the course of a year the cans will be opened and analyzed. Researchers will then be able to gauge how quickly lead leaches into soup rendering it lethal. Lead poisoning has long been considered a cause of death for the ill-fated explorers...."

--More information about the mummies of the Franklin Expedition at the Mummy Tombs  

SCIENCE CANADA: 

New DNA evidence from frozen soil suggests that ancient horses survived in North America longer than thought (horsetalk.co.nz)

"Horses may have survived in North America until 7600 years ago, some 5000 years longer than previously thought. It is possible researchers have unearthed the tiny genetic footprint of the last few hundred ancient horses to roam North America. Researchers who removed ancient DNA of horses and mammoths from permanently frozen soil in central Alaskan permafrost dated the material at between 7600 and 10,500 years old. The findings suggest populations of these now-extinct mammals endured longer in the continental interior of North America, challenging the conventional view that these and other large species disappeared from the continent about 12,000 years ago.... At the end of the Pleistocene, the geological period roughly spanning 12,000 to 2.5 million years ago, many of the world's large animals, such as giant sloths, saber-toothed cats, dire wolves, stag-moose, and mammoths, vanish from the geological record. Some large species such as the horse became extinct in North America but persisted in small populations elsewhere, having crossed a land bridge into Asia.... Evidence until now has placed the last-known mammoths and wild horses between 13,000 and 15,000 years ago...."

--Mummified remains of ancient horse on display at Canadian museum (horsetalk.co.nz)  

"The mummified remains of a 26,000-year-old horse found in Canada have gone on display in a museum. The horse, discovered in the Yukon, is the best-preserved specimen of a mummified, extinct large mammal ever found in Canada. Miners Sam and Lee Olynyk, and Ron Toews, who were working a claim in the Klondike, found the remains in September 1993. It has since been identified as a horse which once roamed the plains of the area and has been radiocarbon dated at 26,000 years old. The miners contacted the Yukon government about their discovery, which in turn contacted Dick Harington at Ottawa's Canadian Museum of Nature. Scientists in Ottawa began treatment of the hide and soft tissue, analysed the animal's intestinal contents as well as radiocarbon dated a bone sample.... The Yukon horse has become the newest member in an impressive collection of exhibits belonging to the Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre.... "

EXHIBIT MARYLAND:

'Mummified' exhibit at Walters Art Museum features Mery the mummy (jhunewsletter.com)

"Mummified!, a current exhibit at The Walters Art Museum, is interesting, somewhat educational, and a great weekend venture for anyone looking for a nerdy good time.... Mummified!!, highlights the Walters Museum's very own well-preserved mummy, Mery. It is an exhibit that is at once serious and playful. The first part of the exhibit features a few interesting artifacts and two computer stations that offer information on the processes involved in mummification and the cultural and religious significance of this hallowed ritual. This first section, though, barely holds a candle to the centerpiece of the exhibit: Mery the Mummy. Mery, who is about 4' 9'' tall and lived to be somewhere around 60, can be found in a climate-controlled glass case in the center of the room. She is placed on a "Mummy board" and is wrapped in linen and plaster. This casing is painted with images, in surprisingly vivid colors, of Egyptian gods involved in the processes of death and renewal: Osiris, Anubis, Horace and Hapi. Next to the body one finds four canopic jars, or containers for the departed's vital organs. Some might remember these jars from the modern-day popular movie The Mummy. Along with these jars are several small, ornate amulets that were at one point sewn into Mery's fabric...."

EXHIBIT New York:

'The Mummy Chamber', the Brooklyn Museum's new Egyptian exhibit, opens May 5 (artdaily.org)

"An installation of more than 170 objects selected from the Brooklyn Museum’s world-famous holdings of ancient Egyptian material explores the complex rituals related to the practice of mummification and the Egyptian belief that the body must be preserved in order to ensure eternal life. The Mummy Chamber will open at the Brooklyn Museum on May 5 and will remain on long-term view. Included in the installation will be a portion of the nearly 26-foot-long papyrus Book of the Dead of Sobekmose, acquired in 1937 and never before on public view, which has undergone more than two years of conservation. Other segments of this extraordinary document, which contains spells to aid the dead in the afterlife, will be added to the gallery installation as they are conserved. Throughout the more than 3,000-year-old papyrus, which contains text on both sides as well as illustrations, Sobekmose’s name recurs frequently, accompanied by the title “Gold-worker of Amun.” The Mummy Chamber provides a look at the Museum’s collection of wrapped human and animal mummies. In addition, containers that physically protected the mummies will demonstrate the history of coffin making for humans and animals in Egypt, along with objects that illustrate the ancient Egyptians’ corporal and supernatural methods for protecting the mummy from harm and for ensuring a pleasant afterlife.... In recent years, several of the human and animal mummies in the Brooklyn Museum have undergone a rigorous scientific testing, including CT scanning at North Shore University Hospital, to determine new information such as the sex, age, and living habits. Some of these findings will be made available in the installation...."

SCIENCE EGYPT: 

Study of 3,000 Egyptian mummies reveals dental miseries (msnbc.msn.com)

"Worn teeth, periodontal diseases, abscesses and cavities tormented the ancient Egyptians, according to the first systematic review of all studies performed on Egyptian mummies in the past 30 years. After examining research of more than 3,000 mummies, anatomists and paleopathologists at the University of Zurich concluded that 18 percent of all mummies in case reports showed a nightmare array of dental diseases. "Evidence of dental disorders is plentiful because usually teeth are among the best preserved parts of a body. As for other diseases, the published studies do not always provide in-depth details. Nevertheless, we came across some interesting findings," senior author and medical doctor Frank Ruhli, head of the Swiss Mummy Project at the University of Zurich, told Discovery News. Published in the Journal of Comparative Human Biology (HOMO), the review takes into consideration all studies published since 1977, when computed tomography was first applied to ancient Egyptian mummies. CT imaging revealed an impressive collection of diseases, including bone disorders, infections and traumas being the most common disorders...."

SCIENCE PERU: 

Hair from Peruvian mummies shows how stressed they were (discovery.com)

"People in the past were very stressed out, suggests a new study that found high amounts of a stress hormone in the hair of Peruvian individuals who lived between 550 A.D. and 1532. The study, accepted for publication in the Journal of Archaeological Science, is the first to detect the stress hormone cortisol in ancient hair. Cortisol is produced in response to real and perceived threats. After its release, the hormone travels to nearly every part of the body, including to blood, saliva, urine and hair. It now may be possible to determine not only how ancient people behaved, but also how they felt. "Combined with archaeological reconstructions of past communities and societies, and traditional bioarchaeological approaches to understanding stress, health and well-being, research like this will significantly enrich our ability to reconstruct ancient life histories, and let us explore individualized experiences of people who died hundreds or even thousands of years ago," lead author Emily Webb told Discovery News...."

DISCOVERY PENNSYLVANIA: 

Man's mummified remains found in Huntingdon house (post-gazette.com)

"The Westmoreland County coroner's office will conduct an autopsy today for a man whose "mummified" remains were found yesterday in his deceased father's house in North Huntingdon. Kenneth Michael Kaduk, 56, may have been dead for up to six months when his body was discovered on the floor of the home on McKee Road shortly after 2 p.m., Deputy Coroner Dennis Johns said. Police broke into the home through a back window with an attorney for the Kaduk family who was hoping to get information about Mr. Kaduk's father, who died in 2006, Mr. Johns said. Relatives had infrequent contact with Mr. Kaduk and they were unaware that he had been living in the house...."

INSPIRATION CANADA: 

Tragedy of mummified baby inspires Toronto composer to write opera (insidetoronto.com)

"Like many, long-time Toronto resident Dean Burry was shocked, disturbed and intrigued by the July 2007 discovery of a mummified baby boy's corpse in the floorboards of a Riverside home. Burry, one of Canada's top composers of operas for children and youth, said he was curious to learn more about the dire circumstances leading someone to hide a dead baby, wrapped in both a blanket and in a copy of the Sept. 15, 1925 Empire and Mail newspaper, in the second-floor ceiling of a Kintyre Avenue home. "I thought it was a creepy story and a very intriguing one," said the father of two. "You never know what goes on behind closed doors. You never know exactly what's going on with your happy neighbours." Always on the lookout for interesting subjects for his work, Burry said he came up with the idea of creating a "Baby Kintyre" radio opera while driving home from the cottage that Labour Day weekend...."

November 2009

DISCOVERY CANADA: 

Mummified cat found at Toronto Humane Society (thestar.com)

"Officials leading a media tour of the Toronto Humane Society on Friday said a mummified cat was discovered in a live trap inside the building's drop ceiling. The trapped cat lay on its side, its skin the colour of parchment, covering nothing more than bones and dust. "Very disturbing, you know it sent chills down my spine," said Kevin Strooband, lead investigator with the OSPCA, as he described the find at the Toronto Humane Society shortly after 2 p.m. The discovery of the caged cat – inside a second floor ceiling at the River St. and Queen St. E. facility – delayed a scheduled media tour, but it was then put on display in a hallway of the building. The animal was inside what is called a live trap, used to capture animals by luring them with food into a cage with a door that closes automatically. "This is a humane trap, there is nothing is wrong with it," said Strooband. Once it is trapped you take the cat down and put it in another cage that is more secure, he said. "That obviously didn't happen." Strooband said they did not know how long the animal had been in the ceiling. The tour came a day after the society's president and four other people were arrested on animal cruelty charges after police raided the facility...."

--Cat likely a trapped stray (torontosun.com)

"A mummified cat found in a cage in the ceiling at the Toronto Humane Society's shelter was likely one of several strays staff routinely trapped, the charity's chief communications officer told the Sun. Ian McConachie, who has been barred from the River St. shelter during an Ontario Society for the Prevention of Animals investigation, said traps were set for feral cats that slipped inside from the Don River area at the rear of the building...." 

EXHIBIT NEW YORK: 

Albany museum expanding exhibit with new mummies (cbs6albany.com)

"An Albany museum is celebrating the 100^th anniversary of the arrival of a pair of mummies from Egypt. Samuel Brown was a member of the Albany Institute of History and Art's board of directors when he purchased the mummies while traveling through Cairo in 1909. In recent years, researchers have used the latest technology to study the mummies, believed to be about 3,000 years old. Scientists have been able to determine the sex and approximate ages of the mummies along with gaining insights into the mummification process.On Sunday, the Albany Institute will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the mummies' arrival with new additions to the museum's Ancient Egypt exhibit, along with lectures and hands-on activities for children...."

DISCOVERY ITALY:

Galileo’s missing, mummified fingers (and a tooth) found (msnbc.msn.com)

"Two fingers and a tooth removed from Galileo Galilei's corpse in a Florentine basilica in the 18th century and given up for lost have been found again and will soon be put on display, an Italian museum director said Friday. Three fingers, a vertebra and a tooth were removed from the astronomer's body by admirers in 1737, 95 years after his death, as his corpse was being moved from a storage place to a monumental tomb — opposite that of Michelangelo, in Santa Croce Basilica in Florence. One of the fingers was recovered soon afterward and is now part of the collection of the Museum of the History of Science, in Florence. The vertebra has been kept at the University of Padua, where Galileo taught for years. But the tooth and two fingers from the scientist's right hand — the thumb and middle finger — were kept by one of the admirers, an Italian marquis, and later enclosed in a container that was passed on from generation to generation in the same family, Paolo Galluzzi, the museum's director, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview."

REPATRIATION EUROPE:

Te Papa officials arrive in Europe to collect Maori remains held in museums (stuff.co.nz)

"A team of Te Papa officials has arrived in Europe to collect ancestral Maori remains for repatriation. The remains of 33 Maori from the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff, Sweden's Gothenburg Natural History Museum and Museum of World Culture, Glasgow University's Hunterian Museum in Scotland, and Trinity College in the Republic of Ireland will be returned to New Zealand later this month.  First stop was Cardiff where the skeletal remains of 12 Maori which had been part of the Welsh national collection, were handed to the Te Papa team overnight. The skeleton of a woman and bones of 11 other people were originally taken from Great Mercury Island, off Coromandel Peninsula.  They were discovered in the museum's storage 80 years ago.... Since 2004, the New Zealand authority which negotiates the return of Maori ancestral remains has repatriated bones from eight countries - bringing home 149 koiwi tangata (skeletal remains) and Toi moko (mummified tattooed heads)...."

DISCOVERY TEXAS: 

Mummified baby found in Houston apartment (kvue.com)

"A mummified baby was found in a northwest Houston apartment late Wednesday night, and investigators are working to determine how the baby died. Police said a relative of the baby made the discovery at the mother’s apartment on Sherwood and called 911. The baby was reportedly wrapped in a blanket...." 

SCIENCE EGYPT: 

Egyptian mummies show signs of heart disease (latimes.com)

"CT scans of Egyptian mummies, some as much as 3,500 years old, show evidence of atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, which is normally thought of as a disease caused by modern lifestyles, researchers said Tuesday. The study, presented at the American Heart Assn. meeting in Orlando, Fla., was conceived by Dr. Gregory Thomas, a cardiologist at UC Irvine, after he read about Pharoah Merenptah at the Egyptian National Museum of Antiquities in Cairo. When he died at age 60 in 1203 BC, Merenptah was plagued by atherosclerosis, arthritis and dental decay. Thomas reasoned that some evidence of the atherosclerosis -- which is characterized by calcium in plaques -- might still be present. He organized a team of cardiologists and Egyptologists who scanned a series of 20 mummies in the museum during a week in February. Among the 16 mummies whose arteries or hearts could be identified, nine had calcification clearly seen in the arteries or in the path where the arteries should have been...."

DISCOVERY WEST VIRGINIA: 

Mummified remains Found In Huntington

"Huntington Police are unsure if a mummified body found in a home this week is that of the home's owner. "According to the neighbors, the man who owned the property lived by himself and was something of a loner.  He didn't have any family that they were aware of," said Captain Rick Eplin. "It's quite possible that the body that we found is the property owner who wasn't missed or wasn't reported missing." Officers discovered the remains Wednesday when they were called to the house at 806 24th Street . A neighbor reported somebody was attempting to break into the house.  Police found evidence of a break-in and entered the home to see if the suspect had gotten into the home. It wasn't clear if that had happened, but that's when officers noticed the body, lying in the kitchen floor. "It was a very dirty, disheveled residence," said Eplin. "Not what you would expect.  It wasn't a neat, organized home by any means." Eplin says they aren't sure if the body is that of the owner.  They have transferred the remains to the state Medical Examiner's office to determine the identity and cause of death.    Eplin said the man's whereabouts had become something of an urban legend in the neighborhood...."

EXHIBIT KING TUT: 

King Tut's tomb set for 5-year renovation project (ap.com)

"Egypt's famous Tomb of Tutankhamun will undergo a five-year project to clean and restore the lavish wall paintings in the underground chambers of the boy king whose golden mask and artifacts have long awed the world. The project to restore the country's most famous tomb is the latest collaboration between Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities and the Los Angeles-based Getty Conservation Institute, which in the past restored nearby tombs and designed airtight cases to display Egypt's mummies. Since the small, four-roomed tomb and its famous golden burial mask were discovered in 1922 by British archaeologist Howard Carter, observers have noted strange brown spots marring the wall paintings. "I always see the tomb of King Tut and wonder about those spots, which no scientist has been able to explain," said Zahi Hawass, the head of the SCA, in a statement. "Now I am happy that the Getty will look at the tomb and preserve its beautiful scenes," he added. Thousands of tourists visit the underground chambers in the Valley of the Kings every month, bringing heat and humidity, which damage the more than 3,000-year-old tomb...."

SCIENCE CALIFORNIA: 

CT scan reveals mummy displayed at Bakersfield museum was a woman (bakersfield.com)

"It's a girl! But this is no baby. She is a 2,400-year-old mummy that had been on display at Cal State Bakersfield and was put through a CT scan Monday at Quest Imaging. The mummy was originally thought to be male because a man's name was written on the coffin, but it was common practice to re-use coffins, so it wasn't surprising to learn it was a female. The scan was done to learn about the person who had been mummified, including the person's age, sex, lifestyle and possibly cause of death, said Lorenzo Michaels, operations manager at Quest Imaging. The mummy, in a wooden crate, was taken to Quest in a van. Screws were removed from the crate. The mummy was transferred to a gurney, using a board to safely move it in preparation for the scan. The scan itself only took about 25 seconds -- and the interpretation of the scan followed. Robert M. Yohe, a professor at CSUB who holds a doctorate degree in anthropology, said the woman was probably middle-aged, as evidenced by arthritic changes in the vertebrae. Based on the way the body was wrapped, she was likely from the middle class...."

EXHIBIT CALIFORNIA: 

Bowers Museum will exhibit Silk Road mummies From China (prnewswire.com)

"One of the most important archaeological finds -- and certainly one of the greatest mysteries of the 20th century -- are the hundreds of well-preserved mummies that have been found buried in the parched sands of the Tarim Basin in the Far Western Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. The reason these mummies are so historically important and have created such a controversy is their high degree of preservation, which has allowed scientists to see far more detail than would normally be expected in a burial site. These mummies are not, for the most part, Asian-looking, but rather light skinned, round eyed, long nosed, red or blond haired men, women and children. The material buried with them, as well as their perfectly-preserved clothing, bears a striking resemblance to mummies found in Siberia to the North, Persia to the West, and Europe. What is even more surprising is that these mummies span a period of more than 3,000 years, providing a glimpse into the ancient Silk Road traders. On March 27, 2010, these mummies will be seen for the first time outside of Asia at The Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, California in an exhibition entitled "Secrets of the Silk Road: Mystery Mummies of China." Following its closing July 25, 2010, it will move to the Houston Museum of Natural Science from August 28, 2010 to January 2, 2011, and then to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology from February 5, 2011 to June 5, 2011.... The exhibition features more than 150 objects, many predating the Silk Road by more than 1,500 years. The objects have been drawn from the collections of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Museum and the Xinjiang Institute of Archaeology in Urumqi..."

--More information about the Silk Road mummies at the Mummy Tombs

DISCOVERY PERU: 

Mummified young priestess dating from 300-450 AD found in elite Nasca tomb (enperublog.com)

"Paying for a guardian out of his own pocket for 27 years turned out to be worth it for the Italian archaeologists Giuseppe Orefici, director of the Nasca Project. Not reimbursed by his supervisors in Italy nor (shamefully but all too predictably) by the Peruvian state, it is thanks to the Italian’s dedication at the heavily tomb-raided ceremonial city of Cahuachi, a expansive adobe city of countless buried pyramids, that a recent discovery was able to be made. Discovered in a recent dig was the mummy of a young priestess, a member of the elite, with several precious items dating from the period of 300-450A.D., the most important period at what, if unburied, is said to be the world’s largest adobe city. According to Orefici, the girl must have been important. She would have been between 12 and 14 at her time of death and was found inside a series of rooms between the Great Pyramid and what is known as the Orange Pyramid. The building would have formed a small temple that had 4 columns holding up its roof. The archaeologists had to remove a layer or reeds and ropes that covered the burial. The body appeared to have been painted and found with an additional vertebra added. She also had slightly deformed forearms, apparently something self-inflicted by having the arms extended vertically for long periods of time – perhaps as a result of a praying. She was wrapped in finely woven fabric that had patterns of orcas (killer whales) found in the southern pacific and contained obsidian arrow heads...."