Examination of textiles found with Iranian Salt Mummies to be started at University of Zanjan (chnpress.com)

"A team of experts from Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization and University of Zanjan is to start examining 300 pieces of cloths ranging in date from the Achaemenid Empire (550-330 BC) to the Parthian dynastic era (248 BC-224 AD) which have been discovered in Chehr Abad salt mine in Zanjan province. The discovered cloths are different in size, some even more than one square meter. Some of them also bear beautiful designs. According to Abolfazl Aali, head of archeology team in Chehr Abad historic mine, the department of science of University of Zanjan that is known for its chemical researches, has provided the archeology team with some laboratory facilities to undertake research on these cloths. During their studies, archeologists are determined to identify the textile design and the original colors of the discovered fabrics. Chehr Abad salt mine in Zanjan province is one of the most prominent historical sites in Iran. Discovery of some valuable cultural evidence in Chehr Abad mine including five human bodies mummified due to natural conditions of the salt mine and have thus become known as ‘salt men’ attracted the attention of world archeologists to this historic mine. Since the bodies were mummified, their clothes have remained almost intact and the colors are largely unchanged, giving experts a chance to study them in more detail...."

More on the Iranian Salt Mummies

Preserved Maori heads sent back to New Zealand for burial (scotsman.com)

"Nine tattooed Maori heads yesterday began their journey from a Scottish university museum back to the land of their ancestors in New Zealand. The heads, which had been smoked to preserve them two centuries ago and revered as sacred objects by the Maoris, were returned to the care of the elders of the main Maori tribes and the Museum of New Zealand at an emotional ceremony at Aberdeen University's Marischal College Museum. The ceremony began with a prayer for the dead in the Maori language and ended with a song of celebration by the Maori representatives. The heads, known as toi moko in Maori culture, were among the earliest objects acquired by the museum, and had been in its care for almost 200 years. The first was acquired in 1821, when a former student, Lieutenant Reid of the Royal Navy, brought back the "head of a New Zealand warrior in good preservation". Other heads were donated by another graduate Christopher Nockells, the master of a sailing ship operating in the South Pacific, and by the Marquess of Huntly and Sir Charles Forbes, a former university chancellor. The heads were last publicly exhibited in 1988, after which they were removed from display following a request by the New Zealand High Commission...." 

Lindow Man moves to Manchester Museum for one year, beginning April 2008 (manchestereveningnews.co.uk)

"One of the north west's oldest residents is coming home after a decade away in London - but he'll only be here for a year. Lindow Man is the 2,000-year-old body of an Iron Age man. It was found in a peat bog at Lindow Moss, Mobberley, near Wilmslow, Cheshire on August 1, 1984. The figure, also referred to as Pete Marsh, has been on display at the British Museum in London for the past 10 years, but curators at Manchester Museum have been given permission to `borrow' him for a year. The superbly-preserved body of the Iron Age man - who was bashed on the head, garrotted and had his throat slashed in about 55BC, possibly for ritual reasons - has been on display in Manchester twice before, in 1987 and 1991. Now he is heading back to the city between April next year and March 2009 and the museum wants to hear the views of local people on how the remains should be displayed...."

More information about Lindow Man's discovery

More information about the current exhibit of Lindow Man at the British Museum

Four recent newsworthy items about the Chachapoya

1. The announcement that an unusual ceremonial site that was part of the Chachapoya territory has been discovered and is awaiting further exploration

Unfortified ceremonial center may hold key to Chachapoya civilization (iol.co.za)

"An unusual archeological site discovered in Peru's mountains may hold clues to the history of the Chachapoya people, known as "cloud warriors," who fought the Inca Empire before the Spanish conquest. Keith Muscutt, a British-born Chachapoya researcher with the University of California Santa Cruz, said on Wednesday the site was "strikingly anomalous" because of its size, shape and remote location in the dense forest full of spider monkeys and toucans. The unfortified, possibly ceremonial structure is located in an area previously considered on the periphery of the Chachapoya domain in the upper Amazon region. 'What it is showing is that we don't really know what their territory was,' he told Reuters. The place where the ruins were discovered had been considered a buffer zone between the highland Chachapoya and the tribal cultures of the Amazon basin. 'It is certainly not a fortress, so either the Chachapoya's territory extended further East, or they relied more on co-operation than conflict with their neighbours,' he said. The Chachapoya civilisation, which flourished between 800 and 1475, is known for its mountaintop citadels like Kuelpa and Vira Vira and well-preserved mummies found in tombs at the Lake of the Condors. Conquered by the Incas just before the Spanish conquest, they allied with the Spaniards after 1532, but fell victim to diseases brought from Europe and vanished...."

Diagram of ceremonial site (nationalgeographic.com)

2. The announcement that Chachapoya mummies may be found in the 'The Penitentiary' ceremonial site

Ceremonial center may contain mummies (discovery.com)

"While on a hunting trip last year in a remote, forested part of Peru, family members Octavio, Merlin and Edison Añazco literally bumped into something extraordinary: an enormous ruin including a ceremonial platform, a football field-sized plaza, a watch tower and other architectural remains. Keith Muscutt, an independent researcher, heard about the find and recently explored the eastern Andes site, which will make its television debut on the Discovery Channel’s new "Chasing Mummies" series early next year. The related footage, produced in collaboration with GRB-Entertainment, may show mummies, as Muscutt believes the structures were built by the ancient Chachapoya civilization, known for its mountainside tombs and the mummies within them. While the ruin — nicknamed The Penitentiary — may have been some kind of mausoleum, Muscutt thinks the large structures served another purpose. The plaza alone is 200 feet by 300 feet...."

3. The announcement that a number of mummies were found in a burial chamber within a cave some 82 feet below the earth's surface

Chachapoya mummies discovered in extensive burial cave (iol.co.za)

"Archaeologists in Peru have found an underground burial vault that could unlock the mystery of a pre-Colombian tribe known as the "Warriors of the Clouds". The Chachapoyas commanded a vast kingdom stretching across the Andes to the fringe of Peru's northern Amazon jungle until they were conquered by the Incas in the 15th century. The Incan empire was itself overrun soon after by the Spanish, and details of the Chachapoyas and their way of life were lost or destroyed. Now a team of archaeologists, working on a tip-off from a local farmer, have uncovered a burial site in a 270m cave. Researchers had so far found five mummies, two of them intact with skin and hair, as well as ceramics, textiles and wall paintings, said the expedition leader, Herman Corbera. 'This is a discovery of transcendental importance. We have found these five mummies but there could be many more,' Corbera said. 'We think this is the first time an underground burial site of this size has been found belonging to the Chachapoyas or other cultures in the region.' The tribe's name for itself is unknown. The word "Chacha-poyas" is thought to come from the Quechua for "cloud people", and is the name by which they were known to the Incas because of the cloud forests they inhabited in what is now northern Peru...."

4. The announcement that twenty Chachapoya mummies were going on display at the national Museum in Lima

Twenty Chachapoya mummies going on display in Lima (foxnews.com)

"A 600-year-old mummy of a woman with her hands over her eyes and her face twisted in fear is just one of about 20 mummies that will soon go on display at the National Museum at Lima as part of the "Mysteries of the People of the Clouds" exhibit. The woman's body was found in a hidden burial vault in the Amazon, and survived because of embalming methods employed by her tribe, the Chachapoyas, or cloud warriors, the Evening Standard of London reported. Eleven other mummies were discovered in the vault, which was discovered 82 feet below the Earth's surface three months ago by a farmer in northern Peru...."

Slide show of mummies displayed at National Museum: xinhuanet.com

More information about the Chachapoya mummies

Warriors of the Clouds: A Lost Civilization in the Upper Amazon of Peru (a book about the Chachapoya civilization)

Camel, sheep, and rooster added to new 'Body Worlds' exhibit in Chicago (suburbanchicagonews.com)

"Wednesday turned into something of a busman's holiday for veterinarians Scott Leibsle and Rick Tully. The pair made the trip to Chicago from Wisconsin to see the Museum of Science and Industry's new Body Worlds exhibit of preserved human cadavers. They got caught up, instead, at the eight-foot-tall, plastinated camel - its midsection, neck and legs sliced to reveal its muscles, circulatory system and organs.... After drawing almost 800,000 visitors to the MSI in 2006, a second traveling version of Body Worlds opened Wednesday. Along with about 200 human specimens, including 20 fully preserved human bodies, this version also includes the camel and a juvenile double-humper, along with a sheep and a rooster.... The critter component is getting support from a source some might find surprising: the animal rights group PETA. Including animals focuses attention 'on the fact that humans and all other animals are made of exactly the same stuff - flesh, blood and bone,' said Erin Edwards, spokeswoman for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Additionally, Edwards said the group has heard from people who have seen Body Worlds and become vegetarians. 'They studied the human corpse and realized that there is little difference in physical makeup between [humans and] the animals we're used to seeing segmented and otherwise disembodied,' Edwards said in an e-mail...."

A shrunken head and a preserved terrier on display at Behringer-Crawford's "Hey, Mummy, Who Shrunk That Head?" in Covington (cincypost.com)

"The head could almost fit an American Girl doll. Sizewise, anyway. But its stringy black hair and grimace are very much unlike the silky braids and frozen smile featured on the doll many little girls play with. That's because the head is - ugh - real. Thought to have come from the Jivaro tribes of the Amazon basin, a group of warriors who decapitated their enemies and shrunk their heads in a gruesome process that employed hot sand, the shrunken head, as it's come to be known, has for years titillated and grossed out visitors to the Behringer-Crawford Museum in Covington's Devou Park. Of course, whether the visitors (or the museum staff) wanted to admit it or not, they also came to see the two-headed calf ("Dido," born and dead three hours later on a farm in Decatur, Ohio, 1916), the miniature English terrier (stuffed and officially extinct), and the hairball taken from the stomach of the cow. Those and other oddities have for years been hidden, sort of, in a case built into a wall at the 57-year-old museum, banished as "carnival-type attractions" the museum sheepishly displayed. No longer. Now the head, the calf and other odd and unusual relics retrieved from Behringer-Crawford's dusty storage shelves and borrowed from other regional museums will enjoy their fame as the centerpieces of the "Hey Mummy, Who Shrunk That Head?" exhibit beginning Jan. 27...."

Exhibit information

Mummified religious relics include the thumb of early Methodist George Whitfield (boston.com)

"...the thumb of George Whitfield, an early Methodist leader, is preserved at the Methodist Library at Drew University in New Jersey. Although there are no specific religious benefits attached to the thumb, such remembrances feed a basic human impulse...."

Man who lived with mummified bodies of his family will stand trial (ktvb.com)

"The Idaho man who lived for years with the mummified bodies of his dead wife and daughter inside his Rexburg home was in court Friday. The preliminary hearing for David Kaneko had expert testimony from a psychologist who reviewed the journal entries of Loraine and Laura Kaneko. Laura Kaneko, the daughter, reportedly showed clear indications of mental illness including bi-polar disorder and schizophrenia. The psychologist said Loraine Kaneko, developed a shared delusional disorder with her daughter, and together they isolated themselves in their home and became unable to take care of their own health and safety. The prosecution claims David Kaneko caused the deaths of the women by neglecting their mental illness and then abandoning them....."

Book review: The sad story of South Africa's 'Little Sarah' (pww.org)

"Rachel Holmes retells the true story of Saartjie (Little Sarah) Baartman, the “Hottentot Venus,” a young South African woman whose international adventures spanned more than 200 years. Saartjie (pronounced Saar-kie in Afrikaans) was a woman of the Khoikhoi people, who were called “Hottentots” by the Dutch settlers in South Africa. In 1789, when she was born, the Khoikhoi had been decimated by the results of white colonization, especially due to introduced diseases to which they had no resistance. When whites murdered Saartjie’s father and her betrothed, she ended up [being] smuggled ... to London to [be exhibited] for money to a gawking British public. Saartjie could dance, sing in Dutch and in her native tongue, and play a South African stringed instrument called a ramkie. But what pulled in the crowds was that Saartjie looked different. Like many of her people, she was of very short stature but had extremely well developed buttocks. Dunlop and Cesars dressed her up in their approximation of Khoikhoi national dress: a flesh colored (i.e. nude) leotard and various trinkets representing traditional adornments.... Saartjie Baartman was eventually taken to Paris, where she aroused the interest of the scientist Georges Cuvier. When she died soon after, her body was hardly cold when Cuvier had it in his laboratory, slicing away to find out if her insides were as remarkable as her outsides. Her skeleton, plus her brain and genitals preserved in brandy, were later put on public display in the Jardin des Plantes. Eventually the “Hottentot Venus” was forgotten in Europe, but not in South Africa. When the apartheid regime fell in 1994, one of the first acts of the new president, Nelson Mandela, was to ask the French government to return Saartjie Baartman’s remains. After a bit of resistance, this was finally done, and Saartjie was buried with a dignified ceremony in the Eastern Cape where she was born...."

African Queen: The Real Life of the Hottentot Venus at Amazon.com

Photo credit: Copyright Ministero per i Beni e le Attivita Culturali-Soprintendenza archeologica de Pompei

Pompeii exhibit, complete with body casts, opens in Mobile for 5-month run (al.com)

" 'A Day in Pompeii' is equal parts history, art and science, and perhaps a bit of theater as well. The Gulf Coast Exploreum's winter blockbuster, which opens Friday, brings one of the world's most intriguing stories to the Gulf Coast this weekend, and the setting could hardly be more appropriate.... The exhibit, a collaboration with the Soprintendenza Archeologica di Pompei, is designed to give visitors a feel for the ebb and flow of daily life in one of Imperial Rome's most cosmopolitan cities. Visitors will see exquisite artwork, artifacts, an IMAX movie and virtual tour, but the showcase gallery contains eight body casts of victims who perished in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius on Aug. 24 in the year 79 A.D. This is the poignant, true story of Pompeii, and it will remain on view through June 3.... The casts provide detailed images of Pompeii's citizens as they died two millennia ago: As one enters the gallery, the figure of a watchdog writhes in agony; a pig lies on its side. The stark gallery also features a man holding a cloth to his face; a couple embracing, a slave with ankle manacle in place; a woman lying face down. The haunting figures were made originally in the 1860s by pouring plaster into the cavities left in the thick volcanic materials after the bodies of the trapped victims decomposed. Their forms were preserved under 30 feet of ash for more than 17 centuries....  "

Ticket information

Teacher's Guide

Russian archaeologists discover permafrost mummy of tattooed warrior in Altai mountains (mosnews.com)

"Russian archaeologists have uncovered the 2000-year-old remains of a warrior preserved intact in permafrost in the Altai mountains region, the Rossiiskaya Gazeta daily reported. The warrior was blond had tattoos on his body. He was wearing a felt coat with sable fur trimmings and was buried in a wooden frame containing drawings of mythological creatures with an icepick beside him, the paper said. Local archaeologists believe the man was part of the ruling elite of a local nomadic tribe known as the Pazyryk. Numerous other Pazyryk tombs have been found in the area. 'This is definitely a very serious discovery. It’s incredibly lucky that the burial was in permafrost so it was very well preserved,' Alexei Tishkin, an Altai archaeologist, was quoted as saying...."

With new clothes and maintenance periodically, Lenin's mummy can be preserved indefinitely (interfax-religion.com)

"Lenin Mausoleum is to be opened on Tuesday, January 9, after regular maintenance measures, Russian Federal Protective Service Mass Media and Public Relations Centre informed Interfax. The Mausoleum was closed between November 10 and January 8 for regular examination and maintenance of Lenin’s embalmed body done by the Centre of Biomedical Technologies of the All-Russian Institute of Medical and Aromatic Herbs (VILAR). The regular maintenance measures were planned to be completed by 25 December 2006, but continued till January 9 at the request of the VILAR experts. It has been common practice to close the Mausoleum every eighteen months. While the VILAR experts take maintenance measures, the Mausoleum equipment is being checked. According to the ‘Mausoleum group’ experts, Lenin’s body embalmed in 1924 can be preserved indefinitely thanks to the new know-how. His clothing is regularly changed...."

Info about stolen plastinated kidney from Seattle's 'Body Worlds' will earn $10,000 reward (komotv.com)

"A $10,000 reward is being offered to help find a kidney that was stolen from an exhibit in Seattle. A manager for "Bodies ... The Exhibition" called police on Dec. 30 to report someone had taken the kidney, which was displayed being held by a child. The 21 cadavers and 250 organs in the exhibit are injected with liquid silicon rubber to preserve them. The bodies are skinned, cut open and arranged in various poses to expose muscles and organs. The kidney was from an adult's body and is valued at $1,000. The exhibit has proven popular, but also has attracted some controversy. Critics in Seattle unsuccessfully sought to have the exhibit halted, arguing that the Chinese citizens whose bodies are in the displays never gave consent for their remains to be publicly shown.... "

Irish peat bog preserves evidence of fireball from 1868 (timesonline.co.uk)

"When a globe of fire tore up a 100m trench on a peat bog in Donegal in 1868, it created a mystery that has defied scientific explanation ever since. But now one of America’s leading physicists thinks he may have the answer: the fireball was powered by a 'mini black hole'. Pace VanDevender, the former chief technical officer at Sandia laboratories in America, has visited the Glendowan mountains six times to examine the damage caused by the fireball. The trench, a six-metre-square hole, and extensive damage to the bank of a stream are still visible, having been preserved in the peat. At the time of the incident, Michael Fitzgerald, a local engineer, witnessed the “globe of fire in the air floating leisurely along” the Donegal bog. In a report to the Royal Society, Fitzgerald said he found a hole “about 20ft square where it first touched the land with the peat turned . . . as if it had been cut out with a huge knife”...."