Archive for the ‘Ancient Egypt’ Category
By: The Scribe on January, 2012
It’s no secret that the Ancient Egyptians knew a thing or two about food—along with precious jewels, gold, and statues, they often left plenty of food behind when burying their dead. But it wasn’t all ritual offerings… in fact, the Egyptians had special concern for the animals they mummified along with people.
How so? Well, believing that the afterlife would require the same kinds of provisions as needed in life, they packed a delicious lunch for their animals. Or, specifically in this case, for sacrificed sacred ibis birds.
Millions of ibis mummies have been found at shrines across Egypt, where they were sacrificed to the god Thoth who represented wisdom and writing. It was only recently that PhD candidate Andrew Wade (University of Western Ontario) and colleagues used a CT scanner to look inside an ibis mummy to discover what’s inside.
It’s known that the Ancient Egyptians removed and preserved the organs not only of humans, but also of the creatures they buried—but what wasn’t previously known was that they were so concerned about the afterlife that they actually packed food into the stomachs of the sacrificed ibis birds, likely to ensure they’d thrive on “the other side.”
Wade has commented that “the ibis mummies suggest Egyptians believed that birds also travelled to the afterlife. It suggests the provision of an afterlife food source to the bird, and lends support to the idea that the viscera of ibises and humans alike were meant to continue their living function within the afterlife."
It must have been nice to know that even in death, you’d never go hungry!
Reference: Journal of Archaeological Science, DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2012.01.003
By: The Scribe on July, 2011
Archaeologists have found eggs belonging to a parasite that plagues modern humans on a series of naturally preserved African mummies. Eggs were found on the mummies as early as the 1920’s but only now have scientists been able to prove that the mummies were infected with Schistosoma mansoni. What is exciting about this discovery is that it proves that the parasite is not just a product of modern urbanization.
The parasites cause a disease known as schistosomiasis. The disease is not usually a lethal one but it can cause lingering health problems including anemia, impaired growth and impaired cognitive development. It can also cause damage to internal organs as well. It can be more serious in children but even in adults it makes day to day living much more difficult.
It is believed that approximately 200 million people are currently affected by schistosomiasis. It is most common in agricultural regions that rely on irrigation channels to keep crops hydrated. Because it tends to thrive in developed areas it was believed that the parasite was actually a product of modern urbanization.
This belief has been challenged by the Nubian mummies. Originally, scientists had thought that a close relative of S. mansoni had left the parasite eggs on the mummies. The eggs were originally thought to be those of S. haematobium. This parasite causes many of the same symptoms but is found in regions other than those with irrigation channels.
Now scientists have been able to determine that the Wadi Halfa were most affected by this parasite. The Wadi Halfa created farms alongside the Nile River approximately 1500 years ago. They utilized irrigation channels in order to keep their crops hydrated. Up to twenty-five percent of the Wadi Halfa were believed to have been infected by schistosomiasis.
The findings are also important because they point to the fact that the Wadi Halfa may have also used irrigation channels. Previously, it was believed that they were not sophisticated enough to have utilized this farming technique. Scientists had previously believed that the Wadi Halfa were reliant on nature in order to plant their crops and keep them irrigated.
Scientists tested skin found on some of the naturally mummified bodies that were unearthed in Egypt. Because the skin was dry and mummified it was possible to test it for various proteins. When scientists tested the skin of African mummies they found proteins that belonged to S. mansoni and not S. haematobium.
The snail that transmits this disease is found mainly in irrigation channels near civilized areas. It prefers standing water that may have higher levels of contaminants and additives in it. It’s relative, S. haematobium is also transmitted via snail but in this case, the snails prefer water that is moving, clean, and well oxygenated.
The discovery was only possible because the mummies had been buried. The environment in the area where they were buried not only preserved the external skin but the internal organs as well. This is different than man-made mummies which may have had the internal organs removed.
By: The Scribe on July, 2011
Today, the name wenis is applied to the skin on the back of a person’s elbow. Youngsters
and the young of heart get a kick out of talking about their wenis, how it looks or how it feels. What they don’t realize is that “Wenis” is actually the name of a historical Pharaoh who was the last ruler of the Fifth Dynasty. In some inscriptions his name is also recorded as Unas. The exact dates of his rule are not known although archaeologists have managed to date his reign as being somewhere between 2375 BCE and 2345 BCE.
Like many other pharaohs, he had several wives. The two women, named Khenut and Nebet were actually buried together in a double mastaba tomb near the tomb that belonged to Wenis. It is believed that because the Fifth Dynasty ended with Wenis it was likely that he did not have any sons that survived long enough to take the throne after the death of Wenis.
Like some other pharaohs, Wenis built a pyramid. It was located at Saqqara and was positioned near the step pyramid which had been built by Djoser in the 27th century BCE. Archaeologists have been able to obtain some information about what life was like when Wenis ruled by the reliefs that are located inside Wenis’ pyramid. There are also numerous inscriptions that line the inside of the pyramid as well.
These inscriptions were religious in nature. Wenis was the first pharaoh to use funerary texts in his pyramid. The inscriptions are actually among some of the oldest religious texts that have been found to date. The inscriptions were a series of spells which were also referred to as “utterances”. Their purpose was to help protect the remains of the pharaohs and would help to reanimate his body after his death.
They also talked about the ways that the Pharaoh would be able to travel to the heavens after his death. Some of the methods of transportation included ramps, ladders and flight. Other inscriptions were methods that could be used to call on the Egyptian Gods as well. A total of 228 spells were located on the walls of Wenis’ pyramid. Each tomb contained a variety of different utterances. A total of 759 spells have been found. Some of the tombs overlapped with the utterances that were inscribed on the walls but there is no one tomb that contains all of the spells.
One of the most interesting utterances was found on the walls of Wenis’ tomb. It is known as the “cannibal hymn”. In this inscription, Wenis is described as hunting the gods and consuming parts of their bodies.
Wenis had also started construction on a funerary temple that was not completed until after his death. The temple had a pink granite gateway which was also inscribed with the names of Teti, the ruler who came after Wenis and whose reign signified the start of the sixth dynasty. There was also a causeway that was decorated with a bas relief. This piece of artwork showed the transportation of a palm column via a boat that sailed down the Nile.
By: The Scribe on June, 2011
A parasite which plagues hundreds of millions of people today has also been found in some ancient Nubian mummies. Eggs had been discovered on some Nubian mummies as early as the 1920’s but scientists were still searching for proof of exactly which parasite affected them. Now there has been conclusive proof that the mummies were affected by Schsitosoma mansoni, a parasite that lives in water.
The parasite causes a disease called schsitosomiasis. It does not usually kill people however it does cause many different health issues. Some problems that are caused by schistosomiasis include anema, impaired growth, impaired cognitive development in children, and anemia. The parasite uses aquatic snails as a host. The eggs are excreted from the body in urine and feces. If this contaminates the water supply, the eggs hatch and live in snails until they can infect a human host. The parasite that causes this disease can lead to higher rates of bladder cancer.
What is interesting about the discovery of S. mansoni in humans is the fact that the snails generally inhabit irrigation channels. Infection rates are highest among people who use irrigation channels because the snails tend to prefer water that is clean, moving, well-oxygenated to water that is stagnant or heavily polluted. In the past, scientists thought that a similar parasite, S. haematobium was actually the one that was infecting the mummies.
The group of Nubians that had the highest rates of infection was the Wadi Halfa. These individuals settled along the banks of the Nile and were farming there as early as 1,500 years ago. It has now been discovered that as much as 25 % of the Wadi Halfa population was infected by this particular parasite. The fact that it is S. mansoni infecting these individuals is yet more proof that the Wadi Halfa were using irrigation channels to allow their crops to flourish. Archaeologists had not thought that these ancient Nubians had been sophisticated enough to make irrigation channels. 
The mummies that showed infection were actually mummified naturally rather than by the methods utilized by ancient Egyptians. The dry air mummified the bodies and preserved them. The skin and some of the internal organs were usually dried out and preserved and are still able to be studied today. Hundreds of naturally mummified bodies were studied before the findings were announced.
Today, a modern city stands among ruins of the ancient Wadi Halfa population. Archaeologists have been searching for Nubian antiquities in the area because flooding from construction of the Aswan Dam. The Noba were a nomadic people who settled in the area around the fourth century CE. The words Nubia and Nubian are derived from the name Noba. They settled in northern Sudan as well as in southern Egypt. Ancient Egyptians imported luxury goods along trade routes that travelled through Nubia as early as 2300 BCE. This is when Nubia was first mentioned in records from Egypt’s Old Kingdom. They also traded directly with Nubia as well. The Egyptians also expanded into Nubia by building garrison forts along the Nile so that they could protect trade routes.
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How so? Well, believing that the afterlife would require the same kinds of provisions as needed in life, they packed a delicious lunch for their animals. Or, specifically in this case, for sacrificed sacred ibis birds.
