Murdered mummies case: "virtual autopsy" reveals fatal injuries

Enlarge / Face and upper body of one of two possibly murdered South American mummies, according to a recent "virtual autopsy." AM Begerock et al., 2022
An international team of scientists used CT scans to perform "virtual autopsies" of three South American mummies and found evidence of fatal trauma in two of them, according to a recent paper published in the journal Frontiers in Medicine. One of the mummies had clearly been punched in the head and stabbed, possibly by two assailants, while the other showed signs of massive trauma to the cervical spine. The third female mummy also showed signs of trauma, but the damage was inflicted post-mortem. The study is part of ongoing efforts to determine the frequency of violence in prehistoric human societies.

According to the authors, there is a large database of ancient Egyptian mummies and skeletons that show signs of having suffered a traumatic injury, but there is much less data for South American mummies, many of which formed naturally and are exceptionally well-preserved. Nevertheless, evidence of fatal trauma has been previously reported in a few cases, such as a pre-Columbian skull from the Nasca region showing rational trauma to the cervical spine and accompanying soft tissue bleeding into the skull. A nearly complete female mummy showed signs of facial bone fractures consistent with massive blows from a weapon, as did the skull of a mummified male infant.

An extensive 1993 investigation used conventional X-rays to analyze 63 mummies and mummy fragments, 11 of which showed signs of head trauma. But these mummies came from different places, populations and time periods, making it difficult to draw general conclusions from the findings. Last year, researchers searched for signs of violence in the remains of 194 adults buried between 2,800 and 1,400 years ago in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, 40 of whom appeared to have been victims of violence brutal.

The authors of this most recent paper combined their expertise in anthropology, forensics and pathology and relied on CT scan technology to reconstruct the three mummies under investigation. "The availability of modern CT scans with the possibility of 3D reconstructions offers a unique insight into bodies that otherwise would not have been detected," said co-author Andreas Nerlich, a pathologist at the Munich Bogenhausen Clinic in Germany. “Earlier studies would have destroyed the mummy, while older X-rays or CT scans without 3-D reconstruction features could not have detected the key diagnostic features we found.”

Front and side view of the "Marburg mummy" AM Begerock et al., 2022
CT scan of the Marburg mummy's chest showing signs of tuberculosis. AM Begerock et al., 2022
The right zygomatic fracture of the Marburg mummy. AM Begerock et al., 2022
CT cross-section of the thorax of the Marburg mummy showing a throbbing wound reaching the aorta. AM Begero...

Technology Sep 23, 2022 0 101 Add to Reading List

Murdered mummies case: "virtual autopsy" reveals fatal injuries

Face and top body of one of two possibly murdered South American mummies, according to a recent 'virtual autopsy'.

An international team of scientists used CT scans to perform "virtual autopsies" of three South American mummies and found evidence of fatal trauma in two of them, according to a recent paper published in the journal Frontiers in Medicine. One of the mummies had clearly been punched in the head and stabbed, possibly by two assailants, while the other showed signs of massive trauma to the cervical spine. The third female mummy also showed signs of trauma, but the damage was inflicted post-mortem. The study is part of ongoing efforts to determine the frequency of violence in prehistoric human societies.

According to the authors, there is a large database of ancient Egyptian mummies and skeletons that show signs of having suffered a traumatic injury, but there is much less data for South American mummies, many of which formed naturally and are exceptionally well-preserved. Nevertheless, evidence of fatal trauma has been previously reported in a few cases, such as a pre-Columbian skull from the Nasca region showing rational trauma to the cervical spine and accompanying soft tissue bleeding into the skull. A nearly complete female mummy showed signs of facial bone fractures consistent with massive blows from a weapon, as did the skull of a mummified male infant.

An extensive 1993 investigation used conventional X-rays to analyze 63 mummies and mummy fragments, 11 of which showed signs of head trauma. But these mummies came from different places, populations and time periods, making it difficult to draw general conclusions from the findings. Last year, researchers searched for signs of violence in the remains of 194 adults buried between 2,800 and 1,400 years ago in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, 40 of whom appeared to have been victims of violence brutal.

The authors of this most recent paper combined their expertise in anthropology, forensics and pathology and relied on CT scan technology to reconstruct the three mummies under investigation. "The availability of modern CT scans with the possibility of 3D reconstructions offers a unique insight into bodies that otherwise would not have been detected," said co-author Andreas Nerlich, a pathologist at the Munich Bogenhausen Clinic in Germany. “Earlier studies would have destroyed the mummy, while older X-rays or CT scans without 3-D reconstruction features could not have detected the key diagnostic features we found.”