Ancient Egyptians do not routinely check into hospitals complaining of chest pains or sore muscles. There are no current medical reports that outline the symptoms or diagnosis of an ancient Egyptian’s stomachache and no ancient Egyptian has shown up to any contemporary clinics for blood tests. The only way, therefore, for modern scientists and anthropologists to examine the cause, result, and other factors of ancient Egyptians’ diseases is to study the preserved mummies. Through CAT scans, DNA tests and other high tech methods, the life, sickness, and death of the ancients has become, in many cases, startling clear.
One of the earliest advances in the study of Egyptian pathology came in 1973, when the first successful autopsy was performed on a 2700-year-old male mummy. The hands, eyelashes, and most importantly, the internal organs were in surprisingly good condition and promised to provide scientists with numerous details. The results of the autopsy yielded an abundance of evidence that outlined the life and death of this young man. It was determined, from the amount of carbon in his lungs, that he had black lung disease, long suspected to be a common ailment of the Egyptians, as well as a quantity of sand in his lungs. Also found during the autopsy was evidence of arteriosclerosis, ear infection, and a parasitic roundworm. Aside from the astounding discoveries that this first mummy autopsy gave up, it also led to the founding of the Paleopathology Association, a group dedicated to the study and research of ancient diseases. Since this autopsy, the Association has been at work examining not only the causes of death of the Egyptians, but also how their illnesses fit into specific historical contexts.
The Term Paper on Ancient Egypt 3
Chronicle The culture of the ancient Egyptians is extremely interesting. Beliefs The ancient Egyptians had very unique and profound beliefs. Religion had deeply dominated all aspects of the Egyptian culture, its art, science, government, and law. Their entire culture is characterized by their beliefs. An interesting feature of their religion is that they acquired new beliefs but would never ...
One of the next projects for the Association was the examination of a body that had been identified as a weaver from Thebes who lived during the 20th Dynasty. Being able to place the body in a specific time and place, as well as ascertain details about his life, would lend greater importance to the facts discovered during the autopsy. Teams of specialists worked for weeks on the mummy, named Nakht, and were rewarded with the discovery that his organs were still in place inside of the chest cavity, organs that would reveal much about the mummy’s quality of life and possible cause of death. Also discovered inside of the cranial cavity was Nakht’s brain, completely dried out yet otherwise intact. The fact that his organs remained inside of the body, and that the bandages used to wrap the carcass were not soaked in resin, led the scientists to believe that Nakht’s family was not wealthy, nor was he important enough for a proper mummification ritual.
By examining his skeletal structure, internal organs, and skin cells, scientists were able to learn much about Nakht’s life, as well as life in ancient Egypt in general. For example, like the previous mummy autopsied, Nakht suffered from black lung disease, leading the scientists to believe that this may have been an epidemic problem. Also discovered was the trichinosis parasite, a surprising find, since it pointed to the fact that ancient Egyptians did indeed eat pork, contrary to the earlier beliefs of Egyptologists. Also found was the parasite schistosomiasis, which attacks liver and kidney functions and is a serious problem in modern-day Egypt as well. The most important find however, came months after the autopsy. A researcher examining the lungs discovered within them particles of red granite, a rock that did not exist in Thebes where Nakht had lived. Since grinding the granite blocks shipped from Aswan in preparation for the master carvers was often a sentence imposed on criminals, it was assumed, therefore, that Nakht had violated the law in some way.
The Essay on A day in the life of an ancient Athenian
Not sure if this should be in the history section or the creative writing cuz it was a creative paper for history. Whatever.A day in the life of an ancient AthenianWelcome to Athens, the marvel of Greece! The city which is the fountainhead of beauty, wisdom and knowledge. Even as your ship approaches the Athenian harbor Piraeus, you can see the marble monuments of the Acropolis and the shining ...
An examination of the mummy of Ramesses II revealed a problem common to most ancient Egyptian citizens, rich and poor: degenerative dental illnesses. Many examined mummies were found to have badly worn teeth, indicative of poor hygiene, but also of the proliferation of desert sands in the Egyptians foods. The sand blew across the desert and settled into the breads and other foodstuffs and acted as a grinding surface that led to abscesses, exposed nerves, and other sorts of dental problems. Ironically, the bakers themselves would add sand to the bread mixture, in order to grind the grain into a finer powder. A priestess named Djedmaatesankh had contracted from the sand in her diet a dental abscess so painful and severe that it eventually led to her death.
Discoveries such as these, which shed the light on thousands of years of mystery, encouraged the scientists to explore more advanced methods of studying the mummies – with some mummies, as in the case of Ramesses II, autopsies were not possible, and alternatives had to be found. X-Rays, CAT scans, and endoscopy are all methods employed by the scientists in their search for more and more information. The condition of internal organs, tissue, and bone are a direct result of lifestyle, and investigations into a mummy’s pathology would lead scientists and Egyptologists to a greater understanding of social and familial environments of the ancient people.
Egyptologists can learn much from coffins, funerary remains and inscriptions on tomb walls, but an individual life cannot be completely understood without direct examination of the individual. For example, from Nakht’s casket, Egyptologists have ascertained his occupation and place of employment. His burial location informed us of where he lived during his life and his social stature. However, it is only through the examination of his body that the details of the bigger picture come into focus. For instance, there are stress lines on the bones of his legs indicating that he was both malnourished and spent much of his time in a squatting position. Since he was a weaver, this squatting position was assumed, but the scientific evidence has now been able to back up this hypothesis.
Tissue samples from ancient mummies are also used today in determining cause of and in search of cures for the modern illnesses schistosomiasis and malaria. In 1996, Rosalie David formed the Schistosomiasis Project, a research venture dedicated to the examination of the parasitic disease that seemed to have plagued a good portion of the ancient Egyptians. In addition to the advances that may be made in contemporary parasitic and malarial research, David’s project made available thousands of mummy tissue samples for other Egyptologists to use in their own investigations. For instance, some of these tissue samples are now being used in a study to examine the possible use by ancient Egyptians of lotus flowers and other flora as recreational drugs.
The Essay on Ancient Egypt Egyptians Were A Practical People
The Egyptian Civilization formed along the Nile river and the earliest traces of human life in that region are from the Paleolithic Age, (Old Stone Age), about 300, 000 B. C. , at the very edges of the Nile Valley. Beyond, on both sides of the river the land was and still is desert. At that time the people moved from place to place, ate berries, roots, and any animals they could find, but stood ...
Drug use, like physical indications of disease, will provide Egyptologists with aspects of daily life, including distinctions of class. Royal mummies will be re-examined side by side with their common counterparts to determine differences, if any, between the health of people of noble birth, and that of the commoners.
One of the more interesting conclusions drawn from the study of mummies is that there were perhaps few Egyptians who didn’t suffer from one or more diseases during their adult life. Many Egyptians suffered from anemia, which made them constantly fatigued and sluggish. Young boys, stricken with the schistosomiasis parasite, frequently urinated blood until past their pubescent development. Many of the people suffered from malnutrition, which led to bone and skeletal deformation as well as a weakened immune system. With these diseases often came chronic, debilitating pain, and yet, Rosalie David points out, “They built the pyramids, erected the magnificent temple of Queen Hatshepsut, and created the timeless wall carvings inside the temple of Sethos I.” (CWM, 170) These accomplishments truly point to a people of strong will, able to work through the pain and illness that apparently plagued them and construct a timeless legacy worthy of generations of study.
