Scientists reveal new details about ‘screaming’ Egyptian mummy’s life and death | CNN (2024)

Scientists reveal new details about ‘screaming’ Egyptian mummy’s life and death | CNN (1)

Only a few Egyptian mummies have been found with an open mouth. A new study suggests an ancient Egyptian woman whose mummified remains were discovered in the 1930s may have died violently.

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With her mouth wide open, locked for eternity in what appears to be a scream, an ancient Egyptian woman captured the imagination of archaeologists who discovered her mummified remains in 1935 in a tomb near Luxor.

Still fascinated by the “screaming woman” who died some 3,500 years ago, a different team of scientists recently usedCT scans to reveal details about the mummy’s morphology, health conditions and preservation and employed infrared imaging and other advanced techniques to “virtually dissect” the remains and understand what might have caused her striking facial expression.

Their findings, published Fridayin the journal Frontiers in Medicine, revealed that the woman was 48 years old when she died, based on analysis of a pelvis joint that changes with age.Certain aspects of the process used to mummify her stood out.

Her body was embalmed with frankincense and juniper resin, lavish, expensive substances that would have been traded from afar, said study author Sahar Saleem, a professor of radiology at Kasr Al Ainy Hospital at Cairo University, in a statement.

CAIRO, EGYPT- JANUARY 26: Egyptian archaeological workers excavating the site of the Step Pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara during the announcement of new discoveries at the Director Bridge in Saqqara, on January 26, 2023 in Giza, Egypt. (Photo by Fadel Dawod/Getty Images) Fadel Dawod/Getty Images Related article Archaeologists may have found Egypt’s oldest mummy

Saleem also found no incisions on the body, which was consistent with the assessment made during the original discovery that the brain, diaphragm, heart, lungs, liver, spleen, kidneys and intestines were still present.

The failure to remove internal organs, the study noted, was unusual because the classic method of mummification from that period included the removal of all such organs except the heart.

The researchers found that the anonymous woman stood 1.54 meters, or a little more than 5 feet, tall and suffered from mild arthritis of the spine, with scans revealing bone spurs on some vertebrae that make up the backbone. Several teeth, likely lost before death, were also missing from the woman’s jaw.

However, the study was not able to determine an exact cause of death.

“Here we show that she was embalmed with costly, imported embalming material,” Saleem said in a news release.

“This, and the mummy’s well-preserved appearance, contradicts the traditional belief that a failure to remove her inner organs implied poor mummification.”

Scientists reveal new details about ‘screaming’ Egyptian mummy’s life and death | CNN (3)

The coffin of the "screaming" mummy is on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Only a few ancient Egyptian mummies have been found with their mouths open, the study noted, with embalmers typically wrapping the jawbone and the skull to keep the deceased’s mouth shut.

What caused the woman’s chilling expression isn’t clear from the study findings, although the researchers put forward a grisly hypothesis.

What mummification techniques reveal

Saleem said the well-preserved nature of the mummy, the rarity and expense of the embalming material, along with other funerary techniques such as the use of a wig made from a date palm and rings placed on the body, seemed to rule out a careless mummification process in which embalmers neglected to close her mouth.

The mummy’s “screaming facial expression” could be read as a cadaveric spasm, a rare form of muscular stiffening associated with violent deaths, implying that the woman died screaming from agony or pain, according to the study.

It’s possible, the study authors suggested, that she was mummified within 18 to 36 hours of death before her body relaxed or decomposed, thus preserving her open mouth position at death.

However, a mummy’s facial expression does not necessarily indicate how a person was feeling at death, the study noted.

Several other factors, including the decompositionprocess, the rate of desiccation, or drying out,and the compressive force of the wrappings, could all affect a mummy’s facial expression.

“Burial procedures or post-mortem alterations might have contributed to the phenomena of mummies with screaming appearances,” the authors noted in the study.

“The cause or true history or circumstances of the death of this woman are unknown, hence the cause of her screaming facial appearance cannot be established with certainty,” Saleem said via email.

Scientists reveal new details about ‘screaming’ Egyptian mummy’s life and death | CNN (4)

CT scans, including of the teeth (left) and brain, have revealed new details about the mummy’s morphology, health conditions and preservation.

Open-mouthed mummies

The “screaming woman” had been buried beneath the tomb of Senmut, an architect of the temple of Egyptian queen Hatschepsut(1479–1458 BC) who held important positions during her reign. It’s thought the woman was related to Senmut, according to the study.

The discovery of her remains occurred during an expedition led by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, and her coffin is on display there today. Her mummified body is stored at the Cairo Egyptian Museum.

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Saleem said she had previously studied two other open-mouthed mummies from ancient Egypt.

One, a mummy thought to be the remains of a prince known as Pentawere, had his throat slit for his role in assassinating his father, Ramesses III (1185-1153 BC). His body was barely embalmed, indicating a lack of care in the mummification process, Saleem said in the news release.

The second mummy was a woman known as Princess Meritamun, who died of a heart attack, and Saleem’s analysis suggested her wide mouth was due to a postmortem contractionor movement of her jaw.

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Randall Thompson, a cardiologist and professor of medicine at the University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Medicine, who has studied ancient mummies using CT scans to learn about the origins of cardiovascular disease, called the study helpful and detailed. He said the authors’ preferred explanation for the mummy’s open mouth “made sense.”

“Their investigation helps us to understand what substances were available in ancient times and how our ancestors used them,” said Thompson, who was not involved in the study.

“More broadly, we can learn much about health and disease from the study of ancient mummies,” he added.

“For example, we have learned that heart disease is not new, as many people used to believe. It is literally older than Moses.”

Scientists reveal new details about ‘screaming’ Egyptian mummy’s life and death | CNN (2024)

FAQs

Scientists reveal new details about ‘screaming’ Egyptian mummy’s life and death | CNN? ›

The mummy's “screaming facial expression” could be read as a cadaveric spasm, a rare form of muscular stiffening associated with violent deaths, implying that the woman died screaming from agony or pain, according to the study.

What is the horrifying story behind the screaming mummy? ›

Scientists now have an explanation for the "Screaming Woman" mummy after using CT scans to perform a "virtual dissection." It turns out she may have died in agony and experienced a rare form of muscular stiffening, called a cadaveric spasm, that occurs at the moment of death.

Why do mummies scream? ›

“The mummy's screaming facial expression in this study could be read as a cadaveric spasm, implying that the woman died screaming from agony or pain,” hypothesized Saleem.

Why did the Egyptians mummify their dead responses? ›

Ancient Egyptians believed in an afterlife when someone died. Mummification helped someone reach the afterlife as they believed that an afterlife could only exist if there was a form the ka (soul) could repossess after death. Egyptians believed that the only way to do this was if the body was recognisable.

What have scientists learned from mummies? ›

Each component—the body, the wrappings, and all of the objects associated with it—provides clues about the person's age, health, livelihood, and death. Mummies also reveal a lot about ancient beliefs. Scientists can reconstruct a person's culture by looking at the things their community buried with them.

What caused the death of The Mummy's curse? ›

Lab studies have shown some ancient mummies carried mold, including Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus, which can cause congestion or bleeding in the lungs. Lung-assaulting bacteria such as Pseudomonas and Staphylococcus may also grow on tomb walls.

What is the most scariest mummy in the world? ›

The 13 Creepiest Mummies on Earth
  • Rosalia Lombardo – Italy. ...
  • Mummy With Painted Face – Egypt. ...
  • Christian Friedrich von Kahlbutz – Germany. ...
  • The Skrydstrup Woman – Denmark. ...
  • Ginger – Egypt. ...
  • Gallagh Man – Ireland. ...
  • Rendswühren Man – Germany. ...
  • Sethos I – Egypt. Mummy Tombs The 14th-century mummy of Sethos I lies in its Egyptian coffin.
Jan 5, 2014

Why can't we say mummies? ›

Using different language to describe these human remains can also distance them from the depiction of mummies in popular culture, which has tended to “undermine their humanity” through “legends about the mummy's curse” and by portraying them as “supernatural monsters,” Jo Anderson, assistant keeper of archaeology at ...

Why are mummies mouths open? ›

It is known to have been performed on statues and, from the New Kingdom (about 1550-1069 BC) at least, coffins. In the ritual, specially designated persons used special ritual tools to touch the mouth and eyes of the image to enable a spirit to receive food and drink, to breathe, and to see.

Why do mummies sleep with their arms crossed? ›

Around 1500 B.C., during the New Kingdom, crossed arms were a sign of kingship, reserved strictly for the mummies of the pharaohs. Crossed arms also show up around 2,000 years ago, when Egypt was conquered and ruled by Rome and common people were embalmed in this position.

Was anyone mummified alive? ›

After mokujikigyō, monks removed food from their diet completely and drank solely salt water for 100 days, which shrank their organs and further mummified them alive. When a monk felt death approaching, fellow monks would place him in a pine box at the bottom of a pit.

Can I have my body mummified? ›

We recommend you contact your local funeral home and speak with a counselor. They can discuss with you what options and arrangements are available and what they will cost. And by planning ahead, your funeral and Mummification service can be affordable. Pre-need planning is highly recommended.

Does mummification still exist? ›

Today, mummification is rare, although there are some places where people still preserve dead bodies. Communist revolutionary leader Vladimir Lenin died in 1924, and his body was mummified using modern techniques. Nearly a century after his death, Lenin's body is still on display at a mausoleum in Moscow.

What are the Egyptian death rituals? ›

Funerary rites

This was an elaborate ritual performed by priests so the dead person could use all their senses in the afterlife. The practices involved in this ceremony included purification, anointing and the reciting of prayers and spells, as well as touching the mummy with ritual objects to restore the senses.

Has DNA been taken from Egyptian mummies? ›

Now, a team of ancient DNA specialists has successfully sequenced genomes from 90 ancient Egyptian mummies. The game-changing results give scientists their first insight into the genetics of ordinary ancient Egyptians—which changed surprisingly little through centuries of conquests.

What is the story of the cursed mummy? ›

As legend has it, there is an ancient curse associated with the mummys and tombs of the Egyptian pharaohs. Disturbing these embalmed remains has been said to bring bad luck, illness and death. Shortly after unearthing King Tut's tomb, Carnarvon was found dead.

What mummy is the scream based off of? ›

Several art historians have attested that the painting is based on the mummy of a Chachapoyas warrior which was discovered 130 years ago near the Utcubamba River and taken to Paris to be displayed in an exhibition at the Ethnographic Exchange Museum.

How did mummies become scary? ›

Directly linked to the gods, Isis and Osiris, the ritual process made one's body and soul fit for existence in the afterlife. Part of the mummy's journey into the stuff of horrors began with the early commodification of Egyptian human remains, and a little etymological confusion.

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