The mother of an historical Egyptian girl whose mouth is open in what seems to be an anguished scream could have “died screaming in agony”, researchers say.
The unidentified feminine mummy, found in an archaeological expedition in 1935 in Deir al-Bahari close to Luxor, is housed within the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and is known as the “Screaming Feminine Mummy of the Retailer of Qasr al-Aini”.
Sahar Saleem
In an article within the journal Frontiers in MedicineThe scientists mentioned they used CT scans and different exams to examine if there have been any pathological abnormalities within the mummy and to evaluate doable causes of demise.
They discovered that the lady, who was about 48 years outdated on the time of her demise, had some damaged enamel and lived with delicate arthritis of the backbone. His physique was embalmed with prime quality elements round 3,500 years in the past.
Historic Egyptians Mummified corpses As a result of they believed that preserving them after demise secured a worthy existence within the afterlife. Usually, inner organs are eliminated throughout the mummification course of, however this was not the case with the “Screaming Lady”.
“In historical Egypt, embalmers took care of the lifeless physique in order that it will look stunning for the afterlife. So that they have been eager to tie the jaws of the pinnacle shut to stop the same old autopsy jaw drop. ” Lead researcher on the research, Sahar Salim, professor of radiology at Cairo College, advised Reuters information company.
However this was not the case with the “screaming girl”.
“This opened the best way to different explanations for the extensively open mouth — that the lady died screaming from ache or agony and that the facial muscle tissue contracted to protect this look on the time of demise,” Salim advised Reuters. ,” Salim advised Reuters, including that, due to all of the unknowns surrounding his historical past, the explanation for his revelation can’t be established with certainty.
Salim advised Reuters that cadaveric spasm is a poorly understood situation, the place contracted muscle tissue develop into inflexible instantly after demise.
