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New CT images shed light on life in ancient Egypt
All the fun of opening up a mummy, without the fear of unleashing a plague.
November 14, 2020
Zesch et al., PLOS One, 2020
Culture & Religion
- Three long dead Egyptians recently had their CT images taken.
- The scan revealed what was, and was not, done during their mummification.
- The finds shed more light on how the Egyptians were inspired by the Greeks and Romans
<p> Beyond being great villains in horror films, mummies are excellent tools to learn about the past with. Being well-preserved corpses, you can learn about what people were like in life by reviewing what they left behind. If you get enough of them, you can start to make generalizations about how entire populations lived. <br> <br> The Egyptians liked to bury mummies with their possessions that they might take them into the afterlife. Because of this, their tombs often reveal the lives they lived, the art styles of the time, what objects that they found important enough to take with them into the beyond, and other details that might otherwise be lost to history. <br> <br> One of the difficulties of using mummies to learn about these things is that they can be challenging to wrap back up after pulling back the bandages. Luckily for us, modern technology has officially made doing that obsolete. Recently, a team of researchers created CT scan images of three mummies and explained their <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0240900#sec007" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">findings</a>. </p>
They look pretty good for being 2000.
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDc3OTczOS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxMDM0OTA3OH0.-D0YZ-3earUCZ7IWMOR5B2ZAX2fUyyRvzEokjROgJM8/img.png?width=1245&coordinates=0%2C55%2C0%2C1434&height=700" id="2939a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e52682068e52705d2252c8ca1be19c18" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />The decorated images showing who the mummies used to be.
Zesch et al., PLOS One, 2020
<p> The three mummies scanned are the only known examples of "stucco-shrouded portrait mummies." As opposed to being buried in a coffin, these three were placed on wooden boards then wrapped in a textile and a shroud. They were then decorated with plaster, gold, and a whole-body portrait revealing what they looked like, how they styled their hair, and what they wore in life. All three were once buried in Saqqara, the great Necropolis just south of <a href="https://www.livescience.com/painted-ancient-egyptian-mummies-ct-scan.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Giza</a>. <br> <br> They date back to the Late Roman Period in Egypt, and all three of them have had very exciting afterlives filled with stories about their discoveries and shifting ownership. Now, thanks to modern technology, we can learn about their lives. <br> <br> The CT scan shows that the man was between 25 and 30 years of age when he died and that he had several cavities and unerupted teeth. He was only 164 cm tall. Several of his bones are broken, though this is believed to be the result of whoever discovered the remains being careless with them. </p><p>Most curiously, there is no evidence that his brain was removed during the mummification process, as was standard in other cases. It also seems that few embalming chemicals were used to preserve him. This suggests that he was just wrapped, painted, and buried and that dehydration is what kept his corpse so well preserved. <br> <br> The woman was between 30 and 40 and stood at 151 cm. She shows signs of arthritis in her knee. Like many other Egyptians, she was buried in fine jewelry. Several necklaces appeared on the scan, suggesting she was well off. For reasons unknown, nails were also found in her abdomen. Like her male counterpart, her brain was not removed during mummification, <a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/archaeologists-finally-peer-inside-egyptian-mummies-first-found-in-1615" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">either</a>. <br> <br> The last mummy was that of a girl in her late teens. She shows signs of having a benign tumor on her back, and all of her internal organs were still intact. Her coffin contains hairpins, suggesting that she wore her hair up as depicted in her portrait. </p>How does this change our understanding of Egyptian life and death?
<iframe width="730" height="430" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bHV0My7KibM" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe><p> Finding hairpins with the remains is noteworthy, as only a few other such examples exist. It provides further evidence that ancient Egyptians wore their hair up. </p><p>Other mummies have been buried with coins, but in Egypt, the practice does not seem to go back to before Alexander the Great conquered the <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0240900" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">area</a>. This suggests that the deceased had adopted elements of the Greeks' religion and brought along coins to pay Charon. </p><p>The find also sheds more light on how the Egyptians lived and died under Greek and later Roman rule and how their conquerors' beliefs and art styles influenced their religion. <br> <br> </p>
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When Christmas was cancelled: a lesson from history
Christmas was banned in 1647 and rebellions broke out across the country.
November 14, 2020
William Vanderson/Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Culture & Religion
The prospect of a Christmas without large-scale celebrations is preying on minds.
<p> After the <a href="https://britishtheatre.com/panto-cancellations-and-theatre-redundancies-a-running-tally/">widespread cancellation of pantomimes</a>, festive light “switch-ons" and <a href="https://www.itv.com/news/central/2020-09-29/christmas-events-are-cancelled-across-the-midlands">other community activities</a>, it seems likely that 2020's festivities will be much more intimate affairs, potentially with <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/analysis/christmas-2020-uk-new-covid-lockdown-restrictions-tiers-735452">households banned from mixing indoors</a>. </p><p>But what if families ignore distancing rules, should they remain in place, and celebrate together rather than on Zoom? Politicians seeking to come down hard on rule-breakers might wish to recall a previously restricted yuletide. </p><p>Back in 1647, Christmas was banned in the kingdoms of England (which at the time included Wales), Scotland and Ireland and it didn't work out very well. Following a total ban on everything festive, from decorations to gatherings, rebellions broke out across the country. While some activity took the form of hanging holly in defiance, other action was far more radical and went on to have historical consequences. </p><h2>Christmas is cancelled</h2><p>In 1647, parliament had won <a href="https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/british-civil-wars">the civil war</a> in England, Scotland and Ireland and King Charles was <a href="https://www.hrp.org.uk/banqueting-house/history-and-stories/the-execution-of-charles-i/#gs.kdw7y5">held in captivity at Hampton Court</a>. The Church of England had been abolished and replaced by a Presbyterian system. </p><p> <img alt="Painting of Oliver Cromwell in armour." sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367199/original/file-20201103-15-jfb8ji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367199/original/file-20201103-15-jfb8ji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=804&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367199/original/file-20201103-15-jfb8ji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=804&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367199/original/file-20201103-15-jfb8ji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=804&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367199/original/file-20201103-15-jfb8ji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1011&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367199/original/file-20201103-15-jfb8ji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1011&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367199/original/file-20201103-15-jfb8ji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1011&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w"></p><p> Oliver Cromwell, the original Grinch who stole Christmas.</p><p> <a class="source" href="https://www.artuk.org/discover/artworks/oliver-cromwell-15991658-48846">Cromwell Museum</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></p>
<p>The protestant reformation had restructured churches across the British Isles, and holy days, Christmas included, were abolished.</p><p>The usual festivities during the 12 days of Christmas (December 25 to January 5) were deemed unacceptable. Shops had to stay open throughout Christmastide, including Christmas Day. Displays of Christmas decorations – holly, ivy and other evergreens – were banned. Other traditions, such as feasting and the celebratory consumption of alcohol, consumed in large quantities then as now, were likewise restricted.</p><p>Christmas Day, however, didn't pass quietly. People across England, Scotland and Ireland flouted the rules. In Norwich, the mayor had already been presented with a petition calling for a <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/albion/article/martyn-bennett-the-civil-wars-in-britain-and-ireland-16381651-cambridge-mass-blackwell-publishers-1997-pp-xx-2695-paper-isbn-0631191550-david-stevenson-king-or-covenant-voices-from-civil-war-east-linton-uk-tuckwell-press-1996-pp-xvi-212-1499-paper-isbn-189841081x/D7AD03E939A2F2424E6E83A3161D8CB2" target="_blank">celebration of a traditional Christmas</a>. He could not allow this publicly, but ignored illegal celebrations across the city.</p>
<p>In Canterbury, the usual Christmas football game was played and festive holly bushes were stood outside house doors. Over the 12 days of Christmas, the partying spread across all of Kent and armed force had to be used to break up the fun.</p><p>Christmas Day was celebrated in the very heart of Westminster and the churchwardens of St Margaret's church (which is part of Westminster Abbey) were arrested for failing to stop the party. The London streets were decked with holly and ivy and the shops were closed. The mayor of London was verbally assaulted as he tried to rip down the Christmas decorations with the help of the city's own battle-hardened veteran regiments.</p><p>Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk also celebrated Christmas rowdily. Young men armed with spiked clubs patrolled the streets persuading the shopkeepers to stay shut.</p><p>Taking up arms and breaking the rules weren't just about experiencing the fun of the season. Fighting against the prohibition of Christmas was a political act. Things had changed and the Christmas rebellion was as much a protest against the "new normal" as it was against the banning of fun. People were fed up with a range of restrictions and financial difficulties that came with the Presbyterian system and the fallout of the civil war.</p>
<h2>The worst Christmas hangover</h2><p>The aftermath of the Norwich Christmas riots was the most dramatic. The mayor was summoned to London in April 1648 to explain his failure to prohibit the Christmas parties, but a crowd closed the city gates to prevent him from being taken away. Armed forces were again deployed, and in the ensuing riots, the city ammunition magazine exploded, killing at least 40 people.</p><p>Norwich was not alone. In Kent, the grand jury decided that the Christmas party-going rioters had no choice but to answer to the law and the county went into exuberant rebellion against parliament. Royalists capitalised on the popular discontent and began organising the rioters.</p><p>Successively in 1647 and 1648, parties led to riots, these riots led to rebellions, which, in turn, caused the Second Civil War that summer. King Charles was put on trial after his defeat in the war and was executed. This resulted in a revolution and Britain and Ireland became a republic – all because of Christmas.</p><p>This Christmas, <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2020/10/28/family-christmas-gatherings-which-flout-rules-will-be-broken-up-by-police-13492048/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">police</a> across the country are ready to enforce COVID regulations and break up gatherings. While the pandemic does make things different, with rule breaking a matter of safety as much as anything else, politicians could learn from the fallout of the last time Christmas was cancelled.</p><p>Like in 1647, many people today are fed up with the government's restrictions. Many have also suffered financial difficulties as a result of the COVID regulations. Some may rail against the idea of ending a miserable year under what they may regard as contradictory restrictions on family fun.</p><p>Such a situation will have to be handled gingerly. There has already been civil disorder over <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-54827535" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">lockdowns</a>. <a href="https://theconversation.com/pfizer-covid-vaccine-promising-results-heres-what-needs-to-happen-next-149809" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Vaccines are apparently coming in the new year</a> but the last thing the country needs is further unrest. Once again, government will need to balance the health risk against other societal challenges this pandemic has presented.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/149310/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation"></p><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/martyn-bennett-383481" target="_blank">Martyn Bennett</a>, Professor of Early Modern History, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/nottingham-trent-university-1338" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nottingham Trent University</a></em></p><p>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/when-christmas-was-cancelled-a-lesson-from-history-149310" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">original article</a>.</p>
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9 of the most shocking facts about global extinction - and how to stop it
Across the world, wildlife is under severe threat.
November 14, 2020
Photo by redcharlie on Unsplash
Surprising Science
Earth's fate and the devastation of the natural world were recently put under the microscope with the release of Sir David Attenborough's Netflix documentary A Life On Our Planet.
<p>It marks a departure from his usual nature documentary format and instead grieves for the damage wreaked by climate change and other forms of human interference.</p><p>It's an emotional watch, as the naturalist recounts the environmental changes he has seen first-hand throughout his career, such as the devastation of the Borneo rainforest and its native orangutan population.</p><p>Here are nine reasons we too should be concerned about the future of the planet and the millions of species which call it home.</p>
<h4>1. More than one million species are now at risk of extinction</h4><p><a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2019/05/nature-decline-unprecedented-report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Over a million species</a> of animal and plant life are now threatened with dying out – more than ever before in human history, according to the International Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).</p><h4>2. Wildlife population sizes dropped by two thirds since 1970</h4><p>There has been an average<a href="https://f.hubspotusercontent20.net/hubfs/4783129/LPR/PDFs/ENGLISH-FULL.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> 68% drop in global population sizes</a> of amphibians, birds, fish mammals and reptiles between 1970 and 2018, according to the <a href="https://f.hubspotusercontent20.net/hubfs/4783129/LPR/PDFs/ENGLISH-FULL.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">WWF's Living Planet Report 2020</a>.</p>
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDc3OTU5Ny9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyOTI4NTc2M30.w49w4GZ-O-jqa2rM54kRJ1MFSoVKwzt3WYZMb7Ynozg/img.png?width=980" id="50941" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4beaf7b523171eaaa9752f17571475e0" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Animal populations have declined globally since 1970." /><h4>3. Tropical sub-regions of Americas showing biggest declines</h4><p>The WWF study added that there was a<a href="https://f.hubspotusercontent20.net/hubfs/4783129/LPR/PDFs/ENGLISH-FULL.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> 94% decline of wildlife populations</a> in tropical sub-regions of the Americas over the 50 years from 1970 – the largest fall observed anywhere on Earth.</p><h4>4. Species dying off more frequently than ever before</h4><p>Species are dying off <a href="https://news.brown.edu/articles/2014/09/extinctions" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">1,000 times more frequently</a> today than during the 60 million years before the arrival of humans, according to a 2014 study by Brown University in the US. The report reinforces the "urgency to conserve what is left", said lead author Jurriaan de Vos</p>
<h4>5. Freshwater species declining faster than anything else</h4><p>Populations of freshwater wildlife species are declining disportionately faster than others, dropping by<a href="https://livingplanet.panda.org/en-us/?utm_campaign=living-planet&utm_medium=media&utm_source=report" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> an average of 84%</a> between 1970 and 2018, WWF's Living Planet Report 2020 showed. The figure also marks a<a href="https://livingplanet.panda.org/en-us/?utm_campaign=living-planet&utm_medium=media&utm_source=report" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> rise of 1% on the 83%</a> reported two years ago.</p><h4>6. Swathes of tropical forest lost to agriculture</h4><p>Some<a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2019/05/nature-decline-unprecedented-report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> 100 million hectares of tropical forest</a> were lost between 1980 and 2000, according to the IPBES. This was largely down to cattle ranching in Latin America and plantations in South-East Asia, researchers added.</p>
<h4>7. Nearly 40% of plants at risk of extinction</h4><p><a href="https://www.kew.org/sites/default/files/2020-10/State%20of%20the%20Worlds%20Plants%20and%20Fungi%202020.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Four in 10 (39.4%) plants</a> are at risk of dying out, according to the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew's State of the World's Plants and Fungi report. An additional challenge is identifying them before extinction, with 1,942 new species of plants identified last year alone.</p><h4>8. Industrial agriculture driving decline of insects</h4><p>Dramatic rates of decline could lead to over <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320718313636" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">40% of the world's insect species</a> disappearing within decades – with habitat loss due to industrial agriculture the main driver behind the decrease, according to a study published in Science Direct.</p><h4>9. Bird species also seeing populations threat</h4><p>Some<a href="https://ipbes.net/sites/default/files/2020-02/ipbes_global_assessment_report_summary_for_policymakers_en.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> 3.5% of domesticated birds</a> have become extinct since 2016, the IPBES reported. In addition, nearly a quarter (23%) of threatened birds have already been affected by climate change, The global assessment report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services added.</p>
<h4>Why is biodiversity important?</h4><p>Both the 2019 IPBES and 2020 WWF reports stress that the loss of habitats and species pose as much of a threat to life on Earth as climate change.</p><p>For biodiversity is not only vital for a flourishing natural world. Its deterioration also threatens the livelihoods, economies, food security and health of<a href="https://www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/population/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> eight million people worldwide</a> – a fact brought into sharp focus by the impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.</p><p>But all is not lost. While Attenborough brands the damage as human kind's "greatest mistake", his final message is more optimistic: "If we act now, we can yet put it right."</p>
<h4>What can we do to save the planet?</h4><p>Experts agree that one of the best ways of saving the planet is through transformation of the global food system, with agriculture accounting for nearly<a href="https://www.wwf.org.uk/thingsyoucando" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> 60% of global biodiversity loss and about a quarter of CO2 emissions worldwide</a>.</p><p>Consumers can make a difference by choosing to eat less meat and making more sustainable food choices, as farming animals uses a lot of land and water.</p><p>Meanwhile farmers can be supported to reduce the use of fertilizers and pesticides, diversify crops and phase out ploughing to lessen the environmental impact.</p><p>Conservation is also vital to reverse the loss of biodiversity, with the IPBES highlighting the importance of involving the local community – to benefit nature and people alike.</p><p>The devastation of biodiversity and climate change are two sides of the coin, so measures to reduce carbon emissions and pollution – such as travelling less, using greener forms of energy and making more eco-friendly consumer choices – are also key.</p><p>For as Attenborough says: "If we take care of nature, nature will take care of us." As the world continues to suffer the fallout of COVID-19, perhaps never before has such as sentiment been more important.</p><p>Reprinted with permission of the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.weforum.org/">World Economic Forum</a>. Read the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/11/extinction-facts-wildlife-attenborough/" rel="noopener noreferrer">original article</a>.</p>
<p class=""><br/></p>
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