Researchers use CT scans to digitally peek at ancient Egyptian mummies
All the fun of opening up a mummy, without the fear of unleashing a plague.
14 November, 2020
Zesch et al., PLOS One, 2020
- Three long dead Egyptians recently had their CT images taken.
- The scans 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. With these 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 possessions that they might take with them into the afterlife. Because of this, their tombs often reveal the lives they lived, the art styles of the time, what objects 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 made doing that obsolete. Recently, a team of researchers created CT scan images of three mummies and published 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%2C55&height=700" id="b55b2" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e52682068e52705d2252c8ca1be19c18" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />The decorated images showing who the mummies used to be.
Credit: 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 (around 5'4"). Several of his bones are broken, though this is believed to be the result of careless handling by whoever discovered the remains.</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 years old and stood at 151 cm (4'9"). She shows signs of arthritis in her knees. 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 showed 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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Our brains have different 'beauty centers' for art and faces
Psychologists discover that the way the brain perceives beauty differs between art or faces.
14 November, 2020
Credit: kevin laminto on Unsplash
- A new study shows that different parts of the brain are engaged when we look at beautiful faces or beautiful art.
- Reward pathways are triggered by looking at beauty in faces.
- Another part of the brain is involved in judging beauty in art, indicating existence of two "beauty centers."
<p>What makes something or someone beautiful to our minds? Is there an innate perception of beauty that's maintained throughout all scenarios? Interestingly, a new study concludes that our brains have not one but two separate "beauty centers" – one for art and one for faces.</p><p>Scientists carried out a meta-analysis of existing fMRI studies with around 1,000 people. Led by Hu Chuan-Peng of Tsinghua University, China, the team zeroed in on 49 studies that performed brain analyses of people between 18 and 50. None of them were art experts, but some studies involved people reacting to art like paintings, sculpture, architecture, and dance videos. Other studies under consideration looked at responses to human faces. All the studies used fMRI brain imaging technology as the subjects were making aesthetic choices or rating specific stimuli.</p>
<p>The researchers used a meta-analysis technique called "activation likelihood estimation" (ALE) to find connections in studies which tracked brain activity patterns of people looking at something or someone they perceived to be beautiful.</p><p>The approach showed that looking at beautiful faces causes activity in several parts of the brain, which is not observed when looking at faces that were not rated as beautiful – the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex, as well as the left ventral striatum. Notably, looking at art did not result in more activity in any of those areas. Rather, greater action in the anterior medial prefrontal cortex (aMPFC) was noticed.</p>
Beauty and sex: Evolution isn’t as practical as you think | Richard Prum | Big Think
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c01cabce7b0b2b48a3734896c4a396db"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SK7oHmJdDOM?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>Why is there such a difference? The scientists propose that looking at a beautiful face provokes a response in the brain's reward pathway, of which the ventral striatum is an important part. <a href="https://digest.bps.org.uk/2020/11/11/our-brains-have-two-distinct-beauty-centres-one-for-art-and-one-for-faces/" target="_blank">As explained</a> in the Research Digest of the British Psychological Society, the signal is then integrated into the vmPFC and generates a positive feeling.</p><p>As such, beautiful faces are treated by our brains like "primary rewards" not too different from food or sex, geared at the survival of our genes. Looking at art is rather a "secondary reward." We taught ourselves to find it pleasurable but the brain processes that type of stimuli differently, via high-level processing in the aMPFC. </p>
<p>As the new study concerned itself with how our brains handle visual beauty, further investigation is needed to understand the processing of non-visual beauty like music, for instance, or if there is some universal standard of what is deemed beautiful.</p><p><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13415-020-00827-z" target="_blank">Check out the study</a> "Seeking the 'Beauty Center' in the Brain: A Meta-Analysis of fMRI Studies of Beautiful Human Faces and Visual Art," <span style="background-color: initial;">published in </span><span style="background-color: initial;">Cognitive, Affective & Behavioural Neuroscience.</span></p>
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Learn to create your own logos and infographics in minutes
Edraw Infographic Software empowers you to create your own aesthetic for graphic design projects of all kinds.
06 November, 2020
- Professional logo designs can run between $1,000 all the way to $10,000.
- Free stock photography sites are limited in selection and creativity.
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Get lifetime access to over 3 million design assets for under $50
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21 October, 2020
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Get 48 hours of expert writing tips and techniques for under $50
From novels to movies and beyond, this 11-course bundle will jumpstart your writing career.
13 October, 2020
- Book sales are on the rise, with 675 million books sold in the US last year.
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<script async="true" src="https://widgets.stackcommerce.com/js-deal-feed/0.1/widget.js" type="text/javascript"></script><p>The journey of 500 pages begins with a single sentence. <br></p><p>The hardest part of writing is simply starting. Of course, writing is only one aspect of the process. Editing requires much more time and attention. But if you never start, those stories in your head will never see the light of day.</p><p><a href="https://shop.bigthink.com/sales/the-ultimate-creative-novel-screen-writing-academy-bundle?utm_source=bigthink.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=the-ultimate-creative-novel-screen-writing-academy-bundle&utm_term=scsf-430436&utm_content=a0x1P000004Y5GzQAK&scsonar=1" target="_blank"><strong>The Ultimate Creative Novel and Screen Writing Academy Bundle</strong></a> is the perfect way to kickstart your next writing project. These 11 courses cover a variety of genres, including young adult fiction, memoirs, mysteries, and science fiction. </p><p>The course on novel writing teaches you how to navigate the important differences between plot and story, offers pro advice on character development, and lays out the "Three Act Structure" in lucid detail.</p><p>As one student of this course says, "This is by far the easiest, most understandable information on writing I've ever heard. It has given me the confidence I need to get through the dreaded ACT II, I am actually excited about continuing, and can see the finish line."</p><p>Maybe your goal is to create the next <em>Harry Potter</em> series. The Young Adult Fiction course leads you step-by-step to transform that idea into a reality.</p><p>If screenwriting is your thing, this bundle also has you covered. Twelve lectures help you format your screenplay, develop pitches and synopses, and adapt a novel to the screen. </p><p>The journalist in you will love the non-fiction workshop, where you'll choose the right topic, polish your manuscript, and develop a marketing plan. </p><p>These courses are taught by experts from <strong>Writing Academy</strong>, which has helped more than 30,000 writers transform their ideas into books. As one student says, "As they do in other classes, Dani and Steve present a lot of informative material in an engaging, yet succinct, fashion."</p><p><a href="https://shop.bigthink.com/sales/the-ultimate-creative-novel-screen-writing-academy-bundle?utm_source=bigthink.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=the-ultimate-creative-novel-screen-writing-academy-bundle&utm_term=scsf-430436&utm_content=a0x1P000004Y5GzQAK&scsonar=1" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><strong>The Ultimate Creative Novel & Screen Writing Academy Bundle</strong></a> is on sale for a limited time for just $49.99, a massive 97% savings from the original price.</p><p><em>Prices subject to change. </em></p><script type="text/javascript"> (function (s,o,n,a,r,i,z,e){s['StackSonarObject']=r;s[r]=s[r]||function(){
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