Today, Andrew Arsenault (Western University) talks about his research that analyzes 3D reconstructions of Egyptian mummies based on their CT scans in order to learn what influence social stratification had on the variability of mummification practices.

In ancient Egypt, mummification was a common practice—a well-known fact especially concerning the pharaohs and ruling classes. However, Andrew wants to study the non-elite individuals who had different resources they could access, but still engaged in mummification as well. We talk about how the radiological mummy database that’s been uploaded in recent years has helped him compare CT data with information gathered from historical accounts. More broadly, we talk about how interesting social and biological questions can studied in the context of non-elite mummification variability.

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Show notes

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