Quantcast
ZME Science
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
    Menu
    Natural Sciences
    Health
    History & Humanities
    Space & Astronomy
    Technology
    Culture
    Resources
    Natural Sciences

    Physics

    • Matter and Energy
    • Quantum Mechanics
    • Thermodynamics

    Chemistry

    • Periodic Table
    • Applied Chemistry
    • Materials
    • Physical Chemistry

    Biology

    • Anatomy
    • Biochemistry
    • Ecology
    • Genetics
    • Microbiology
    • Plants and Fungi

    Geology and Paleontology

    • Planet Earth
    • Earth Dynamics
    • Rocks and Minerals
    • Volcanoes
    • Dinosaurs
    • Fossils

    Animals

    • Mammals
    • Birds
    • Fish
    • Reptiles
    • Amphibians
    • Invertebrates
    • Pets
    • Conservation
    • Animals Facts

    Climate and Weather

    • Climate Change
    • Weather and Atmosphere

    Geography

    Mathematics

    Health
    • Drugs
    • Diseases and Conditions
    • Human Body
    • Mind and Brain
    • Food and Nutrition
    • Wellness
    History & Humanities
    • Anthropology
    • Archaeology
    • Economics
    • History
    • People
    • Sociology
    Space & Astronomy
    • The Solar System
    • The Sun
    • The Moon
    • Planets
    • Asteroids, Meteors and Comets
    • Astronomy
    • Astrophysics
    • Cosmology
    • Exoplanets and Alien Life
    • Spaceflight and Exploration
    Technology
    • Computer Science & IT
    • Engineering
    • Inventions
    • Sustainability
    • Renewable Energy
    • Green Living
    Culture
    • Culture and Society
    • Bizarre Stories
    • Lifestyle
    • Art and Music
    • Gaming
    • Books
    • Movies and Shows
    Resources
    • How To
    • Science Careers
    • Metascience
    • Fringe Science
    • Science Experiments
    • School and Study
    • Natural Sciences
    • Health
    • History and Humanities
    • Space & Astronomy
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Resources
  • Reviews
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Environment → Animals

Where are all the mummies? 2 out of 3 animal mummies don’t have an animal inside

The proportions of fake animals, the subject of long and heated debates in the scientific community, have been revealed by researchers at University of Manchester. The team used X-rays and CT scans to look inside 800 animal mummies, some of which were more than 3,000 years old. Only a third actually contained an animal skeleton. Another third contained only fractions of a complete skeleton, sometimes just a single bone. The rest were all mud casts, filled with twigs or other organic material, made to look like a real animal was inside. So, is this an exposed elaborate scam routine performed over the millenniums? Not quite - the researchers believe something more innocent is at play.

Dragos Mitrica by Dragos Mitrica
May 12, 2015
in Animals, News

University of Manchester researchers used X-rays and CT scans to look inside 800 animal mummies, some of which were more than 3,000 years old; they found that only a third actually contained an animal skeleton. Another third contained only fractions of a complete skeleton, sometimes just a single bone, while the rest were all mud casts, filled with twigs or other organic material, made to look like a real animal was inside. So, is this an exposed elaborate scam routine performed over the millenniums? Not quite – the researchers believe something more innocent is at play.

A mummified cat in a wooden casing. This is considered a rare sight, considering only a third of all animal mummies actually contain the remains of an animal. Image: University of Manchester
A mummified cat in a wooden casing. This is considered a rare sight, considering only a third of all animal mummies actually contain the remains of an animal. Image: University of Manchester

The ancient Egyptians were not only fond of mummifying their own remains, but those of pets as well. Cats, dogs, birds and so on. This was a practice common among the poor and wealthy alike. Those who could afford it would also encase the animal remains in  elaborate coffins shaped as creatures, which the Egyptians believed represent the gods.  The pets were depicted on tomb walls and were shown eating food or sitting under the chair of the deceased owner. Other depictions show the pets retrieving wild game shot down by their owners. Through these depictions we are able to see that pets were prized and loved just the same as in our modern societies.

However, beings pets were only part of the reason the animals were mummified. Cult animals that were worshiped in life would be mummified, as well as those mummified to serve as food for the owners in the after life (somehow, a fixed diet of monkey for all eternity doesn’t sound like a good idea, but at least you didn’t starve in Osiris’ underworld!). A forth category  (the most numerous) is that of votive offerings. These animals were mummified as gifts to the gods alongside a prayer, sort of like Christians today light a candle.

“You would go to a special site, buy an animal mummy, using a system of barter. You’d then give it to a priest, who would collect a group of animal mummies and bury them,” explained Dr Campbell Price, curator of Egypt and Sudan, at Manchester Museum.

When the first animal mummies were discovered, some archaeologists naturally cut some to peer inside. To their surprise, they found many samples that were empty or contained only partial skeletons – a bone here and there. This led many to believe ancient embalmers were up to no good, scamming people.  Price and colleagues decided to investigate just how many of the 70 million animal mummies discovered by excavators (!) were devoid of any actual animal remains. Many of these were found empty, though on the outside they resemble a complete animal.

“Basically, organic material such as mud, sticks and reeds, that would have been lying around the embalmers workshops, and also things like eggshells and feathers, which were associated with the animals, but aren’t the animals themselves.”

Considering millions and millions of animals were mummified or the appearance of such a ritual was undertaken, scientists believe that the fake mummies are the by-product of a lack of supply. The scale of the practice was huge, and most likely there were a lot of people whose sole job was that of raising animals, then slaughtering them as temple offerings. At some point, demand outgrew supply so the fake mummies was probably a poor’s man alternative. It’s not difficult to imagine some entrepreneurial Egyptian first thinking of implementing the practice, sparking a whole wave of these mummified produces. We buy cheap, plastic replicas of original artwork all the time. It’s fake, we know it’s fake, but we still buy it anyway.

“We think they were mummifying pieces of animals that were lying around, or materials associated with the animals during their lifetime – so nest material or eggshells,” Dr Lidija McKnight of University of Manchester told the BBC.

“They were special because they had been in close proximity with the animals – even though they weren’t the animals themselves.

“So we don’t think it’s forgery or fakery. It’s just that they were using everything they could find. And often the most beautifully wrapped mummies don’t contain the animal remains themselves.”

 

Was this helpful?


Thanks for your feedback!

Related posts:
  1. Dont’t Read the Comments – They Make You Mistrust the Real Experts
  2. Earth’s magnetic poles could reverse soon, with potentially devastating consequences if we dont prepare
  3. Fossil-ish Friday: researchers digitally unpack 3 Egyptian animal mummies
  4. Inside the minds of real-life zombies — people who think they have a dead brain inside a living body
  5. DNA study shows 4,000 year-old mummies are half brothers
Tags: archaeology

ADVERTISEMENT
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • Reviews
  • More
  • About Us

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Health
    • History and Humanities
    • Space & Astronomy
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Resources
  • Reviews
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

Don’t you want to get smarter every day?

YES, sign me up!

Over 35,000 subscribers can’t be wrong. Don’t worry, we never spam. By signing up you agree to our privacy policy.

✕
ZME Science News

FREE
VIEW