Egyptian Mummies and Modern Science

Egyptian mummies have always aroused popular and scientific interest; however, most modern studies, although significantly increased in number and range, have been published in specialist journals. Now, this unique book, written by a long-established team of scientists, brings this exciting, cross-disciplinary area of research to a wider readership. It shows how this team's multidisciplinary, investigative methods and the unique resource of the Egyptian Mummy Tissue Bank are being used for the new major international investigations of disease evolution and ancient Egyptian pharmacy and pharmacology. It also assesses the current status of palaeopathology and ancient DNA research, and treatments available for conserving mummified remains. Descriptions of the historical development of Egyptian mummifications and medicine and detailed references to previous scientific investigations provide the context for firsthand accounts of cutting-edge research by prominent specialists in this field, demonstrating how these techniques can contribute to a new perspective on Egyptology.

• Most modern studies have been published in journals - this is the first book to bring together research on this topic • Reveals new discoveries in disease identification and evolution, the use of drugs, and the effectiveness of pharmaceutical treatments in ancient Egypt • Deals exclusively with evidence from Egypt - most other books describe mummies worldwidE

Contributors

Judith E. Adams, Chrissie W. Alsop, Jacqueline M. Campbell, David C. Counsell, Antony E. David, John Denton, Andrew P. Gize, Maria Jeziorska, Patricia Rutherford, Judith Miller, Roger Speak, Ken Wildsmith, Caroline Wilkinson