Radiological findings in an ancient Iranian salt mummy (Chehrābād ca. 410-350 BC)

Deep palaeoproteomic profiling of archaeological human brains

Palaeoproteomics leverages the persistence, diversity, and biological import of ancient proteins to explore the past, and answer fundamental questions about phylogeny, environment, diet, and disease. These insights are largely gleaned from hard tissues like bone and teeth, as well-established protocols exist for extracting ancient proteins from mineralised tissues. No such method, however, exists for the soft tissues, which are underexplored in palaeoproteomics given permission for destructive analysis routinely depends on a proven methodology. Considering less than one-tenth of all human proteins are expressed in bone, compared to three-quarters in the internal organs, the amount of biological information presently inaccessible is substantial. We address this omission with an optimised LC-FAIMS-MS/MS workflow yielding the largest, most diverse palaeoproteome yet described. Using archaeological human brains, we test ten protocols with varied chemistries and find that urea lysis effectively disrupts preserved membrane regions to expose low-abundant, intracellular analytes. Further, we show that ion mobility spectrometry improves unique protein identification by as much as 40%, and represents a means of "cleaning" dirty archaeological samples. Our methodology will be useful for improving protein recovery from a range of ancient tissues and depositional environments.

Radiological and histological findings in ancient salt mummies from the salt mine of Douzlākh, Iran

Computed tomography studies and histological analyses were performed on the mummified remains found in the Chehrābād salt mine in northwestern Iran. The ancient salt mummies are dated to the Achaemenid (550–330 BC) and Sassanid (3rd–7th century AD) time period and died in mining incidents. The aim of the study was to describe the radiological and histological findings of several ancient Iranian salt mummies with special interest in pathological and postmortem changes. The mummified remains show multiple traumatic alterations, such as fractures and signs of massive compression. Histological analyses can clearly differentiate soft tissue, however the preservation status is variable. These Iranian salt mummies are a rare example of the ancient Iranian population. The soft tissue and organs are well preserved, however in different degrees due to the varying conditions.

Radiology of Mummies

In the past, autoptic examinations were usually performed for research. This type of examination, for obvious reasons, did not appeal to paleopathologists as these procedures potentially damaged the finds destined to musealization. Since the discovery of X-ray, radiology has been used to study mummies as a noninvasive technique. The radiology of mummies allows us to discover pathologies, to elaborate on the type of ritual mummification for the artificial embalming, to comprehend the diagenetic process that guaranteed a natural mummification, or to conclude anthropological identification. We present a review on the latest studies on mummies that have shown that the radiological approach has been essential to conduct research.

Evidence of aortic dissection and Marfan syndrome in a mummy from the Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo, Sicily

The authors report on the assessment of an anthropogenic mummy of a young man from the Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo, Sicily, tentatively dated from the mid- to late 19^th century AD. The mummy was investigated by full-body CT examination. CT images clearly showed aortic dissection classified as Stanford-A. Due to the relation of aortic dissection to inherited connective tissue diseases in young people, such as Marfan syndrome, conspicuous and pathological findings possibly indicating the presence of underlying Marfan syndrome were assessed. Several systemic features were scored that supported the presence of underlying Marfan syndrome in this mummy. These findings were: pectus carinatum and chest asymmetry, dural ectasia, protrusio acetabuli, dolichocephaly, down-slanting palpebral fissures, malar hypoplasia and (probable) reduced elbow extension. Aortic dissection, a cardinal feature of Marfan syndrome, turned out to be the diagnostic key for the paleoradiological diagnosis of this disease. The demonstrated CT findings contribute to the spectrum of cardiovascular diseases and inherited connective tissue disease in the fields of paleopathology and paleoradiology.

CT checklist and scoring system for the assessment of soft tissue preservation in human mummies: application to catacomb mummies from Palermo, Sicily

In this study we applied the recently developed "Checklist and Scoring System for the Assessment of Soft Tissue Preservation in Human Mummies" to catacomb mummies from Palermo, Sicily. Data from twenty-three full-body computed tomography (CT) examinations were available. These consisted of seventeen adults and six children dating from the late 18th to the late 19th centuries AD. Seventeen of these mummies were anthropogenically mummified, and six spontaneously. Based on the checklist and scoring system, soft tissue preservation varied between both mummification groups, among mummies with the same type of mummification, and within individual mummies at different anatomical locations. Checkpoints of the main category "A. Soft Tissues of Head and Musculoskeletal System" were clearly more frequent than checkpoints of the main category "B. Organs and Organ Systems". Among the anthropogenic mummies, intra-arterial filling achieved the highest preservation status of organs and organ systems. Despite the small sample size, the statistical evaluation showed significant differences between mummification types, with the highest soft tissue preservation found in anthropogenic mummies. Application of the "Checklist" allowed a standardized assessment and documentation of the soft tissue preservation of these mummies. The "Scoring System" facilitated a comparison among mummification groups and mummies by means of numeric values.

New paleoradiological investigations of ancient human remains from North West Lombardy archaeological excavations

OBJECTIVE

Since its birth in 1895, radiology has been used to study ancient mummies. The purpose of this article is to present paleoradiological investigations conducted on several medieval human remains in Varese province. Anthropological (generic identification) and paleopathological analyses were carried out with the support of diagnostic imaging (X-ray and CT scans).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Human remains were discovered during excavations of medieval archaeological sites in northwest Lombardy. Classical physical anthropological methods were used for the macroscopic identification of the human remains. X-ray and CT scans were performed on the same scanner (16-layer Hitachi Eclos 16 X-ray equipment). Results Radiological analysis permitted investigating (1) the sex, (2) age of death, (3) type of trauma, (4) therapeutic interventions and (5) osteomas in ancient human remains. In particular, X-ray and CT examinations showed dimorphic facial traits on the mummified skull, and the same radiological approaches allowed determining the age at death from a mummified lower limb. CT analyses allow investigating different types of traumatic lesions in skulls and postcranial skeleton portions and reconstructing the gait and functional outcomes of a fractured femur. Moreover, one case of possible Gardner’s syndrome (GS) was postulated from observing multiple osteomas in an ancient skull.

CONCLUSION

Among the medical tests available to the clinician, radiology is the most appropriate first-line procedure for a diagnostic approach to ancient human remains because it can be performed without causing any significant damage to the specimen.

Checklist and Scoring System for the Assessment of Soft Tissue Preservation in CT Examinations of Human Mummies

The purpose of this study was to develop a checklist for standardized assessment of soft tissue preservation in human mummies based on whole-body computed tomography examinations, and to add a scoring system to facilitate quantitative comparison of mummies. Computed tomography examinations of 23 mummies from the Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo, Sicily (17 adults, 6 children; 17 anthropogenically and 6 naturally mummified) and 7 mummies from the crypt of the Dominican Church of the Holy Spirit of Vilnius, Lithuania (5 adults, 2 children; all naturally mummified) were used to develop the checklist following previously published guidelines. The scoring system was developed by assigning equal scores for checkpoints with equivalent quality. The checklist was evaluated by intra- and inter-observer reliability. The finalized checklist was applied to compare the groups of anthropogenically and naturally mummified bodies. The finalized checklist contains 97 checkpoints and was divided into two main categories, “A. Soft Tissues of Head and Musculoskeletal System” and “B. Organs and Organ Systems”, each including various subcategories. The complete checklist had an intra-observer reliability of 98% and an inter-observer reliability of 93%. Statistical comparison revealed significantly higher values in anthropogenically compared to naturally mummified bodies for the total score and for three subcategories. In conclusion, the developed checklist allows for a standardized assessment and documentation of soft tissue preservation in whole-body computed tomography examinations of human mummies. The scoring system facilitates a quantitative comparison of the soft tissue preservation status between single mummies or mummy collections.