Multidisciplinary investigation of two Egyptian child mummies curated at the University of Tartu Art Museum, Estonia (Late/Graeco-Roman Periods)

Oras, Ester; Anderson, Jaanika; Tõrv, Mari; Vahur, Signe; Rammo, Riina; Remmer, S.; Mölder, Maarja; Malve, Martin; Saag, Lehti; Saage, Ragnar; Teearu, Anu; Peets, Pilleriin; Tambets, Kristiina; Metspalu, Mait; Lees, David C.; Barclay, Maxwell V. L.; Hall, M. J. R.; Ikram, Salima; Piombino‐Mascali, Dario

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0227446

Cited by 19 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 51 publications

(75 reference statements)

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“…The investigation team arrived at this conclusion by the chromatographic comparison of various organic extracts of mummy bandages with galbanum extracts and, more specifically, with umbelliferone [159]. Recently, a similar discovery was made during the investigation of embalming materials of two Egyptian child mummies [160]. It is highly problematic to rely on umbelliferone, a ubiquitous plant coumarin, as a marker substance of galbanum.…”

Section: Archaeobotanical Connectionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Next Chapter in the Legend of Silphion: Preliminary Morphological, Chemical, Biological and Pharmacological Evaluations, Initial Conservation Studies, and Reassessment of the Regional Extinction Event

Miski

2021

Plants

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Silphion was an ancient medicinal gum-resin; most likely obtained from a Ferula species growing in the Cyrene region of Libya ca. 2500 years ago. Due to its therapeutic properties and culinary value, silphion became the main economic commodity of the Cyrene region. It is generally believed that the source of silphion became extinct in the first century AD. However, there are a few references in the literature about the cultivated silphion plant and its existence up to the fifth century. Recently, a rare and endemic Ferula species that produces a pleasant-smelling gum-resin was found in three locations near formerly Greek villages in Anatolia. Morphologic features of this species closely resemble silphion, as it appears in the numismatic figures of antique Cyrenaic coins, and conform to descriptions by ancient authors. Initial chemical and pharmacological investigations of this species have confirmed the medicinal and spice-like quality of its gum-resin supporting a connection with the long-lost silphion. A preliminary conservation study has been initiated at the growth site of this rare endemic Ferula species. The results of this study and their implications on the regional extinction event, and future development of this species will be discussed.

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Section: Archaeobotanical Connectionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Next Chapter in the Legend of Silphion: Preliminary Morphological, Chemical, Biological and Pharmacological Evaluations, Initial Conservation Studies, and Reassessment of the Regional Extinction Event

Miski

2021

Plants

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“…This is perhaps not surprising since Egypt is situated at the only land gateway between Africa and the Middle East, a region known to have been populated through the centuries by nomadic tribes and rich trading routes. As the record currently stands these are represented by the U and M1a1 haplogroups throughout the first and second millennia BCE, expanded by J2a, R0, T1, T2, HV and I in the first millennium BCE 4 – 6 , 16 , 17 . Superimposed on this are individuals like Takabuti with rare haplogroups, which have not been previously identified in the background.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The first reported case of the rare mitochondrial haplotype H4a1 in ancient Egypt

Drosou

Collin

Freeman

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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Takabuti, was a female who lived in ancient Egypt during the 25th Dynasty, c.660 BCE. Her mummified remains were brought to Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1834 and are currently displayed in the Ulster Museum. To gain insight into Takabuti’s ancestry, we used deep sampling of vertebral bone, under X-ray control, to obtain non-contaminated bone tissue from which we extracted ancient DNA (aDNA) using established protocols. We targeted the maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), known to be highly informative for human ancestry, and identified 38 single nucleotide variants using next generation sequencing. The specific combination of these SNVs suggests that Takabuti belonged to mitochondrial haplogroup H4a1. Neither H4 nor H4a1 have been reported in ancient Egyptian samples, prior to this study. The modern distribution of H4a1 is rare and sporadic and has been identified in areas including the Canary Islands, southern Iberia and the Lebanon. H4a1 has also been reported in ancient samples from Bell Beaker and Unetice contexts in Germany, as well as Bronze Age Bulgaria. We believe that this is an important finding because first, it adds to the depth of knowledge about the distribution of the H4a1 haplogroup in existing mtDNA, thus creating a baseline for future occurrences of this haplogroup in ancient Egyptian remains. Second, it is of great importance for archaeological sciences, since a predominantly European haplogroup has been identified in an Egyptian individual in Southern Egypt, prior to the Roman and Greek influx (332BCE).

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“…Furthermore, a striking paleopathological case study focusing on two children from the Tartu dome church was reported by , confirming the presence of congenital syphilis in medieval Tartu. Finally, a recent paper by Oras and colleagues from different research groups was dedicated to the multidisciplinary analysis of two Egyptian child mummies displayed at the University of Tartu art museum (Oras et al, 2020).…”

Section: Estoniamentioning

confidence: 99%

Giving a Voice to the Little Ones: The Bioarchaeology of Children in the Baltics

Morrone

2020

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The skeletal remains of non-adults provide endless insights into numerous aspects of their personal, family and social lives. Although they were considered to be marginal members of society, children can potentially shed light on factors influencing the overall health and survival of their communities, sensitively conveying the ability of a population to adapt to its environment and cope with moments of crisis. In the last decade, worldwide interest in the archaeology of children has grown, and has driven the bioarchaeological investigation of their skeletal remains. However, the bioarchaeological study of non-adults has received surprisingly little interest in the Baltic states. This review presents the past and current state of the art with specific focus on the Baltic area from prehistory to historic times, outlining new research fields and the benefits of studying non-adult skeletal remains, and proposing specific possible directions for future work on this topic. The paper is aimed at giving a louder voice to the youngest actors of ancient communities, and perhaps offers a starting point for developing a definitive bioarchaeology of children in the Baltics.

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Multidisciplinary investigation of two Egyptian child mummies curated at the University of Tartu Art Museum, Estonia (Late/Graeco-Roman Periods)

Cited by 19 publications

References 51 publications

Next Chapter in the Legend of Silphion: Preliminary Morphological, Chemical, Biological and Pharmacological Evaluations, Initial Conservation Studies, and Reassessment of the Regional Extinction Event

Next Chapter in the Legend of Silphion: Preliminary Morphological, Chemical, Biological and Pharmacological Evaluations, Initial Conservation Studies, and Reassessment of the Regional Extinction Event

The first reported case of the rare mitochondrial haplotype H4a1 in ancient Egypt

Giving a Voice to the Little Ones: The Bioarchaeology of Children in the Baltics

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