Misplaced Pages

#82917

86-772: The Katberg Formation overlies the Balfour Formation of the Adelaide Subgroup and the Burgersdorp Formation of the upper Tarkastad Subgroup, all pertaining to the greater Beaufort Group . The appearance of the Katberg Formation rocks starkly differs from the underlying Balfour Formation due to its high sandstone content and reddish colored mudstones . The high sandstone content of the Katberg Formation, which range from light olive grey, greenish grey, or light brownish grey in color,

172-400: A mummy as follows: "A human or animal body desiccated by exposure to sun or air. Also applied to the frozen carcase of an animal imbedded in prehistoric snow". Wasps of the genus Aleiodes are known as "mummy wasps" because they wrap their caterpillar prey as "mummies". While interest in the study of mummies dates as far back as Ptolemaic Greece , most structured scientific study began at

258-411: A naturally occurring salt, for 70 days. Herodotus insists that the body did not stay in the natron longer than 70 days. Any shorter time and the body would not be completely dehydrated; any longer, and the body would be too stiff to move into position for wrapping. The embalmers then washed the body again and wrapped it with linen bandages. The bandages were covered with a gum that modern research has shown

344-466: A number of factors. One such factor was the airtight seal (especially as the Korean climate is unfavorable to mummification) around the bodies, which was achieved using a mix of lime , clay, and sand. Recreations of the sealing process found that chemical reactions with the lime possibly caused a high and prolonged release of heat, which killed bacteria in the bodies. In addition, a large amount of clothing

430-515: A rescue excavation in the e 'Asi al-Hadath cave in the Qadisha Valley of Lebanon . The well-preserved spontaneous mummies, including an infant named dubbed Yasmine, offer insights into Maronite villagers' lives during the Mamluk era. The grotto's high altitude and dry conditions naturally mummified the bodies. The discovery provides historical context, aligning with documented Mamluk raids in

516-558: A single culture, such as those from the ancient Egyptian culture and the Andean cultures of South America. Some of the later well-preserved corpses of the mummification were found under Christian churches , such as the mummified vicar Nicolaus Rungius found under the St. Michael Church in Keminmaa , Finland . There are also cases that fall outside of these categories. Until recently, it

602-527: A symbolic meal for her last journey. Her left arm and hand were tattooed with animal style figures, including a highly stylized deer . The Ice Maiden has been a source of some recent controversy. The mummy's skin has suffered some slight decay, and the tattoos have faded since the excavation. Some residents of the Altai Republic , formed after the breakup of the Soviet Union , have requested

688-467: A time frame that falls between approximately 450 and 250 BC. In addition to the mummies of ancient Egypt , deliberate mummification was a feature of several ancient cultures in areas of America and Asia with very dry climates. The Spirit Cave mummies of Fallon, Nevada , in North America were accurately dated at more than 9,400 years old. Before this discovery, the oldest known deliberate mummy

774-602: A very close relative. However, Xin Zhui's body was the only one of the three to be mummified. Her corpse was so well-preserved that surgeons from the Hunan Provincial Medical Institute were able to perform an autopsy. The exact reason why her body was so completely preserved has yet to be determined. Among the mummies discovered in China are those termed Tarim mummies because of their discovery in

860-470: Is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals , extreme cold, very low humidity , or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay further if kept in cool and dry conditions. Some authorities restrict the use of the term to bodies deliberately embalmed with chemicals, but the use of the word to cover accidentally desiccated bodies goes back to at least

946-462: Is a key characteristic of this formation. However, the rocks of the Katberg Formation are differentiated into southern and northern sedimentary facies which grade laterally into one another from the south upwards. The southern and northern Katberg Formation deposits also vary drastically in thickness. The southern Katberg Formation deposits are the most sandstone-rich, comprising approximately 90 percent sandstone and are fine to medium-grained. Along

SECTION 10

#1732772752083

1032-634: Is a marked drop in species diversity as the Permian-Triassic extinction event began to take its course at the time of sediment deposition. including terminal phalanges. The Balfour Formation is known to corresponds in age with the Cis-Uralian fauna of Russia and the Sanga do Cabral Formation , Paraná Basin of Brazil . Correlations with other Late Permian - Early Triassic deposits abroad remain inconclusive. Mummy A mummy

1118-424: Is both a waterproofing agent and an antimicrobial agent. At this point, the body was given back to the family. These "perfect" mummies were then placed in human-shaped wooden cases. Wealthy people placed these wooden cases in stone sarcophagi that provided further protection. The family placed the sarcophagus in the tomb upright against the wall, according to Herodotus. The second process that Herodotus describes

1204-640: Is either due to past erosion of the upper, unknown members of the Teekloof Formation or there was a sudden cessation of sedimentary deposition in the western section of the Karoo Basin . The sedimentary rocks of this formation are composed predominantly of alternating greenish-grey, bluish-grey, and grey-ish red mudstone that often contain siltstone lenses . The mudstones are very fine-grained, massive and exhibit blocky weathering. Claystone successions are also found which, along with

1290-527: Is home to a diverse spectrum of spontaneous and anthropogenic mummies. Some of the best-preserved mummies have come from bogs located across the region. The Capuchin monks that inhabited the area left behind hundreds of intentionally-preserved bodies that have provided insight into the customs and cultures of people from various eras. One of the oldest mummies (nicknamed Ötzi ) was discovered on this continent. New mummies continue to be uncovered in Europe well into

1376-631: Is one of only two known which show the wrapping of a mummy (Riggs 2014). Another text that describes the processes being used in the latter periods is Herodotus ' Histories . Written in Book 2 of the Histories is one of the most detailed descriptions of the Egyptian mummification process, including the mention of using natron in order to dehydrate corpses for preservation. However, these descriptions are short and fairly vague, leaving scholars to infer

1462-560: Is some evidence of deliberate mummification, most sources state that desiccation occurred naturally due to unique conditions within the crypts. The Capuchin Crypt in Brno contains three hundred years of mummified remains directly below the main altar. Beginning in the 18th century when the crypt was opened, and continuing until the practice was discontinued in 1787, the Capuchin friars of

1548-663: The African continent . The bodies show a mix of anthropogenic and spontaneous mummification, with some being thousands of years old. The mummies of the Canary Islands belong to the indigenous Guanche people and date to the time before 14th-century Spanish explorers settled in the area. All deceased people within the Guanche culture were mummified during this time, though the level of care taken with embalming and burial varied depending on individual social status. Embalming

1634-752: The Beaufort Group . Outcrops and exposures of the Balfour Formation are found from east of 24 degrees in the highest mountainous escarpments between Beaufort West and Fraserburg , but most notably in the Winterberg and Sneeuberg mountain ranges near Cradock , the Baviaanskloof river valley , Graaff-Reniet and Nieu Bethesda in the Eastern Cape , and in the southern Free State province. The Balfour Formation overlies

1720-460: The Tarim Basin . The dry desert climate of the basin proved to be an excellent agent for desiccation. For this reason, over 200 Tarim mummies, which are over 4,000 years old, were excavated from a cemetery in the present-day Xinjiang region. The mummies were found buried in upside-down boats with hundreds of 13-foot-long wooden poles in the place of tombstones. DNA sequence data shows that

1806-521: The Tollund Man was discovered in 1950. The corpse was noted for its excellent preservation of the face and feet, which appeared as if the man had recently died. Only the head of Tollund Man remains, due to the decomposition of the rest of his body, which was not preserved along with the head. The majority of mummies recovered in the Czech Republic come from underground crypts. While there

SECTION 20

#1732772752083

1892-684: The Younginiforme Youngina capensis , and a variety of temnospondyl amphibians , fishes, and plant fossils such as Glossopteris are likewise found. Glossopteris fossils or leaf impressions are particularly common in the Daggaboersnek Member. The uppermost unit of the Balfour Formation marks the Permian-aged side of the Permian-Triassic boundary . At this point in the biostratigraphy there

1978-423: The arid climate before their remains were buried by flash floods . The Permo-Triassic extinction event caused the extinction of all gorgonopsians and almost all dicynodont species except for Lystrosaurus and a select few other species such as Myosaurus gracilis . Therocephalian species experience a Lilliput effect where only smaller species survived and thrived after the extinction event . By

2064-433: The bituminous embalming substance. This word was borrowed from Persian where it meant asphalt , and is derived from the word mūm meaning wax. The meaning of "corpse preserved by desiccation" developed post-medievally. The Medieval English term "mummy" was defined as "medical preparation of the substance of mummies", rather than the entire corpse, with Richard Hakluyt in 1599 AD complaining that "these dead bodies are

2150-455: The coast outcrops and exposures, especially close to East London , the Katberg sandstones are coarse-grained and contain pebbles up to 15 centimetres (5.9 in) in diameter. In the north the sandstones remain consistently fine-grained and exhibit fining upward cycles. The ratio between the sandstones and mudstones grows more equal in the northern deposits, making differentiation between

2236-592: The mudstones , frequently contain desiccation cracks, raindrop impressions, and calcareous nodules or concretions are found throughout. Rhythmites are also found. Sandstones are less common, but some notable units have been studied in the Balfour Formation. In the lowermost section of the Balfour is a sandstone -rich unit known as the Oudeberg Member. The sandstones in this unit are very fine-grained and are rich in feldspar . Another sandstone unit in

2322-426: The papyri that have survived only describe the ceremonial rituals involved in embalming, not the actual surgical processes involved. A text known as The Ritual of Embalming does describe some of the practical logistics of embalming; however, there are only two known copies and each is incomplete. With regards to mummification shown in images, there are apparently also very few. The tomb of Tjay, designated TT23 ,

2408-576: The 14th and 19th centuries. Mummies have been discovered in Korea that have been dated to around the 15th to 19th centuries, during the Joseon period. This is thought to be because of the rise of Neo-Confucianism in Korea , which prescribed certain burial practices that created conditions favorable to mummification. However, this mummification was likely unintentional, and even culturally seen as ominous and undesirable. Mummification likely occurred due to

2494-659: The 20th century. In 1992, the First World Congress on Mummy Studies was held in Puerto de la Cruz on Tenerife in the Canary Islands . More than 300 scientists attended the Congress to share nearly 100 years of collected data on mummies. The information presented at the meeting triggered a new surge of interest in the subject, with one of the major results being the integration of biomedical and bioarchaeological information on mummies with existing databases. This

2580-539: The 21st century. Great Britain , Ireland , Germany , the Netherlands , Sweden , and Denmark have produced a number of bog bodies , mummies of people deposited in sphagnum bogs , apparently as a result of murder or ritual sacrifices. In such cases, the acidity of the water, low temperature and lack of oxygen combined to tan the body's skin and soft tissues. The skeleton typically disintegrates over time. Such mummies are remarkably well preserved on emerging from

2666-425: The Balfour Formation is especially true of dicynodonts as numerous different species of this successful, herbivorous therapsid have been recovered. Various species of burnetiamorph biarmosuchians , rubidgeine gorgonopsians , and therocephalian species such as Moschorhinus kitchingi and the earliest cynodont , Charassognathus gracilis , also appear. Parareptile species, namely captorhinids ,

Katberg Formation - Misplaced Pages Continue

2752-468: The Douzlakh Salt Mine at Chehr Abad in northwestern Iran . Due to their salt preservation, these bodies are collectively known as Saltmen . Carbon-14 testing conducted in 2008 dated three of the bodies to around 400 BC. Later isotopic research on the other mummies returned similar dates, however, many of these individuals were found to be from a region that is not closely associated with

2838-724: The Katberg Formation contains the rocks of the Lystrosaurus Assemblage Zone . The most common fossils found are those of Lystrosaurus murrayi and Lystrosaurus declivis . In the lower Katberg Formation, complete and sometimes mummified articulated skeletons of L. murrayi and L. declivus are found in bone beds containing several individuals. The bone beds are almost always overlain by mudstone infilled with sandstone and capped by other coarse-grained sediments. This provides substantial geological and taphonomical evidence that these Lystrosaurus died near to dried up river channels and were mummified in

2924-501: The Middleton Formation of the Adelaide Subgroup and underlies the Katberg Formation of the lower Tarkastad Subgroup, all comprising the greater Beaufort Group . The Balfour Formation is composed of five members which are listed below (from oldest to youngest): The rocks of the Balfour Formation also incorporate the entire Daptocephalus Assemblage Zone , the lowermost portion of the Lystrosaurus Assemblage Zone , and

3010-627: The Mummy which the Phisistians and Apothecaries doe against our willes make us to swallow". These substances were called mummia . The Oxford English Dictionary defines a mummy as "the body of a human being or animal embalmed (according to the ancient Egyptian or some analogous method) as a preparation for burial", citing sources from 1615 AD onward. However, Chamber's Cyclopædia and the Victorian zoologist Francis Trevelyan Buckland define

3096-891: The National Museum of Beirut. In 1993, a team of Russian archaeologists led by Dr. Natalia Polosmak discovered the Siberian Ice Maiden , a Scytho -Siberian woman, on the Ukok Plateau in the Altai Mountains near the Mongolian border. The mummy was naturally frozen due to the severe climatic conditions of the Siberian steppe. Also known as Princess Ukok, the mummy was dressed in finely detailed clothing and wore an elaborate headdress and jewelry. Alongside her body were buried six decorated horses and

3182-576: The beginning of the 20th century. Prior to this, many rediscovered mummies were sold as curiosities or for use in pseudoscientific novelties such as mummia . The first modern scientific examinations of mummies began in 1901, conducted by professors at the English-language Government School of Medicine in Cairo , Egypt. The first X-ray of a mummy came in 1903, when professors Grafton Elliot Smith and Howard Carter used

3268-654: The bodies to decay in a matter of hours. An example of a Chinese mummy that was preserved despite being buried in an environment not conducive to mummification is Xin Zhui . Also known as Lady Dai, she was discovered in the early 1970s at the Mawangdui archaeological site in Changsha . She was the wife of the Marquis of Dai during the Han dynasty , who was also buried with her alongside another young man often considered to be

3354-400: The body. This process typically took forty days. After dehydration, the mummy was wrapped in many layers of linen cloth. Within the layers, Egyptian priests placed small amulets to guard the decedent from evil. Once the mummy was completely wrapped, it was coated in resin in order to keep the threat of moist air away. The resin was also applied to the coffin in order to seal it. The mummy

3440-580: The bog, with skin and internal organs intact; it is even possible to determine the decedent's last meal by examining stomach contents. The Haraldskær Woman was discovered by labourers in a bog in Jutland in 1835. She was erroneously identified as an early medieval Danish queen, and for that reason was placed in a royal sarcophagus at the Saint Nicolai Church, Vejle , where she currently remains. Another bog body, also from Denmark, known as

3526-492: The brain via the cranium, which then drained out the nose by gravity. The embalmers then rinsed the skull with certain drugs that mostly cleared any residue of brain tissue and also had the effect of killing bacteria. Next, the embalmers made an incision along the flank with a sharp blade fashioned from an Ethiopian stone and removed the contents of the abdomen. Herodotus does not discuss the separate preservation of these organs and their placement either in special jars or back in

Katberg Formation - Misplaced Pages Continue

3612-427: The brain was much easier when the brain was liquefied and allowed to drain with the help of gravity , as opposed to trying to pull the organ out piece by piece with a hook. Through various methods of study over many decades, modern Egyptologists now have an accurate understanding of how mummification was achieved in ancient Egypt. The first and most important step was to halt the process of decomposition, by removing

3698-448: The cavity, a process that was part of the most expensive embalming, according to archaeological evidence. The abdominal cavity was then rinsed with palm wine and an infusion of crushed, fragrant herbs and spices; the cavity was then filled with spices including myrrh , cassia , and, Herodotus notes, "every other sort of spice except frankincense ", also to preserve the person. The body was further dehydrated by placing it in natron ,

3784-519: The creation of elaborate tombs , and more sophisticated methods of embalming. By the 4th dynasty (about 2600 BC) Egyptian embalmers began to achieve "true mummification" through a process of evisceration . Much of this early experimentation with mummification in Egypt is unknown. The few documents that directly describe the mummification process date to the Greco-Roman period . The majority of

3870-423: The dead had a profound effect on ancient Egyptian religion . Mummification was an integral part of the rituals for the dead beginning as early as the 2nd dynasty (about 2800 BC). Egyptians saw the preservation of the body after death as an important step to living well in the afterlife . As Egypt gained more prosperity, burial practices became a status symbol for the wealthy as well. This cultural hierarchy led to

3956-491: The earliest ancestors of Archosauria appear in the lower Katberg Formation.These species are known as archosauromorphs and archosauriformes . Examples of these are Prolacerta broomi and Proterosuchus fergusi respectively. Notably, the Katberg Formation frequently yields burrow casts left by Lystrosaurus . The lower Katberg Formation is known to correspond in age with the Santa Maria Formation of

4042-647: The earliest mummies in the Tarim Basin were exclusively Caucasoid, or Europoid " with "east Asian migrants arriving in the eastern portions of the Tarim Basin around 3,000 years ago", while Mair also notes that it was not until 842 that the Uighur peoples settled in the area. Other mummified remains have been recovered from around the Tarim Basin at sites including Qäwrighul , Yanghai , Shengjindian , Shanpula (Sampul), Zaghunluq, and Qizilchoqa. As of 2012, at least eight mummified human remains have been recovered from

4128-419: The early 17th century. Mummies of humans and animals have been found on every continent, both as a result of natural preservation through unusual conditions, and as cultural artifacts. Over one million animal mummies have been found in Egypt, many of which are cats. Many of the Egyptian animal mummies are sacred ibis , and radiocarbon dating suggests the Egyptian ibis mummies that have been analyzed were from

4214-419: The embalmers offered was to clear the intestines with an unnamed liquid, injected as an enema . The body was then placed in natron for seventy days and returned to the family. Herodotus gives no further details. In Christian tradition, some bodies of saints are naturally conserved and venerated. In addition to the mummies of Egypt, there have been instances of mummies being discovered in other areas of

4300-593: The end Permian extinction event was the largest mass extinction event in the Earth's history. This was followed by one of the worst biotic crises, which is reflected in the sudden and drastic sedimentary facies changes in the overlying Katberg Formation. Where the Balfour Formation deposits correlate with the Daptocephalus Assemblage Zone , a great diversity of vertebrate fauna are found. This richness in species diversity observed in

4386-488: The fast flowing braided rivers were steadily replaced by slower flowing, meandering river channels . The environment was still semi-arid , however, due to the presence of the redder mudstones. The Katberg Formation documents the marked drop in species abundance due to biotic crises that followed the Permo-Triassic extinction event . The most ubiquitous fossils found are different species of Lystrosaurus as

SECTION 50

#1732772752083

4472-417: The grave. Mummies from various dynasties throughout China 's history have been discovered in several locations across the country. They are almost exclusively considered to be unintentional mummifications. Many areas in which mummies have been uncovered are difficult for preservation, due to their warm, moist climates. This makes the recovery of mummies a challenge, as exposure to the outside world can cause

4558-422: The human body is believed to be a quintessential feature of Egyptian life. Yet even mummification has a history of development and was accessible to different ranks of society in different ways during different periods. There were at least three different processes of mummification according to Herodotus . They range from "the most perfect" to the method employed by the "poorer classes". The most expensive process

4644-399: The infant to between 5,000 and 8,000 years old. A long incision located on the right abdominal wall, and the absence of internal organs, indicated that the body had been eviscerated post-mortem , possibly in an effort to preserve the remains. A bundle of herbs found within the body cavity also supported this conclusion. Further research revealed that the child had been around 30 months old at

4730-467: The internal organs and washing out the body with a mix of spices and palm wine. The only organ left behind was the heart, as tradition held the heart was the seat of thought and feeling and would therefore still be needed in the afterlife. After cleansing, the body was then dried out with natron inside the empty body cavity as well as outside on the skin. The internal organs were also dried and either sealed in individual jars, or wrapped to be replaced within

4816-403: The majority of the techniques that were used by studying mummies that have been unearthed. By utilizing current advancements in technology, scientists have been able to uncover a plethora of new information about the techniques used in mummification. A series of CT scans performed on a 2,400-year-old mummy in 2008 revealed a tool that was left inside the cranial cavity of the skull. The tool

4902-460: The middle of the Balfour Formation is the Daggaboersnek Member which contains thin, tabular sandstones, and ripple structures are common. The presence of these rocks reveal much about the past environment that they were deposited in. The dominance of fine-grained mudstone and less common, fine-grained sandstones indicates that the rock sediments were deposited in a low-energy, fluvial environment, most likely one that had meandering rivers . At

4988-469: The mine. It was during this time that researchers determined the mine suffered a major collapse, which likely caused the death of the miners. Since there is significant archaeological data that indicates the area was not actively inhabited during this time period, current consensus holds that the accident occurred during a brief period of temporary mining activity. In 1990, a team of speleologists uncovered eight mummies, dating back to around 1283 AD, during

5074-632: The monastery would lay the deceased on a pillow of bricks on the ground. The unique air quality and topsoil within the crypt naturally preserved the bodies over time. Approximately fifty mummies were discovered in an abandoned crypt beneath the Church of St. Procopius of Sázava in Vamberk in the mid-1980s. Workers digging a trench accidentally broke into the crypt, which began to fill with waste water. The mummies quickly began to deteriorate, though thirty-four were able to be rescued and stored temporarily at

5160-457: The most common being for religious purposes. Spontaneous mummies, such as Ötzi and the Maronite mummies , were created unintentionally due to natural conditions such as extremely dry heat or cold, or acidic and anaerobic conditions such as those found in bogs . While most individual mummies exclusively belong to one category or the other, there are examples of both types being connected to

5246-600: The mummies had Haplogroup R1a (Y-DNA) characteristic of western Eurasia in the area of East-Central Europe , Central Asia and the Indus Valley . This has created a stir in the Turkic-speaking Uighur population of the region, who claim the area has always belonged to their culture, while it was not until the 10th century that Uighurs are said by scholars to have moved to the region from Central Asia. American Sinologist Victor H. Mair claims that "

SECTION 60

#1732772752083

5332-594: The mummy be returned shortly after the body was moved to the Albany Museum in Grahamstown . The mummies of Asia are usually considered to be accidental. The decedents were buried in just the right place where the environment could act as an agent for preservation. This is particularly common in the desert areas of the Tarim Basin and Iran. Mummies have been discovered in more humid Asian climates; however, these are subject to rapid decay after being removed from

5418-564: The northern Katberg and Burgersdorp Formations tricky in areas. The Katberg Formation reaches its maximum thickness near East London at 1238 m, thinning out gradually northwards. The sandstones are predominantly tabular although exhibit some planar and trough cross-bedding along with horizontal laminations and ripple cross-laminations. The sandstones contain much thinner beds of brownish-red shale and reddish to purple and some minor greenish mudstones, which are frequently structureless or horizontally laminated. Mudstones become redder in colour in

5504-401: The nostrils can be digitally reconstructed in 3-D . Such modelling has been utilized to perform digital autopsies on mummies to determine the cause of death and lifestyle, such as in the case of Tutankhamun . Mummies are typically divided into one of two distinct categories: anthropogenic or spontaneous. Anthropogenic mummies were deliberately created by the living for any number of reasons,

5590-484: The only X-ray machine in Cairo at the time to examine the mummified body of Thutmose IV . British chemist Alfred Lucas applied chemical analyses to Egyptian mummies during this same period, which returned many results about the types of substances used in embalming. Lucas also made significant contributions to the analysis of Tutankhamun in 1922. Pathological study of mummies saw varying levels of popularity throughout

5676-467: The presence of coarser-grained sandstones that lack fining upward sequences. Due to the ongoing biotic crises in the aftermath of the Permo-Triassic extinction event, rampant erosion took place as there was a stark drop in plant and animal species diversity. This resulted in unstable ecological niches . The environment at this time was also arid and hot where the rivers seasonally ran dry. When

5762-488: The rainy season arrived, flash floods took place. In the northern Katberg, a drop in the level of preserved sandstones reveals that by the beginning of the Middle Triassic ecosystems were beginning to stabilize after the Permo-Triassic extinction event . The presence of fine-grained sandstones and more plentiful mudstones show that there was a decrease in energy levels in the depositional environment, meaning that

5848-416: The region. Artifacts, including pottery with inscriptions, manuscripts, and clothing, suggest a Maronite community, and the mummies' burial practices parallel present-day Lebanese customs. The remains were called "Maronite mummies" because the individuals found in the 'Asi-al Hadath cave were believed to be Maronites , an indigenous Christian community in the region. Some of the mummies have been transferred to

5934-812: The return of the Ice Maiden, who is currently stored in Novosibirsk in Siberia . Another Siberian mummy, a man, was discovered much earlier in 1929. His skin was also marked with tattoos of two monsters resembling griffins , which decorated his chest, and three partially obliterated images which seem to represent two deer and a mountain goat on his left arm. Philippine mummies are called Kabayan Mummies . They are common in Igorot culture and their heritage. The mummies are found in some areas named Kabayan , Sagada and among others. The mummies are dated between

6020-675: The time of death, though gender could not be determined due to poor preservation of the sex organs. The first mummy to be discovered in South Africa was found in the Baviaanskloof Wilderness Area by Dr. Johan Binneman in 1999. Nicknamed Moses, the mummy was estimated to be around 2,000 years old. After being linked to the indigenous Khoi culture of the region, the National Council of Khoi Chiefs of South Africa began to make legal demands that

6106-526: The time of sedimentary deposition, the Karoo retroarc foreland system was in an overfilled phase, and purely terrestrial sediments occupied the Karoo Basin at this time. As this formation includes the rocks of both the Cistecephalus , Daptocephalus , Lystrosaurus Assemblage Zones, the Balfour Formation preserves the geological record for the end Permian extinction event. This is important as

6192-472: The upper Paraná Basin in southern Brazil . Balfour Formation The Balfour Formation is a geological formation that is found in the Beaufort Group , a major geological group that forms part of the greater Karoo Supergroup in South Africa . The Balfour Formation is the uppermost formation of the Adelaide Subgroup which contains all the Late Permian - Early Triassic aged biozones of

6278-538: The upper Katberg deposits as it grades laterally into the Burgersdorp Formation. Intraformational mud clasts , pedogenic and calcareous nodules are found commonly throughout. The appearance and proliferation of the sandstone deposits, especially in the southern and lower Katberg Formation, marks the change to an alluvial fan and braided river environment in the Early Triassic due to

6364-424: The upper sections of the biozone , ecological niches began to recover as evidenced by the appearance of new species . Cynodonts experienced the greatest diversification with species such as Thrinaxodon liorhinus and Galesaurus planiceps being found. Small procolonphonid parareptiles such as Owenetta kitchingorum and Procolophon trigoniceps are also found in the Katberg Formation. In addition,

6450-761: The uppermost rocks of the Cistecephalus Assemblage Zone . Up until the middle section of the Ripplemead Member, the Balfour Formation correlates with the near contemporaneous Teekloof Formation west of the 24 degrees from Beaufort West westwards, and to the Normadien Formation north of the Orange River . However, the Elandsberg and Palingkloof Members do not have any lateral correlates west of 24 degrees. This

6536-489: The winter of 1958–1959 in the natural cave structure of Uan Muhuggiag . After curious deposits and cave paintings were discovered on the surfaces of the cave, expedition leaders decided to excavate. Uncovered alongside fragmented animal bone tools was the mummified body of an infant, wrapped in animal skin and wearing a necklace made of ostrich egg shell beads. Professor Tongiorgi of the University of Pisa radiocarbon-dated

6622-716: Was a child, one of the Chinchorro mummies found in the Camarones Valley, Chile, which dates around 5050 BC. The oldest known naturally mummified human corpse is a severed head dated as 6,000 years old, found in 1936 at the Cueva de las Momias in Argentina. The English word mummy is derived from medieval Latin Mumia , a borrowing of the medieval Arabic word mūmiya (مومياء) which meant an embalmed corpse, as well as

6708-480: Was a rod, made of an organic material, that was used to break apart the brain to allow it to drain out of the nose. This discovery helped to dispel the claim within Herodotus' works that the rod had been a hook made of iron. Earlier experimentation in 1994 by researchers Bob Brier and Ronald Wade supported these findings. While attempting to replicate Egyptian mummification, Brier and Wade discovered that removal of

6794-682: Was believed that the earliest ancient Egyptian mummies were created naturally due to the environment in which they were buried. In 2014, an 11-year study by the University of York , Macquarie University and the University of Oxford suggested that artificial mummification occurred 1,500 years earlier than first thought. This was confirmed in 2018, when tests on a 5,600-year-old mummy in Turin revealed that it had been deliberately mummified using linen wrappings and embalming oils made from conifer resin and aromatic plant extracts. The preservation of

6880-571: Was carried out by specialized groups, organized according to gender, who were considered unclean by the rest of the community. The techniques for embalming were similar to those of the ancient Egyptians, involving evisceration, preservation, and stuffing of the evacuated bodily cavities, then wrapping the body in animal skins. Despite the successful techniques utilized by the Guanche, very few mummies remain due to looting and desecration. The mummified remains of an infant were discovered during an expedition by archaeologist Fabrizio Mori to Libya during

6966-403: Was not possible prior to the Congress due to the unique and highly specialized techniques required to gather such data. In more recent years, CT scanning has become an invaluable tool in the study of mummification by allowing researchers to digitally "unwrap" mummies without risking damage to the body. The level of detail in such scans is so intricate that small linens used in tiny areas such as

7052-454: Was then placed in natron for seventy days. At the end of this time, the body was removed and the cedar oil, now containing the liquefied organs, was drained through the rectum . With the body dehydrated, it could be returned to the family. Herodotus does not describe the process of burial of such mummies, but they were perhaps placed in a shaft tomb . Poorer people used coffins fashioned from terracotta . The third and least expensive method

7138-435: Was then sealed within its tomb, alongside the worldly goods that were believed to help aid it in the afterlife. Aspergillus niger , a hardy species of fungus capable of living in a variety of environments, has been found in the mummies of ancient Egyptian tombs and can be inhaled when they are disturbed. Mummification is one of the defining customs in ancient Egyptian society for people today. The practice of preserving

7224-404: Was to preserve the body by dehydration and protect against pests, such as insects. Almost all of the actions Herodotus described served one of these two functions. First, the brain was removed from the cranium through the nose; the gray matter was discarded. Modern mummy excavations have shown that instead of an iron hook inserted through the nose as Herodotus claims, a rod was used to liquefy

7310-446: Was used by middle-class people or people who "wish to avoid expense". In this method, an oil derived from cedar trees was injected with a syringe into the abdomen. A rectal plug prevented the oil from escaping. This oil probably had the dual purpose of liquefying the internal organs but also of disinfecting the abdominal cavity. (By liquefying the organs, the family avoided the expense of canopic jars and separate preservation.) The body

7396-451: Was usually placed inside tombs, which led to a shortage of oxygen inside. Mummies buried using the lime mixture sealing technique reportedly have especially excellently preserved soft skin and hair, which has enabled medical and genetic studies to be performed. Insights have been offered into the lifestyles and pathologies of Korean people during this period. Specific diseases for each individual have been identified. The European continent

#82917