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Montreal, January 22, 2013
Facing life after death
Facial reconstructions of ancient Egyptian mummies provide glimpse of our past
One lies hidden inside a coffin. Another has his face exposed with hands extended at his sides.
A third wears a mask over her face. They are three human Egyptian mummies that have been
trapped in the manner they held when laid to rest nearly 2,000 years ago. And now we can
reveal what they might have looked like.
Thanks to skeletal data from recent CT scans and radiocarbon analyses, a forensic artist from
John Abbott College and physical anthropologists from Western University were able to
reconstruct the faces of the mummies. The results of this facial reconstruction project show a
young man and a young woman, as well as a white-haired matron, as they all might have
appeared before their deaths.
These facial reconstructions will be unveiled on Friday, January 25, 2013 at the Redpath
Museum at McGill University and will be featured as a new display in the World Cultures
gallery starting in February.
In 2011, all three mummies were CT scanned at the Montreal Neurological Institute and
Hospital -The Neuro, to produce high-resolution 3D radiological images as part of Western
University’s IMPACT Radiological Mummy Database Project. Anthropological analyses of the
scans produced information about the demographics, social statuses, and medical ailments of
these three ancients, providing insight to help understand how these people lived and how they
died. Two thousand years later, we are able to look at the faces of three Egyptians who believed
they would live on forever after death.
WHAT:
Unveiling of facial reconstructions of three ancient Egyptian mummies
WHEN:
Friday, January 25, 2013 – 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.,
WHERE:
Redpath Museum, third floor gallery, McGill University
859 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal
WHO:
Barbara Lawson, curator of World Cultures, Redpath Museum, McGill
Dr. Andrew Wade, anthropologist, Western University
Victoria Lywood, forensic artist, John Abbott College
Mark Ewanchyna, Department of Engineering, John Abbott College
About the reconstruction:
The facial reconstructions were undertaken by a forensic artist at John Abbott College (JAC)
and physical anthropologists from Western University. Using 3-D printing technology normally
used in manufacturing and rapid prototyping provided by the Engineering Department of JAC,
the team changed digital information from medical CT scans into solid 3D models of each
mummy’s skull and jaw.
Egyptian tissue depth data derived from ultrasonic imaging of modern Egyptians were used to
flesh out the faces. A diversity of skin tone is shown to reflect the Mediterranean, North African,
and Sub-Saharan mixture of the Egyptian population as noted throughout history. Hairstyles
were pulled from earlier anthropology reports and detected through the wrappings worn by one
of the mummies.
About the mummies:
Radiocarbon dating of both Theban mummies overturned long-held assumptions erroneously
dating them to the New Kingdom period (1550-1070 BCE). The date for the female Theban
mummy was subsequently revised to the Late Roman Period (230-380 CE) and the Theban
male mummy to the Ptolemaic Period (332-30 BCE). Analysis of the hairstyle visible in the
scans of the third mummy helped to narrow down its date to the mid-Roman Period (96-161
CE).
Contacts:
Cynthia Lee
Relations avec les médias | Media Relations
Université McGill | McGill University
Debbie Cribb
Communications Officer
John Abbott College
[email protected]
Tel: 514 457-6610 ext-5354
http://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/
http://twitter.com/#!/McGillU
www.johnabbott.qc.ca