The Science behind the Mummies
Not only has science and technology aided the present world in combating diseases and building countries and cities it has aided in the understanding and interpretation of ancient human remains. The evolution of science and technology allows for more accurate analysis of ancient artifacts, benefiting the world's understanding of the past. Scientific and technological advancements like Radiocarbon dating and non-invasive autopsy's provide historians, archaeologists and scientists the required tools to understand the life and death of ancient human remains as well as providing crucial information in discovering the truth about the past. This is no exception for the unique ancient Chinese mummies: Cherchen man and the Beauty of Loulan.
Not only has science and technology aided the present world in combating diseases and building countries and cities it has aided in the understanding and interpretation of ancient human remains. The evolution of science and technology allows for more accurate analysis of ancient artifacts, benefiting the world's understanding of the past. Scientific and technological advancements like Radiocarbon dating and non-invasive autopsy's provide historians, archaeologists and scientists the required tools to understand the life and death of ancient human remains as well as providing crucial information in discovering the truth about the past. This is no exception for the unique ancient Chinese mummies: Cherchen man and the Beauty of Loulan.
Radiocarbon Dating
A crucial discovery in the modern world, allowing for organic matter to be accurately dated between 400 to 50000 years old. When an organism dies all Carbon-14 (C-14) absorbed by organism during its lifetime is stored within it. Carbon-14 begins to decay at a constant rate which then can be measured by scientists to date the organism's time of death. The use of Radiocarbon dating on the Cherchen man and the Beauty of Loulan was crucial in identifying the time-span in which each mummy once lived. Cherchen man was dated back to around 3000 years ago whilst the Beauty of Loulan was older, around 4000 years ago. |
Autopsy
The autopsy of the Chinese mummies, especially the Beauty of Loulan, has provided key information in describing her life and death. Autopsy is the most relied scientific technique to discover more about a body, mostly resulting in the destruction of the specimen. Due to scientific advancements, pathologists are now able to use X-rays and CT-scans as a non-invasive method to analyse a body. This procedure has proven to be more effective in discovering more about the Chinese mummies whilst keeping the mummies intact and significantly reducing any ethical issues regarding the handling of human remains. Non-invasive autopsy's allowed historians to understand the cause of death of the Beauty of Loulan, see The Beauty of Loulan, and also hypothesize the possible life she lived. |