Crocodile Rock! A Bioarchaeological Study of Ancient Egyptian Reptile Remains from the National Museum of Lithuania (original) (raw)
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PLoS ONE 18(1): e0279137, 2023
A description is provided of the crocodile remains that were found during an excavation carried out in 2019 at Qubbat al-Hawā (Aswan, Egypt). The material consists of five more or less complete bodies and five heads that were in varying states of preservation and completeness. The absence of resin, which was apparently not used during the preparation of the mummies, and the almost complete loss of linen bandages, due to insect damage, allowed a detailed morphological and osteometric description of the remains. Attention was focused on the general state of preservation of the crocodiles, the completeness of their skeletons and skulls, the presence of cut or other marks that could indicate the cause of death, and the processing of the carcasses. Moreover, the possible provenance of the crocodiles, the methods of capture and killing of the animals and their possible chronological attribution are discussed. It is concluded that the manner in which these specimens were prepared, as well as the variation observed in the type of 'final product', are unlike any other crocodile material described so far. The preparation method suggests a pre-Ptolemaic date for the deposit. The morphological and metrical features indicate that both Crocodylus niloticus and the recently resurrected species Crocodylus suchus are present among these individuals that range from 1.8 to 3.5 m in length.
Wild crocodiles hunted to make mummies in Roman Egypt: Evidence from synchrotron imaging
Journal of Archaeological Science, 2019
An ancient Egyptian crocodile mummy (MHNL 90001591, Musée des Confluences, Lyon, France) dating to the Roman period and discovered at Kom Ombo (Upper Egypt) was analysed through synchrotron multiscale mi-crotomography. Using this advanced technology, the virtual autopsy of the animal was carried out without affecting the bones, flesh, balms and linen bandages. The technique allows for the precise analysis of the spe-cimen's bones and tissue, enabling us to establish the cause of death and the last meal(s) of the animal. From these data, we can conclude that this crocodile was hunted while living in the wild. This is the first evidence for this mode of obtaining animals to produce mummies. With this case study, it is apparent that the praxis related to the mummification of animals in ancient Egypt are more diverse than the current Egyptological reconstruction of that phenomenon. Why, into the entrails, the entrails of the crocodile… So to speak, for exploration, for investigation of the facts on the spot. It would, of course, be a novelty, but that is progressive and would at the same time show zeal for enlightenment (Dostoevsky, 1865).
The secrets of Sobek – A crocodile mummy mitogenome from ancient Egypt
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
Previous investigations of genetic diversity across the distribution of the Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) confirmed the existence of two genetically distinct species of true crocodile (genus Crocodylus) in Africa. These taxa correspond roughly to an eastern/southern African species (Crocodylus niloticus) and a central/western African species (Crocodylus suchus). Analysis of historical museum specimens demonstrated that both species existed concurrently in the Sudanese Nile until the early 20th century and genetic analyses of historical museum specimens of mummified crocodile hatchlings from Egyptian tombs located along Egyptian Nile were found to be C. suchus. Here we present the first assessment of mitogenomic data from an adult Egyptian crocodile mummy from a center of crocodile worship and identify this specimen as C. suchus. Our data suggest that C. suchus was selectively chosen for mummification and support an accurate Egyptian cultural taxonomy as described by Herodotus in the fourth century BC and used by Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire to describe Crocodylus suchus in 1807. Crocodylus suchus has experienced a range contraction possibly due to climate change and the drying of the Sahara over the recent past. Our data identifying an adult crocodile mummy as C. suchus might indicate the historical natural presence of this species in the Egyptian Nile along with C. niloticus. Additional samples of crocodiles from both bioarchaeological and paleontological contexts will be required to confirm this.
Animal Mummies in the Collection of the National Museum in Krakow and the Princes Czartoryski Museum
STUDIES IN ANCIENT ART AND CIVILIZATION, VOL. 27, 2023
The collections of the National Museum in Krakow and the Princes Czartoryski Museum include four Egyptian animal mummies, whose radiological and tomographic examinations were carried out twice, in 1999 and 2021, in the Department of Radiology of the Jagiellonian University Medical College. The paper will present two aspects of the examinations, crucial for the knowledge of the artifacts. On the one hand, these are provenience research that allow to determine the history of the acquisition for the collection of both museums. On the other hand, medical examinations provided the answer to the question about the authenticity and value of the objects. Images of the inside of the mummies allowed to correlate the shape of the mummies with the animal species-in our case, a cat, Marsh Harrier, Kestrel-and to clarify the biological data on birds. X-rays also revealed the imitation of the ichneumon mummy, which, considering the species of the animal and the history of its acquisition for the Princes Czartoryski Museum, had always been a unique specimen among Egyptian artifacts.
PLOS ONE
Although Ancient Egyptians mummified millions of animals over the course of one millennium, many details of these mummification protocols remain unknown. Multi-scale propagation phase-contrast X-ray synchrotron microtomography was used to visualise an ancient Egyptian crocodile mummy housed at the Musé e des Confluences (Lyon, France). This state-of-the-art non-destructive imaging technique revealed the complete interior anatomy of the mummy in three dimensions. Here, we present detailed insight into the complex postmortem treatment of a decaying crocodile cadaver in preparation for mummification. Except for the head and the extremities of the limbs, everything beneath the skin of the crocodile (i.e. organs, muscles, and even most of the skeleton) was removed to cease further putrefaction. This unexpected finding demonstrates that earlier knowledge obtained from textual and other archaeological sources does not sufficiently reflect the diversity of mummification protocols implemented by Ancient Egyptians.
Geological Quarterly, 2013
Skeletal remains of a crocod il e or the genus nwracosflurus Leidy, 1852 were discovered by M. Zarski in Lower Paleocene gaizes in the neighbourhood of Kazimien Dolny. They consist ora part of the vCrlebrol co lumn contain ing the la~t dorsal vertebrn, the sacrum and eight caudal verleb~. The ngc of the deposits WIIS dclennincd by means of micro-and macrofauna; they were dated as middle Danian. In the absolute chronological scale it was the period betw= n 64.5 and 62.5 m.y. ago. The study of pe lecypods and gastropods makes it possible to assumelhat thesca in which the crocodilian lived was a~halrow basin with IVllter temperature of about I S' C. The presence oftrce trunks in the laycreontaini ng tbccrocodi lian ske lc!on suggests closeness 10 land. The foraminifers occurring in the Grccnsnnd, the hard limestone "hardground" and the opokas were also studied.
Geological Curator
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GEO&BIO, 2018
The paper deals with the study of the comparative osteological collection of extant amphibians and reptiles deposited in the Department of Palaeontology of the National Museum of Natural History, NAS of Ukraine. The collection has been recently catalogued and here is described for the first time. It consists of 407 stor age units represented by complete or fragmented dry skeletons, skulls, and isolated bones belonging to 104 species of 65 genera, 23 families, and five orders (Caudata, Anura, Crocodilia, Testudines, Squamata). The collection also includes bones of 12 species currently listed in the Red Data Book of Ukraine: Salamandra salanandra, Lissotriton montandonti, Bombina(bombina) variegata, Rana dalmatina, Pseudopus apodus, Mediodactylus kotschyi, Lacerta viridis, Coronella austriaca, Elaphe dione, Zamenis situla, Zamenis longissi mus, and Vipera renardi. Collection materials were collected at different times (from the last third of the 19 th century until the present day) in 16 countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa. In terms of further enrichment, the collection can be used in batrachological and herpetological studies, and will be of interest for palaeon tologists, archaeozoologists, and morphologists who work with osteological materials.