Forschung & Innovation
Publikationen
Innovative approach to the verification of the alleged pregnancy and cancer in the Warsaw mummy
PMU Autor*in
Stephanie Panzer
Alle Autor*innen
Kamila Braulinska, Fabio Cavalli, Mislav Cavka, Fabrice Dedouit, Patrick Eppenberger, Dorota Ignatowicz-Wozniakowska, Lukasz Kownacki, Maria Kurpik, Robert D. Loynes, Andrew Nelson, Stephanie Panzer, Sahar Saleem, Katherine Van Schaik, Albert Zink
Fachzeitschrift
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences
Kurzfassung
The collective international case study of a mummy presented in this paper is to our knowledge the first of its kind. At its core is an independent reassessment, by acknowledged professionals, of radiological material from a mummified woman (now in Warsaw) who had been claimed to have been pregnant and suffering from a neoplastic condition. Despite two studies dismissing these claims on scientific grounds, both the pregnancy and the cancer theories were repeated and sustained, overwhelming any opposing opinions in the matter. A media sensation only contributed to this. Using a cloud-based platform, the participants reexamined the original radiological data, responding to a survey questionnaire prepared for the purpose. Their independent responses consistently upheld the absence of any indications of either a fetus or cancer in the subject of study. The joint case study also provided opportunity for additional individual analysis of the last points raised by the authors of the pregnancy theory, which were dismissed as well. However, efforts at a comprehensive explanation of the pelvic contents, involving identification of the inserted material, did not prove conclusive and will be continued. Addressing issues of responsible science, a part of this study atypically concerns the role of popular media, which in this particular case affected even the scientific approach, not to mention public reception. The study is another strong call for an interdisciplinary approach in bioarchaeology, particularly in mummy studies.
Keywords
Fetus in mummy, Interdisciplinary mummy study, Media in science, Pregnant mummy, Radiology in heritage, Responsible science