Ancient Egyptian Woman's Suffering Frozen in Final Scream
2024-08-06
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1Scientists now have an explanation for the mysterious remains of an ancient Egyptian woman who has her mouth open in what appears to be a scream.
2Scientists used a special computer aided X-ray, or CT scan, of the woman's body.
3What they found suggested that the so-called "Screaming Woman" mummy may have died in pain and experienced a form of muscular hardening known as a cadaveric spasm.
4This rare kind of spasm happens at the moment of death.
5The examination found that the woman was about 48 years old when she died.
6Cairo University's Sahar Saleem said she had lived with mild arthritis of the spine and had lost some teeth.
7Saleem led the study that appeared recently in the publication Frontiers in Medicine.
8The woman's body was well-preserved although it had been embalmed 3,500 years ago.
9Embalmers used costly imported materials such as juniper oil and frankincense resin, Saleem added.
10The ancient Egyptians considered preservation of the body after death important for securing a good existence in the afterlife.
11It was a custom to remove the internal organs during the mummification process.
12But the organ removals had not taken place with this woman.
13Saleem said, "In ancient Egypt, the embalmers took care of the dead body, so it would look beautiful for the afterlife."
14She explained that embalmers were interested in closing the mouth of the dead.
15Embalmers kept the jaw in place by tying the jaw to the head.
16This prevented the normal jaw drop that occurs after death.
17But the embalmers were likely not careless with the so-called "Screaming Woman."
18They used high quality materials and gave her costly jewelry and a wig, Saleem said.
19She added that this evidence "opened the way to other explanations of the widely opened mouth."
20The woman may have died screaming from pain.
21And the muscles of the face may have become tense to preserve this appearance "at the time of death due to cadaveric spasm," Saleem explained.
22She said that the full history of the woman's death is unknown, adding the cause of her facial appearance cannot be known "with certainty."
23Cadaveric spasm is a poorly understood condition.
24It is thought to happen after severe physical or emotional suffering.
25The contracted facial muscles become tense and unmoving immediately following death.
26Saleem explained that unlike the stiffening of muscles and joints that happens after death - "cadaveric spasm affects only one group of muscles, not the entire body."
27Asked whether the woman may have been embalmed while alive, Saleem added, "I don't believe that this is possible."
28Saleem was unable to find out how the woman died.
29The "Screaming Woman" was found in the ancient city of Thebes during a scientific search of the burial of a high-ranking official named Senmut in 1935.
30The mummy was inside a wooden coffin in a room beneath Senmut's family burial area.
31Her identity is unknown, but her costly jewelry shows her important position.
32"She was likely a close family member to be buried and share the family's eternal resting place," Saleem said.
33I'm John Russell.
1Scientists now have an explanation for the mysterious remains of an ancient Egyptian woman who has her mouth open in what appears to be a scream. 2Scientists used a special computer aided X-ray, or CT scan, of the woman's body. What they found suggested that the so-called "Screaming Woman" mummy may have died in pain and experienced a form of muscular hardening known as a cadaveric spasm. This rare kind of spasm happens at the moment of death. 3The examination found that the woman was about 48 years old when she died. Cairo University's Sahar Saleem said she had lived with mild arthritis of the spine and had lost some teeth. 4Saleem led the study that appeared recently in the publication Frontiers in Medicine. 5The woman's body was well-preserved although it had been embalmed 3,500 years ago. Embalmers used costly imported materials such as juniper oil and frankincense resin, Saleem added. 6The ancient Egyptians considered preservation of the body after death important for securing a good existence in the afterlife. It was a custom to remove the internal organs during the mummification process. But the organ removals had not taken place with this woman. 7Saleem said, "In ancient Egypt, the embalmers took care of the dead body, so it would look beautiful for the afterlife." 8She explained that embalmers were interested in closing the mouth of the dead. Embalmers kept the jaw in place by tying the jaw to the head. This prevented the normal jaw drop that occurs after death. 9But the embalmers were likely not careless with the so-called "Screaming Woman." They used high quality materials and gave her costly jewelry and a wig, Saleem said. 10She added that this evidence "opened the way to other explanations of the widely opened mouth." 11The woman may have died screaming from pain. And the muscles of the face may have become tense to preserve this appearance "at the time of death due to cadaveric spasm," Saleem explained. 12She said that the full history of the woman's death is unknown, adding the cause of her facial appearance cannot be known "with certainty." 13Cadaveric spasm is a poorly understood condition. It is thought to happen after severe physical or emotional suffering. The contracted facial muscles become tense and unmoving immediately following death. 14Saleem explained that unlike the stiffening of muscles and joints that happens after death - "cadaveric spasm affects only one group of muscles, not the entire body." 15Asked whether the woman may have been embalmed while alive, Saleem added, "I don't believe that this is possible." 16Saleem was unable to find out how the woman died. 17The "Screaming Woman" was found in the ancient city of Thebes during a scientific search of the burial of a high-ranking official named Senmut in 1935. 18The mummy was inside a wooden coffin in a room beneath Senmut's family burial area. Her identity is unknown, but her costly jewelry shows her important position. 19"She was likely a close family member to be buried and share the family's eternal resting place," Saleem said. 20I'm John Russell. 21Will Dunham reported on this story for Reuters. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English. 22______________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24scream -n. to shout in a high voice or high pitch 25mummy - n. a body embalmed or treated for burial with preservatives in the manner of the ancient Egyptians 26spasm - n. an involuntary and abnormal muscular contraction 27arthritis - n. inflammation of joints 28preserve - v. to keep free from decay or decomposition 29embalm - v. to treat (a dead body) so as to protect from decay 30jaw -n. the bones that form the lower part of the mouth and which hold the lower teeth 31contract -v. to increase in tension and become shorter or smaller 32coffin - n. a box for burying a body 33eternal -adj. lasting forever