A church in the small village of Kampehl in Brandenburg, Germany displays the mummified remains of a knight who died in the early 18th century. It’s not unusual for European churches to show the bodies and body parts of saints… Read More ›
Archaeology
The impaled cranium that allegedly belonged to a 14th century pirate
Pirates were larger than life characters known for their clothing, the way they talk, their treasure, and their flags. Their adventures have been immortalized in folktales that recount debauchery and adventure on the high seas. But a pirate’s life wasn’t… Read More ›
Researchers may have found the elusive tomb of Miguel de Cervantes
A multidisciplinary team of researchers, including forensic anthropologists, archaeologists, and historians, announced this week that they believe they have found the skeletal remains of Miguel de Cervantes and his wife, Catalina de Salazar. Born in Alcala de Henares, Spain on September 29,… Read More ›
The race to save the decaying Chinchorro mummies
The doll-like mummies of the Chinchurro culture are the oldest mummies in the world but have started to decompose at an alarming rate in the last ten years. Museum officials at the University of Tarapacá’s San Miguel de Azapa Museum… Read More ›
A game of thrones written in bones: The skeletal collection from the Battle of Towton
The Battle of Towton took place on Palm Sunday in 1461 and was one of the grisliest battles of the Wars of the Roses (1455-1487). That conflict was so bloody that it’s estimated that tens of thousands of soldiers were massacred. In… Read More ›
Human remains as trophies of war
Soldiers have removed body parts from corpses to keep as trophies as souvenirs of war since ancient times. According to Katy Meyers Emery, mortuary archaeologist and bioarchaeologist, human remains as souvenirs of war can be divided into two categories, trophies… Read More ›
How the bones of 1185 soldiers became part of the largest battlefield skeletal collection
The Visby skeletal collection at the Fornsalen Museum contains the remains of 1185 people who died at the Battle of Visby in 1361 and is the largest battlefield skeletal collection in Europe. Anthropologists from all over the world come to examine these… Read More ›
A mummy murder mystery wrapped in a hoax
In October of 2000 Pakistani authorities heard that a Karachi resident was trying to sell a mummy on the black market for $11 million. When the police interrogated the seller he told them he got the mummy from an Iranian… Read More ›
Stylish deformities – Dental edition
The dental aesthetic of symmetrical white teeth is a modern European standard, but for many people the dental ideal involves carved, stained and/or bejeweled teeth. This is because artificially modified front teeth can communicate cultural affiliation, determine physical attractiveness, and… Read More ›
Golden eyes, bronze legs, and wooden toes: Amputation and prosthetics in the ancient world
Although pirates and peg legs are inextricably linked, evidence for amputations and artificial body parts date to antiquity. Limbs have been amputated for thousands of years because of injuries received during battle or accidents, as a treatment for a disease… Read More ›
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