post depositional process

Introduction

The unwrapping and dissection of mummified bodies was a common practice in 19th century Europe. These autopsies were conducted as part of scientific endeavours and social spectacles, motivated by a desire to advance the fields of science, medicine and archaeology, coupled with a sense of macabre fascination (Moshenska, 2014). The scientific capability required to study mummified remains non-invasively had yet to be developed, leading to the destruction of many hundreds of specimens. 

Introduction

Animal mummies can be divided into four types: pets, mummified to accompany their owners into the Afterlife; victual, prepared and mummified food offerings for consumption in the Afterlife; cult, an individual selected based upon specific characteristics and markings to be an avatar for their prospective deity; and votive, where the whole population of certain species associated with a particular deity were classed as sacred and therefore worthy of mummification (Ikram and Iskander 2002; Ikram 2005; McKnight 2010).

To test whether or not the form of the discovered quartz was a result of prehistoric technological choices, a fracture analysis on collected vein quartz from Aust-Agder County was conducted1 .