Mummies Revealed

Meet the Gilded Lady. She lived in Egypt about 2,000 years ago. Scientists say she probably died of lung disease. They think she was in her 40s.

Scientists used a CT scanner to take this X-ray of the Gilded Lady (left). An artist used several scans to show what the woman may have looked like.

How do scientists know so much? They looked into the case in which she was sealed × seal DIGITAL LIGHT SOURCE—GETTY to enclose tightly (verb) My mom sealed the sandwich in a plastic bag and put it in my lunchbox. . But they did not open it. They used a machine that can see through it. The machine is called a CT scanner. It takes X-ray pictures of a mummy without unwrapping it.

Technology has changed the way we study mummies. Long ago, scientists unwrapped them. But that damaged them. “We just don’t do that anymore,” says David Hurst Thomas. He is a curator × curator SERGEI PETROV—GETTY a person who is in charge of the things in a museum, zoo, or other collection (noun) As the museum's curator, Monique chooses which items will be put on display. at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), in New York City. “We can do so much better.”

Messages from the Past

The Gilded Lady’s case was made of cartonnage, which is like papier-mâché.

Why did ancient Egyptians mummify × mummify PICTURE ALLIANCE—GETTY to preserve a dead body by treating it with oils and wraping it in strips of cloth (verb) Ancient Egyptians are known to have mummified their dead. their dead? They believed their ancestors would live on in a world after death. That’s why Egyptians preserved the Gilded Lady’s body. They thought she would see, hear, taste, and smell with the help of her golden mask.

Pictures taken with a CT scanner gave scientists clues about what the Gilded Lady looked like. A scan of her skull showed that she had an overbite × overbite TONY SAVINO—GETTY a condition in which the top teeth overlap the bottom teeth (noun) Sasha got braces to correct her overbite. . Another scan showed that she had curly hair. An artist used this information to make a sculpture of the Gilded Lady.

Ellen Futter is the president of AMNH. She calls mummies “messengers from another time.” With the help of technology, we will continue to unwrap mummies’ secrets.

How Mummies Were Made

The mummy was put inside a case. Its organs were put into jars.

In Egypt, rulers and wealthy people were mummified after death. Here’s what it takes to make a mummy.

1. Wash the body.

2. Remove the internal organs.

3. Pack the body in salt. This dries it out.

4. After 40 days, remove the salt.

5. Stuff the body with rags to give it shape.

6. Wrap the body in linen.