From School Library Journal
Grade 5-9–Utilizing striking images from Computerized Tomography (CT) scanning, this book takes readers through the process of investigating the nearly 3000-year-old mummified remains of Nesperennub. The text describes each step in the examination, looking at the coffin and hieroglyphs first, and then moving to the specifics of the body and the objects that accompany it. Along with descriptions of the process, readers learn what scientists make of the find and why they draw these conclusions. The first few sections about the discovery of the mummy and the meaning of the hieroglyphs are fairly dry, but they set the stage for the more exciting examination of the body and the intriguing details that come to light. CT images and X rays vividly depict the findings described. Often readers see multiple views of the same feature, showing how the three-dimensional images can reveal subtle new insights. Some have led scientists to new knowledge about Egyptian life, while others have given rise to theories that have yet to be confirmed. Nesperennub has a snake-shaped amulet above his eye socket, a small round hole through his skull, and a clay bowl stuck to his head. It's fascinating to learn how scientists speculate about the origins of these items, which might have involved religious practices, illness, or even, in the case of the bowl, an embalmer's error. There are many excellent mummy books available, but this one explores the impact and potential of cutting-edge technology especially well.
–Steven Engelfried, Beaverton City Library, OR Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Book Description
The 3,000 year-old mummy of the Egyptian priest Nesperennub has never been removed from its beautifully painted case, but now the latest non-invasive imaging technology has revealed what lies inside. Combining CT scanning with leading-edge computer graphics, scientists have created the world's first virtual mummy - a three-dimensional rendering of the body that can be viewed interactively. This has made it possible to carry out a 'virtual unwrapping' which answers many questions about Nesperennub: How old was he? What did he look like? What diseases did he suffer from? How was he mummified? In a sequence of startlingly clear images this book takes the reader on a tour inside the mummy, to examine the skull, bones, internal organs and the objects placed inside the wrappings: amulets to ensure magical protection, and a unique and enigmatic bowl, perhaps left on the body as the result of an 'accident' in the embalming workshop.
