Talk about getting wrapped up in your work...
A world premiere of the Discovery Channel’s “Mummy Autopsy” will be held at UNM, Monday, Dec. 6 at 5:30 & 7 p.m. in the Southwest Film Center in the Student Union Building. Graduate students James Murrell (left) and Ken Nystrom, who are featured in the TV series, will be present to speak about their roles as mummy investigators. The showings are free and open to the public.
The UNM students will be seen worldwide as they travel to exotic destinations for “Mummy Autopsy,” premiering on TV at 7 p.m. on Dec. 7. The show's creators say their aim is to “put flesh on the bones” and to recreate the lives of the long dead.
Murrell and Nystrom are part of a five-member team of mummy investigators, who travel across continents to conduct research on mummies, some of which have lain forgotten for centuries. The 13-part, one-hour series tracks mummy experts as they investigate ancient findings.
Murrell in the second year of doctoral studies at the UNM College of Education, is trained as a radiologic technologist. Early in his career, he traveled with a group to South America to perform x-rays on the remains of native Andean mummies.
Nystrom is nearing completion of his doctorate studies in biological anthropology and teaches biology at Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute. His UNM advisor, anthropology professor Jane Buikstra, was contacted by the show's producers earlier in the year and recommended Nystrom for the television show. Coincidentally, Murrell was chosen too.
“My job was to try to answer some of the fundamental questions that were raised about the mummies,” Nystrom said. “Like who they may have been, what they may have done and how they may have been mummified.” He conducted his work in Greece, Italy, Chile, Peru, Bolivia and Brazil. “My primary experience has been with South American mummies, so it was really exciting to see Egyptian mummies for the first time.”
Murrell hit the ground running in London in mid-May and spent only nine days home during his hectic summer. He returned to Albuquerque on the first day of classes at UNM, after having been awake for more than 25 hours, following his final mummy investigation in Rio de Janeiro.
The mummy experts examined scars, burns and clothing, and looked at body stature and tooth wear. Samples were collected for DNA testing and carbon dating. Strontium isotopes were used to determine the mummy's origin. Murrell said strontium naturally occurs in soils, which becomes incorporated into teeth. So teeth were removed and sent to local labs for testing.
Investigations were conducted without cutting the mummies open. X-rays helped determine age and sex. CT scans were used to look at organs that were left in the body to determine the presence of pathologies, any trauma and to provide noninvasive information about mummification techniques.
Nystrom said the producers worked hard to maintain the scientific integrity of the investigations. Recreations of perceived historical events were also filmed for the show. The series was conceived and produced by Atlantic Productions in London, U.K.
“Archeology, excuse the pun, can be a little dry,” Nystrom said “We're trying to recapture a little bit of how these people actually lived to give the audience something they may not have seen before.”
Contact: Greg Johnston, (505) 277-1816
Posted by scarr at December 6, 2004 09:20 AM