Delia

= 
 * Case Study - Ancient Human Remains =

- Assessment - Links - Oral Presentations -

**__Oral Presentation by Delia__**
** Topic: ** Scythian Mummies

The earliest Scythian mummy was discovered in 1865. The most recent Scythian mummy discovery was in 2006. All of the mummies have been found scattered within the Altain Mountains, in countries such as Mongolia, Russia, Siberia and Kazakhstan. These mummies were often stumbled upon whilst excavations in the same area where being conducted. This was because many of the mummies were found bunched together or in massive //kurgans// (grave mounds) near their ruler to follow them into the afterlife. The Ice Princess or "Ledi" for Lady, was found because Russian archaeologists were searching for ice lenses which they weren't sure if any mounds housed tombs or mummies.
 * When, Where and How the bodies were found: **

Because there have been 40 or so discovered Scythian mummies, it is hard to describe them all. So, I will specify on a few details on a few mummies also mentioned in my oral component of the presentation.
 * Description of the Body/Bodies : **

**How Did the Person/People Die**? Not all deaths of the 40 mummies are known, however there are some theories. Some of the servants of the noble, wealthy or rulers were sacrificed and mummified, some were preserved intentionally for reasons unknown. There have been two different accounts of what caused the Wounded Warrior's death: the first being that the arrow fired at him killed him; the second being that he received some sort of operation or treatment to try and remove the arrow from his face and therefore died of the operation hours or a day later.
 * Wounded Warrior I:** had a triple-barbed arrowhead lodged in the flesh below his right eye, fully intact, wearing a coat of marmot fur, crack in his skull, thin cuts on cheek bone, fractured skull (from previous sword injury) and broken left arm (from a previous fall).
 * Ice Princess**: wearing Chinese silk, elaborately tattooed, wearing a headdress 8 feet long, grave undisturbed by robbers or looters (miraculously!), body in very good condition.
 * Blonde Warrior:** blonde hair (obviously), very good condition, 3500 years old, fur coat of marmot fur with sheep's wool lining and adorned sable, traces of woven wool pants, knee-high felt boots, skin on upper body virtually intact, revealing tattoos.

** Preservation Methods : ** Most of the mummies were frozen thanks to the surrounding ice and permafrost they were buried and found in. They were lying for 2000 years untouched on an ice lens which helped to freeze them. Also, in some cases, water trickled through the rocks and got into the graves, therefore freezing everything inside. Unfortunately, for an unidentified warrior, the ice lens expanded upwards, causing his face and chest to crush against the "ceiling" of the grave. Not a pretty sight. Take a look for yourselves...



Scientific Methods used to study the body/bodies: ** Some scientific methods used are similar to those used when solving crimes. Some of the ones I encountered in my research include:
 * autopsies
 * scanning electron microscopes
 * facial reconstructions
 * chemical treatments
 * gene analysis
 * studying the hair (for nutrition information) via chemical and physical methods
 * studying stomach contents (don't know the scientific name of this one)
 * conservation treatments

There are many interesting and fascinating things that can be learnt, not just from Scythian mummies, but also from the bodies and mummies everyone else has discovered and learnt about for their presentations. Here are some I encountered in my research: One of the many creation stories of the Scythians, this one is according to Diodorus Siculus: Scythians "//lived in very small numbers at the Araks River...that they gained for themselves a country in the mountains up to the Caucasus, in the lowland on the coast of the Ocean// (Caspian Sea) //and the Meot Lake// (Azov Sea) //and other territories up to the Tanais River// (Don River)//. Born in that land from the conjugal union of Zeus and a snake-legged goddess was a son Scyth who gave the name Scythian to the people...They won for themselves a country 'behind the Tanais River up to the Egyptian Nile River'"// Diodorus II, 43
 * What has been learnt from studying the body: **
 * beliefs, culture and arts of the society at the time (such as from the tattoos found on the Scythian mummies)
 * what early man's diet consisted of (such as meat, determined by the conditon of the hardly worn teeth found on some of the mummies - a common characterisitc of nomads)
 * diseases and cancers of the time (such as the earliest documentation of Prostate Cancer on the Scythian Cancerous Prince, or osteoarthritis found within the bones of the Scythian Cavalier)
 * social and/or religious heirarchies (determined by the absence or presence of any servants killed to protect or help a ruler in the afterlife)
 * relationships between villages/tribes, such as trade links (evident from the Chinese silk worn by the Ice Princess, or Ice Maiden)
 * many, //many// more
 * Relevant Sources: **
 * Source #1:**

This quote from Diodorus, an historian during the times of the Scythians, is one of my two souces chosen for evaluating. This source is moderately useful as it is a primary source, therefore giving a viewpoint of the Scythians at the time when they lived. However, there was no date found among it. It basically states one of the many differing views of the creation of the Scythians, being born from a Greek god Zeus and a snake-legged goddess and giving his people the title //Scythians// or //Scyths// according to Herodotus. It is not known who this source was produced for, but we can assume that it was probably for a journey or to take back to Diodorus' leaders and inform them of these tribes whilst on his travels or explanations. His motives were probably not that harmful, however, it is from a Greek historian and therefore of a Greek point of view. This would then have to raise the question of whether it was a bias comparison of the Scythians to the Ancient Greeks, or just a simple recount of one of the stories he made along his journies. It was probably intended to be a document for Diodorus' personal self, however we cannot be sure.

This source appears to be moderatley reliable as it does contain primary material from the time and there aren't many other written documents of the Scythian nomads as they didn't write anything down. However it has to be questioned because it is coming from the viewpoint of Greek historian Diodorus Siculus and is one-sided. Also, the motive for producing this source is unknown. It is also known that there were many differing stories of how the first Scythian appeared. Therefore, you would have to consult other sources to gain a better understanding of the Scythian peoples.

[]= 
 * Source #2:**

This source is an online //Discovery Magazine// article (3 pages long) called //Frozen Siberan Mummies Reveal a Lost Civilization// with included pictures and a montage of the kurgans, mummies and the locations in which a selction of mummies (according to the article) were found. It is really interesting (plus, I wasn't able to copy and paste the montage). I seemed to get a lot of really good research out of this article, so it is very useful. It contains information on more than one mummy found, scientific methods, descriptions, and references to previous finds. Although it is a secondary source, I deemed it more useful than the source above. It is very reliable beacuse it has opinions and facts from historians, archaeologists and scientists working together to excavate the tombs. It is also trustworthy as it is part of a factual magazine.

This source appears to be very reliable as it is free from emotional bias, however there are a few criticisms about curses associated with removing the mummies from their final resting places, but I find this a balance to all the facts presented in the article - it makes me understand what other citizens are thinking of the archaeological projects. Although you would have to consult other sources for more in-depth details of the Scythians, this article gives a pretty good overview of different Scythian mummies, their historical background and many different views and opinions of excavating these tombs.

Lendvai, G. 2001. //Art of the Scythians//. Retrieved March 8, 2009, from []
 * Bibliography: **

Curry, A. 2008. 'Frozen Siberian Mummies Reveal a Lost Civilization' //Doscovery Magazine// [online] Retrieved March 8, 2008, from []

Aufderheide, A.C. 2003, //The Scientific Study Of Mummies,// Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. (Pages 207-209) Retrieved March 3 2009

Deem, J.M. //Scythian Mummies// Retrieved March 3, 2009 from []

//Ancient Mummy Opened: Scythian Cavalier had bone disease// 2008. Retrieved March 3, 2009, from []

Meadows, D. 2005. //Scythian Contemporaries//. Retrieved March 3, 2009, from []

//Historical Background// 2008. Retrieved March 3, 2009 from []

//Discoveries of tattoos on ancient mummies from Siberia// 2008. Retrieved March 3, 2009, from []

//Ancient Mummy Found in Mongolia// 2006. Retrieved March 3, 2009, from []

//Scythian Mummy Shown in Germany// 2006. Retrieved March 3, 2009, from []

//Blond Scythian Mummy Found in Mongolia// (n.d.) Retrieved March 14, 2009, from [|www.fsmitha.com/h1/scythians.htm]