Major: Anthropology Minor: Biomedical Anthropology
Research Advisor: Dr. Nasser Malit
Presidential Scholars Advisor: Dr. Hadley Kruczek-Aaron
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Title: Cultural Taphonomy: A comparative study of mummification processes among the early Egyptian and Inca cultures
There is lack of research in the field of taphonomy in the context of mummified tissues. In attempt to provide an analysis of mummified tissues, I will be conducting an experiment in which I will be mummifying rats naturally and artificially. The artificial mummification techniques I will be using are Egyptian and Inca mummification. Along with the taphonomic study, I will be making ethnographic comparisons of the Egyptian and Inca cultures to discuss why these cultures chose mummification as a way to dispose of their dead, the different rituals they had surrounding the mummification process, and how their mortuary practices represented their societies. My mummification experiment will include recording the desiccation of the rats and data analysis of this process; my ethnographic comparisons will be made through information gathered from my reference sources.