The Mummy and Modern Technology https://www.barnummuseumexhibitions.org/apps/photos/ The Mummy and Modern Technology Pa-Ib Pa-Ib was carefully considered for this study because she has unique features such as an unidentified packet in her stomach. Few mummies were buried with birds in their bodily cavities as a sacrificial offering. https://www.barnummuseumexhibitions.org/apps/photos/photo?photoID=93606088 93606088 Careful Transportation Past tests had revealed gender, relative age and era. With the use of new technology, we hoped to learn more about her including her cause of death. Pa-Ib had a full police escort to ensure her safe arrival to Quinnipiac University. https://www.barnummuseumexhibitions.org/apps/photos/photo?photoID=93606089 93606089 Samples to Quinnipiac University The new Toshiba machine at Quinnipiac was used to test the mummy and set the historical record straight on the mysteries she holds. https://www.barnummuseumexhibitions.org/apps/photos/photo?photoID=93606087 93606087 New Mysteries As the images were examined by Gerald Conlogue, Quinnipiac's professor of diagnostic imaging, it became evident that the heart was missing. A unique feature according to Conlogue who has looked at more than 500 mummies. https://www.barnummuseumexhibitions.org/apps/photos/photo?photoID=93606083 93606083 Old Mystery Solved Unfortunately, the packet is not of any note, it is simply organs. Ronald Beckett, professor emeritus in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Quinnipiac, carefully studied all three packets in Pa-Ib. https://www.barnummuseumexhibitions.org/apps/photos/photo?photoID=93606085 93606085 Commoner in Someone Else's Coffin Researchers determined that Pa-Ib was a commoner, who "walked the earth before the pyramids were built" according to Kathy Maher, the Director of The Barnum Museum. The coffin is considerably 'younger' than the mummy itself and the information on it does not match the findings by researchers. https://www.barnummuseumexhibitions.org/apps/photos/photo?photoID=93606084 93606084 Age and Gender Solidified Detailed scans of the head allowed professors to look at the various sutures in the skull. This attention to detail fine-tuned Pa-Ib's age to be closer to 30. Her gender was also conclusively female. https://www.barnummuseumexhibitions.org/apps/photos/photo?photoID=93606090 93606090 The Root Cause of Death Unfortunately, Pa-Ib's head became separated from the body during the "unwrapping" of the mummy in the 1800s. Individual studies on the skull, however, answered the question of cause of death. Research by doctors at the University of Connecticut Dental School found extreme periodontal disease to be the likely cause of death. An infection in the tooth would have quickly spread through the blood and throughout the body. https://www.barnummuseumexhibitions.org/apps/photos/photo?photoID=93606082 93606082