부산대학교 도서관

The use of advanced medical imaging technology in the study of mummified bodies is becoming increasingly common, as it offers the possibility of obtaining a large quantity of informa-tion without affecting the conservation of the ancient remains. In March 2013, the mummy of a Chinchorro infant was examined at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences in Japan, using high-resolution computed tomography with a 16×0.5 mm detector configuration. The study was conducted while the mummy was on loan to the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo for a special exhibition, and sought to gather information on the mortuary technique employed and state of conservation of the mummified body. A whole-body scan was performed with a slice thick-ness of 1 mm and a peak voltage of 120 kVp. The data obtained was processed using different soft-ware programs and enabled the research team to better understand the mummification technique employed, as well as to identify anatomical structures of the face and neck that were hidden by a mask but were important for determining bioanthropological parameters such as age. Considering the complete absence in the reported literature of imaging studies of Chinchorro bodies using high resolution computed tomography, this work offers some initial results and will serve as a reference for future studies that employ this technique on mummified bodies in a fragile state of conservation.