Introduction to Module 1
The mummy’s toe. She lived between 1069 and 664 b.c. in Thebes, a city in ancient
Egypt. Only pieces of her skeleton remain, held in place with plaster, glue, and linen. Yet, the
telltale bones reveal a little of what her life was like. The shape of the pelvic bones indicates that
the person was female. She was 50 to 60 years old when she died, according to the way the bony plates of her skull fit together and the lines of mineral deposition in a well-preserved tooth. Among the preserved bones from the skull, pelvis, upper limbs, and right lower limbs, the right big toe stands out, for it ends in a prosthesis, a manufactured replacement for a skeletal part. Was it purely cosmetic, or did it work?
Modern-day scientists made replicas of the toe and volunteers who were missing the same toe tried them out, demonstrating that the mummy’s toe must have been crucial for balance and locomotion. The replacement toe is evidence of sophisticated medical technology. Scientific investigation is crucial and has impacted modern day medicine.
Egypt. Only pieces of her skeleton remain, held in place with plaster, glue, and linen. Yet, the
telltale bones reveal a little of what her life was like. The shape of the pelvic bones indicates that
the person was female. She was 50 to 60 years old when she died, according to the way the bony plates of her skull fit together and the lines of mineral deposition in a well-preserved tooth. Among the preserved bones from the skull, pelvis, upper limbs, and right lower limbs, the right big toe stands out, for it ends in a prosthesis, a manufactured replacement for a skeletal part. Was it purely cosmetic, or did it work?
Modern-day scientists made replicas of the toe and volunteers who were missing the same toe tried them out, demonstrating that the mummy’s toe must have been crucial for balance and locomotion. The replacement toe is evidence of sophisticated medical technology. Scientific investigation is crucial and has impacted modern day medicine.