Model Of Mummy's Head Made Without Unwrapping

jekluk writes "This story in World Science has a cool picture. Basically they used CT scanning to create a 3D model of a mummy's head without unwrapping a stitch of the mummy. Looks very lifelike, just as if the guy is asleep. The details are shown down to the mole on his forehead."

forensic reconstruction

[wowbagger]

As I read the article, they took the CAT scans, then used the data to reconstruct the face in the same way as they reconstruct the faces of skulls now - that is, by using a model of how deep the skin and muscle is on the skull.

In other words, if you could "see through" the wrappings on the mummy, his face would NOT look like the image in the article - it would be dried out and, well, mummified-looking.

Am I understanding this correctly?

[the darn]

I think the CT scan was just a starting point for the nifty image, that is, it revealed bone structure and dessicated facial features, but they had to use "reconstruction" techniques to figure out what he looked like in life. What we see is more of a very sophisiticated "artist's impression" based on the CT than a 3-D snapshot of what's under the bandages. But I might have misread it.

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Captain Picard

[schnits0r]

AM I the only person who tihnks this guy looked liek captain picard?

Invasive

[pipingguy]

Asked about this technological development, Harwa said, "You're invading my privacy!".

Wow

[adeyadey]

Thats the geezer out of StarGate!

age?

[suckamc_0x90]

"The facial reconstruction revealed Harwa to be 45 years old at the time of his death" How do you tell how old he was based on his facial reconstruction?

Re:age?

[Bowling Moses]

I'm no forensic anthropologist, but here's some ideas: Check the sutures of the skull--the older the person the less trace of them there will be. Second, check the teeth. Increasing wear and damage implies an older (or perhaps poorer...) person. Also you can check to see if the wisdom teeth have erupted or not. Also, the presence of deciduous teeth obviously means a very young age. You could also check bone density--the less dense the older the individual, IIRC. Also I think the jaw will deteriorate