What can Ancient Egyptian Mummies do for Modern Medicine?

Professor Rosalie David will lead this discussion – this is her resumé of what she will be saying:

“In 1973, the Manchester Egyptian Mummy Project was inaugurated at The University of Manchester with the aim of developing a multidisciplinary methodology to study disease in ancient Egyptian mummified remains; this utilises historical/archaeological data plus evidence provided by a range of medical and scientific techniques, to enhance our knowledge of disease, diet and medical treatment in antiquity. This research now forms the basis of the KNH Centre for Biomedical Egyptology at the university, a unique facility for teaching and research in this specialisation. The talk will refer to studies at the Centre which compare evidence from the mummies with modern-day disease patterns – in parasitic infestations, atherosclerosis, and cancer – and will consider how effectively evidence from ancient bodies can provide a historical context for contemporary medicine. It will also consider ancient Egyptian pharmacy: did it produce any effective treatments, and how has it contributed to the modern world? “