Overview
- Keck Medicine of USC used a state-of-the-art 320-slice CT scanner to conduct full-body scans of Nes-Min (circa 330 BCE) and Nes-Hor (circa 190 BCE) without removing them from the lower halves of their sarcophagi.
- Nes-Min’s images show a collapsed lumbar vertebra consistent with chronic back pain and previously noted healed rib fractures, while Nes-Hor’s scans reveal dental disease and a severely deteriorated hip, with evidence he died older than Nes-Min.
- High-resolution imaging captured preserved soft-tissue and facial details, including eyelids and lower lips, providing a more humanizing view of the individuals.
- Researchers generated detailed 3D digital models and medical-grade, life-size prints of skeletal regions and select burial artifacts, using the same visualization and printing workflow employed for surgical planning.
- The mummies, scans, models and selected prints go on display at the California Science Center’s Mummies of the World exhibition starting Feb. 7, as investigators examine possible tool marks or burr holes that could indicate early surgical intervention.