Villa Chiara, Lynnerup Niels
Laboratory of Biological Anthropology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Anthropol Anz. 2012;69(2):127-45. doi: 10.1127/0003-5548/2012/0139.
Mummification processes, either artificial or natural, preserve the tissues from postmortem decay, but change them from their original state. In this study we provided the first comprehensive set of Hounsfield Unit (HU) ranges specific for tissues mummified under different environmental conditions (peat bog, cold-dry and hot-dry environment). We also analyzed the impact of different museal preservation techniques on the HU ranges, as e.g. in the Tollund Man and Grauballe Man, two bog bodies from Denmark. The HU results for mummies were compared with HU results from forensic cases, cremated and inhumated ancient human skeletal remains, and fossil animal bones. Knowledge of the typical HU range for the different tissues in mummies may help to avoid misinterpretation of increased or reduced radiodensity as evidence of paleopathological conditions. Finally, we demonstrate the practical benefit of using our re-defined HU ranges by showing the improved results of 3D visualization from automatic segmentation in an Inca mummy from Mount Llullaillaco.
木乃伊化过程，无论是人工的还是自然的，都能防止组织在死后腐烂，但会使其偏离原始状态。在本研究中，我们首次提供了一套全面的亨氏单位（HU）范围，这些范围特定于在不同环境条件下（泥炭沼泽、冷干和热干环境）木乃伊化的组织。我们还分析了不同博物馆保存技术对HU范围的影响，例如在图伦德人（Tollund Man）和格劳巴勒人（Grauballe Man）这两具来自丹麦的沼泽尸体上。将木乃伊的HU结果与法医案件、火化和土葬的古代人类骨骼遗骸以及化石动物骨骼的HU结果进行了比较。了解木乃伊中不同组织的典型HU范围可能有助于避免将放射性密度增加或降低误解为古病理状况的证据。最后，我们通过展示来自卢拉亚科火山（Mount Llullaillaco）的一具印加木乃伊自动分割的3D可视化改进结果，证明了使用我们重新定义的HU范围的实际益处。
