since the description made by E.-T. Hamy in 1897. However, since that date, the bag that had accompanied it has been removed and kept separately. In the absence of any alteration other than soiling due to the years spent in the exhibition spaces, the mummy was subjected to a superficial dusting and cleaning5. A pedestal system was created in order to allow good maintenance without compromising its initial position. Since the reopening of the Musée de l’Homme in 2015, the mummy has been displayed in the showcases of the permanent exhibition space dedicated to funereal treatment, “Living, Dying and Being Aware” (Figure 4.2(d)).
Figure 4.2. Museum history of the Chachapoya mummy MNHN-HA-30187 at the Palais de Chaillot
COMMENT ON FIGURE 4.2. – (a) 1895: Exhibited at the Musée d’ethnographie du Trocadéro, photo © Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais/ image Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac. (b) 1939: Inauguration of a new section of the Musée de l’Homme, dedicated to “New America” by Jean Zay, Minister of National Education, in the presence of Paul Rivet, a French physician and ethnologist who initiated the creation of the Musée de l’Homme in 1937, photo: © Excelsior – L’Équipe/Roger-Viollet. (c) Same showcase, 1939, photo © Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais/image Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac. (d) 2015: Exhibited in the permanent exhibition of the new Musée de l’Homme, showcase devoted to funereal treatment, photo © MNHN – JC Domenech.
4.2. Materials and methods
4.2.1. The MNHN-HA-30187 mummy: position of the body, measurements and external appearance
The mummy is sitting on its buttocks, in the “fetal position” (Figure 4.3(a)). The lower limbs are bent, the knees brought up toward the chin, the legs bent over the thighs and the thighs up to the chest. The feet are positioned on top of each other, the left over the right, brought back against the pubis. The upper limbs are folded, the arms along the body and the forearms against the chest. The closed hands come in contact with the cheeks, with the palms against the mandible. The head is slightly tilted to the right, slumped into the shoulders, and the mouth is open.
A tie made of four strands, wound in pairs, maintains the folded position of the limbs by surrounding the mummy (Figure 4.3(c)). It passes to the front below the knees, opposite the middle of the forearms, then backwards at the level of the scapula and the upper thoracic spine. In this “hyperflexed” position, the mummy occupies a minimum space of 73 centimeters in height, 36 centimeters in bilateral width, and 38 centimeters in anteroposterior width.
The skin is gray-beige in color. It appears distended, especially on the face, where it covers part of the upper right orbit, or the occlusal surface of the lower teeth. The skin is eroded in places, and part of the skeleton is sometimes visible, especially on the extremities of the limbs: ankles/feet and hands (Figure 4.3(d)). On most of the body, the skin shows multiple traces of activity of necrophagous insects.
On the back of the skull, the skin is cut away to reveal a cranial cavity, which retains the trace of a large perforation of anthropic origin (Figure 4.3(b)). This craniectomy, commonly called cranial trepanation, is located at the level of the left lambdoid suture, straddling the left parietal bone and the occipital bone. It is subcircular in shape and has a “serrated” appearance at its edges, which suggests a multi-drilling technique for the extraction of a bone flap.
Figure 4.3. Current state of the mummy MNHN-HA-30187. (a) General photographs of the mummy. (b) Detail of the trepanation at the back of the skull. (c) Detail of the rope that binds the mummy. (d) Detail of the erosion of the skin observed on the feet, photos © MNHN – JC Domenech
4.2.2. Medical imaging protocol and technique
To transport the mummy to the hospital center for a CT scan6, and in anticipation of the examination itself, the mummy was packaged using radio-transparent material for two main reasons. The first was of a conservationist nature in order to limit direct contact between the mummy and physical variations in the atmosphere (temperature, hygrometry), potential sources of degradation. The second was sanitary, with respect to the hospital space and the scanner room. It was indeed imperative to avoid any risk of transmission of nosocomial infection via equipment used for patients who are sometimes immunocompromised. The use of such a container made it possible to eliminate the risks of contaminating the atmosphere with possible germs originating from the mummy, spores in particular. A protocol for cleaning and disinfecting the equipment was also deployed at the end of the procedure, following the recommendations of the Comité de lutte contre les infections nosocomiales (CLIN). The examination consisted of a multidetector scan7 of the whole body in standard resolution8, then a targeted scan of the teeth in high resolution9.
4.2.3. Protocol for experimental reproduction of trepanation
In order to study the operating mode of the perforation carried out at the back of the mummy’s skull, to estimate the drilling technique, the tools used and the duration of the operation, a protocol for experimental reproduction on an actual skull was developed (Bordeaux Forensic Odontology Laboratory). This protocol was based on the theory that an opening of the cranial cavity created by removing a bone-skin flap through successive and confluent micro-drilling was carried out (see method no. 3 of Lisowski (1967)). The use of flint points – created for this experiment – was the preferred option here with respect to the archaeological context of the Chachapoyas (Toyne 2015). Following CT imaging, segmentation and 3D surface reconstruction of the trepanation (Figure 4.4(a)), a resin duplicate was created by proto-typing (b) for the creation of a matrix (c), which was then positioned on an anatomical model to replicate the perforation (d).
Figure 4.4. Experimental reproduction protocol of the cranial trepanation of the mummy MNHN-HA-30187
COMMENT ON FIGURE 4.4. – (a) 3D surface reconstruction of the trepanation. (b) Resin duplicate. (c) Matrix for the reproduction of the peripheral perforations, 10 mm diameter (in red) or 70 mm diameter (in yellow). (d) Tracing of the matrix on the actual skull and production of flint points. Images and photos: © Dr. C. Bou
4.3. Results
The CT imaging of the mummy enable us to see all of the individual, generally and in detail, from all angles (Figure 4.5). Depending on the image processing, the skeleton or the soft tissue can be examined. These images complement surface observations and allow for an initial biological assessment.
4.3.1. Basic biological identity
Despite the small volume occupied by the mummy due to its constricted position, its size is comparable to that of an adult. This
