Thursday, August 2, 2018

Amber

Ciao!  It’s Amber again, here to tell you about our day.  Today was a hot one, so we spent most of the day in the crypt.  Kyler Hirte and I are doing an experiment on humidity in the crypt.  We want to see if tourism affects decomposition rates on mummies so we have been monitoring the crypt every 24 hours and before and after people are in the crypt.  We set up hygrometers in four different areas.  One is near the entrance, another is at the far end on the alter, one is by the window where the coffins are located, and one is at the other end of the crypt.  So far, we are seeing significant changes.  Meanwhile, our professor, Dr. Karl Reinhard, and his teaching assistant, Ruth Grady, were using a forensic vacuum to test the air for fungal spores.

Checking humidity

Today, we continued analyzing the mummies’ biological profiles.  Then, we were each assigned two ossuaries, a container or box where skeletal remains are placed, to examine.  We learned how to differentiate males from females, approximate age at death, and how to identify paleopathologies, ancient diseases, just by looking at the bones and teeth.  Studying the mummies’ biographies allows us to learn about their past health, hygiene, and culture.  The pelvis and skull are most useful for morphological sexing.  When both are available, the accuracy rate is approximately 97%.  Long bones, teeth and DNA are also used to determine sex.  

The remains were moved to ossuaries after flooding damaged the mummies.  The crypt was cleaned and renovated.  I examined ossuary niche #16 and niche #2.  I discovered niche #16 had the remains of two individuals.  One was a subadult under the age of four according to the dentition, lack of fused bones and sutures.  The other bones belonged to an adult with osteoarthritis.  Niche #2 held the remains of a mature male with what appeared to be arthritis.  We saw many different and unique traits among the mummies we examined which gave us insight to how these individuals lived.  Their bones tell a story and we feel very privileged to be able to take a look and learn about each of them.  

Amber sampling the dust

We had a lecture from Dr. Dario Piombino-Mascali on Forensic Anthropology and Death, Decay and Reconstruction.  

Examining the remains

Now, for another granita!

Buona giornata

August 1st, 2018

Ciao! My name is Vanessa Reiser and I am a second-year student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. I am currently studying biological sciences on a pre-medicine track and minoring in dance. I stumbled upon this education abroad opportunity when researching programs that had a science focus. The Sicily Mummy Field School was the perfect fit because I have been interested in mummies since I was in third grade. This is also my first time out of the United States and I feel so blessed to be in Sicily for this incredible experience. Today we took a short bus ride from Santa Lucia del Mela into the city of Milazzo. Our first stop was to look at the Neolithic village located near the Cimitero Comunale di Milazzo.

The prehistoric settlement

What is left is an archaeological site containing what remains of a prehistoric hut. Further down the street, through the Cypress trees characteristic of Italy, we came across a hill with the Old Cathedral perched at the top. It dates back to 1607 and was replaced by a cathedral in the lower town where politics and administration were more prevalent. From here, we moved on to find the Santuario di San Francesco di Paola. San Francesco is depicted in the paintings there to be healing a man struck by lightning, outlining the face of a deformed child, and more. This sanctuary also houses the Miracle Stones, which are said to be the foundation of the church. Our last stop before lunch was to the Antiquarium di Milazzo.

Different types of burials in Milazzo

This museum has many rooms full of Greek and Roman pottery all found in Sicily. One room showed the different types of burials performed in the past. Everything from cremation, burials in large vases, tombs, and huts made of angled concrete slabs is displayed. The day ended with a quick stroll along the seaside before heading back to Santa Lucia del Mela for the night. Ciao Milazzo!

The view of the city

One of Milazzo's beautiful churches

Taylor

July 31st, 2018

Hi! My name is Taylor Pitzer. I am going to be a senior at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. I am studying Forensic Science and Entomology with minors in Biology, Chemistry, and Psychology. With this, I hope to be a crime scene investigator. 

Today was a lot of fun! First we had lectures by Alessandra over paleopathology which is the study of old diseases that people would have had. We then went over trauma which is super interesting to me to see how one can tell what happened and if it was before or after death. 

After lecture we all went down to the crypt to dive right in to observing the mummies. We got seven adults and two sub adults to look at. The top two stores had dust on the top glass which we collected to look at later when back in Nebraska. The goal is to see if the dust is from inside the crypt or getting in from the outside.

One of the mummies

With the mummies, in pairs, we each examined the sex and age estimations of each mummy. Then as a duo we investigated different paleopathologies and made observations of clothing, soft tissue, insect activity, and of mold was present at all.

After the crypt we had a small break and then headed to a welcoming ceremony. At this ceremony the group met a philanthropist that was helping restore frescoes in the churches. There was also a meeting where people could ask questions and learn about what we are doing here and what we hope to accomplish. Afterwards Carmelina made a feast for dinner! All the people at the meeting stayed and ate with us. There were over ten things to try and all very authentic meals, nice was nice to try. Overall it was a wonderful day learning about the town more and the history of it with the crypt and ceremony. 

The opening ceremony

July 30th, 2018

Joey

A view of Santa Lucia

Hello! My name is Joselynne Macias. I’m an Anthropology, Spanish, and French undergraduate student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Today was July 30th and, like most days, we started it off with a few early morning lectures to give us some background on what we might be finding on the mummies, as we get ready to enter the crypt situated below the convent here in Santa Lucia del Mela.

Dr. Karl Reinhard gave an interesting lecture over taphonomy, reflecting on some of his work with the Chinchorro mummies from Peru. The Chinchorro mummies were found in fardos (in fetal position, bound in cloth with a variety of tools). Many mummies had previously been destroyed by huaqueros (grave robbers).

Lice

We also got a little intro on parasites today, too. We put some samples collected by Dr. Reinhard of pieces of scalp and hair from the mummies in Peru under a microscope for examples of nits and lice.

Alessandra Morrone, a student of Dr. Dario Piombino-Mascali, gave a lecture on an overview of paleopathology, particularly things that we may find on the mummies in the crypt. It was a good refresher on previous osteology courses I’ve taken and I thoroughly enjoyed it, as a fan of bones. Good job, Alessandra!

At lunch today, we had some priests visiting to have lunch with us so that they can personally meet all the students taking part in the field school. I felt very privileged to meet them, and it served as a reminder that the work we’re preparing to do with these mummies is important to the community here in Santa Lucia. 

The crypt

Today was also our first time going down to take a look at the crypt located below the convent.

We were told a little bit about the history behind the crypt and the terrible flood that left much of the crypt in disarray and damaged the mummies within. Luckily, a lot of work has since been done to restore them and the appearance of the crypt. I’m incredibly excited to officially begin our work in the crypt, and I want to learn as much as I can throughout this field school. I’ve already learned so much from everyone, and I hope to be able to contribute to this project.

The sunset from the convent

We’ve been in Sicily a week now and each day it seems to get more beautiful. The weather has been in our favor and though it’s a bit of a climb, I’ll never get tired of the view.