http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/27/science/27ur.html?_r=1&ref=science
Recently, a new examination of skulls from the royal cemetery at UR discovered in Iraq almost a century ago have led archaeologists to a new and interesting discovery. Once thought to have been killed without pain by poison, CT scans of palace guards have shown otherwise.
When the bones were discovered, they were completely smashed and flattened. By using computers however, anthropologists were able to obtain three-dimensional images of each fragment and determine where the pieces fit. The researchers who were led by Janet M. Monge, a physical anthropologist, applied forensic skills to arrive at the probable cause of death in both cases. There were two round holes in the soldiers cranium and in one woman’s about one inch in diameter, giving reason to believe that the people were not killed by poison which was the common belief for many years, but by sharp pikes that were driven into their heads. The most convincing evidence was that there were cracks radiating from the holes. The holes could have only been made in a living person to have produced such a pattern of fractures along stress lines. The more brittle bones of a person long dead would have shattered.
Along with the skull punctures, something else about the Mesopotamian burial process was discovered. New research has turned up evidence that bodies of some victims had been heated or baked, and not burned and treated with a compound of mercury. This process was not as advanced a technique as mummification processes in contemporary Egypt however they managed to keep the bodies from completely decomposing during extensive funerary ceremonies. On a final note, mummification, while it helps preserve the body, I imagine would make it difficult for forensic scientists to determine time of death.
16 comments:
It is very intresting in why they killed the guards. And how they tried to get rid of the bodies, and it was crazy that they would just smash the bones and leave them there.
It could've been more detalied to whom they killed. How did the skull punctures get into there heads.
What impressed me very much was how the Forensic Scientist would figure out where the bones went just by using a computer, it was simply amazing, but it took me a while to figure out who the victim was, i had to read it over to realize that it was the guards.
The article, “Ritual Deaths That Were Anything but Serene” was a very interesting find that can easily be related to forensics. Very well-presented is the background to the news story. After further looking of skulls in an Iraqi cemetery, it was discovered that an ancient traditional burial was performed in a cruel way. As well, the reader is aware of how the original thought of using poison is incorrect. Instead, sharp pikes were driven into the skulls. Finally, the evidence found helps us understand the case better. Cracks were radiating from the holes, which could only have been made in a living person.
A suggestion for the review is to have a reaction to the highly advanced technology. The fact that we find this out now when the skeleton remains have been present for many years is astonishing. In addition, it could be clarified for what group of researchers Monge was leading. Otherwise, the review was very well written. By reading the article I was very captivated at how the Mesopotamians had another version to mummification. For their dead to be heated and treated with mercury was a method I had previously not been aware of.
3 Aspects I liked
1) I feel the article was very well written - i got a really great picture of the mysterys the team of analysts were trying to solve.
2) I found the topic to be very interesting, as we got to see how foreniscs can be applied even to history and archeology.
1)The specificity of how these analysts were able to come to their new conclusion was very interesting to read about.
2 Suggestions
1) I would have liked to have known a little bit more on the background i.e. What the theory was before this new discovery.
2) I would have liked to have learned more about the technology used to come to these cnew conclusions
1 thing I learned
I think it's really interesting to see that even if something is thought to be a closed case, there is always room for error and that a case may be returned to, even after thousands of years.
“Ritual Deaths That Were Anything but Serene ” is an article about the new examination of skulls from the royal cemetery discovered in Iraq. Cassandra presented this article very well and gave many helpful facts from the article when telling the class. Also, it was intriguing to find out that from these skulls, forensic scientists were able to figure out that they had been buried in a very cruel way, using an ancient traditional Iraqi burial. Another positive component of the presentation was that Cassandra told us how the skulls’ cracks showed that sharp pikes had been used to drive them down during the ceremony. However, one component that would have been helpful to know is how popular this tradition was and why it died or if it is still alive in various cultures. I found it amazing that forensic scientists were able to discover so much information about their culture and lifestyles because of examining their skulls. The presentation was very well done and I think the article as a whole was very intriguing and I was interested in learning the discoveries they made.
The review of the article "RItual Deaths That Were Anything but Serene" was very interesting. Cassandra makes us aware of the background of the article very well. This article is also very relevant to forensics. Scientists used skulls to discover how Iraqi guards were killed. It turns out that an ancient burial was performed on these soldiers. Another good thing Cassandra did was she went into good detail about how the scientists were able to deduce this information. For instance, the cracks coming out of the wholes in the skull means that the men were alive when the punctures were made.
I would have liked it if Cassandra had explained more about the technology that made this possible. Also, a few more quotes would have improved the review. While I was aware of mercury mummification, I was very suprised that Mesopotamian society did it to many common soldiers.
3- I liked the archaelogy aspect of the article
2- it is interesting how the guards were killed and their bones were flattened
1- I also found that the heating or baking of bodies was very interesting
2- I would have liked to know why the guards were killed
1- what was used for the skull puncturing or baking of the bodies
1- I found this article to be very interesting because our forensic science can reconstruct events from hundreds of years ago and uncover these ruthless actions.
Intersting things-
1) It was interesting to see forensics being used with archaelogy and history
2) Cassandra gives a good background of the whole article so you know exactly whats going on
3) How the guards were killed and than what happened to their bones
Suggestions
1) It would have better to know more about the technology they used to disover this
2) Didn't really know how the skull punctures got into their heads
Thing I learned
1) I learned that cases can go on for a very long time, you think that they are closed, but than they can just open up years later, it is very interesting
3- I liked the archaelogy aspect of the article
2- it is interesting how the guards were killed and their bones were flattened
1- I also found that the heating or baking of bodies was very interesting
2- I would have liked to know why the guards were killed
1- what was used for the skull puncturing or baking of the bodies
1- I found this article to be very interesting because our forensic science can reconstruct events from hundreds of years ago and uncover these ruthless actions.
1. a. It proved something wrong that was believed to be correct for over 100 years
b. the summary was very well written- it included all of the major details
c. it was interesting how forensics was used outside of crimes and law suits
2. a. how were the skulls flattened?
b. maybe more of a description of what technology was used
3. it was interesting that something that was believed for so long turned out to be false
Three Things I Liked:
- The information was presented very well to give the reader a general idea of the article
- Most of the article was covered by the review
- The review was full but not lengthy, making the information was very readily accessible
Two Things To Improve:
- Some details were let out that were fairly crucial to the story (i.e. where is Ur, etc.)
- No explanation in the review about why the roughly 2000 people were killed
One Thing I Found Interesting:
- It was interesting to read that anthropologists could use CT scans to reconstruct an entire skull from the smashed remains of one that's over 4000 years old
3 Aspects I Liked
1. I thought it was interesting that when the bones were found they were smashed and flattened.
2. It was cool how anthropologists were able to recreate the bones using a 3 dimensional computer technology.
3. The soldiers’ deaths weren’t caused by poison, but bullet holes were found in their skulls.
2 Suggestions
1. If Cassandra explained how the guards were killed.
2. The detail of the computer technology used.
What I Learned
1. Forensic science is used in many aspects to find the cause of death. For this particular case it involved archaeology.
The article, “Ritual Deaths That Were Anything but Serene” was very well-presented and a very interesting article. One aspect i liked was how these analysts were able to come to their new conclusion. The second was how interesting it was to read about the how the dead bodies were disposed of. Lastly, I feel the article was very well written. I got a really great understanding of what the article presented.
One suggestion I have is, i would have liked to know the background of this story, mainly the theories the analysts may have had. The second, is that the article needs a reaction or position on this new highly advanced technology.
I was most impressed with how amazing it was that forensic scientists were able to discover so much information about their culture and lifestyles because of examining their skulls. You really don't think that much into it. Overall, very interesting article.
1.It was an interesting topic
2. Most of the article was covered by the review
3. The review was full but not lengthy, making the information was very readily accessible
1. I would have liked to know how the guards were killed
2. No explanation in the review about why the roughly 2000 people were killed
1.How anthropologists could use CT scans to reconstruct an entire skull from the smashed remains of one that's over 4000 years old
3 things that i liked about this article was that it was written very well. you could tell what was going on clearly.another thing that i liked was how the anthropologist used there knowledge of forensics.i also liked that it wasnt to long, making me able to read it.
two things that could have been better would be to explain more eabout why they were digging there in the first place and more about the culture.
I think it's really interesting to see something that people thought was true, was in fact not.
This review was very well written, giving the reader a clear picture of the mysteries this team of analysts tried to solve. I like how this article shows how forensics could be applied to archeology and even history instead of simply present crime. Cassandra did a great job of revealing how the analysts were able to come up with a new conclusion. This article lacked a substantial amount of background information upon what prior theories were. As well as more detail upon this technology that lead to new conclusions. What i learned is that even seemingly closed cases could hold error leading to a revisit possibly in the future.
3- I liked the archaelogy aspect of the article
2- it is interesting how the guards were killed and their bones were flattened
1- I also found that the heating or baking of bodies was very interesting
2- I would have liked to know why the guards were killed
1- what was used for the skull puncturing or baking of the bodies
1- I found this article to be very interesting because our forensic science can reconstruct events from hundreds of years ago and uncover these ruthless actions.
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