VOA科学技术2024--Ancient Egyptian Woman's Suffering Frozen in Final Scream

Scientists now have an explanation for the mysterious remains¹ of an ancient Egyptian woman who has her mouth open in what appears to be a scream.

Scientists used a special computer aided X-ray, or CT scan, of the woman's body. What they found suggested that the so-called "Screaming Woman" mummy may have died in pain and experienced a form of muscular hardening known as a cadaveric² spasm³. This rare kind of spasm happens at the moment of death.

The examination found that the woman was about 48 years old when she died. Cairo University's Sahar Saleem said she had lived with mild arthritis⁴ of the spine⁵ and had lost some teeth.

Saleem led the study that appeared recently in the publication Frontiers in Medicine.

The woman's body was well-preserved although it had been embalmed⁷ 3,500 years ago. Embalmers used costly⁸ imported materials such as juniper oil and frankincense resin⁹, Saleem added.

The ancient Egyptians considered preservation¹⁰ of the body after death important for securing a good existence in the afterlife. It was a custom to remove the internal organs during the mummification process. But the organ removals had not taken place with this woman.

Saleem said, "In ancient Egypt, the embalmers took care of the dead body, so it would look beautiful for the afterlife."

She explained that embalmers were interested in closing the mouth of the dead. Embalmers kept the jaw¹¹ in place by tying the jaw to the head. This prevented the normal jaw drop that occurs after death.

But the embalmers were likely not careless with the so-called "Screaming Woman." They used high quality materials and gave her costly jewelry¹² and a wig¹³, Saleem said.

She added that this evidence "opened the way to other explanations of the widely opened mouth."

The woman may have died screaming from pain. And the muscles of the face may have become tense to preserve this appearance "at the time of death due to cadaveric spasm," Saleem explained.

She said that the full history of the woman's death is unknown, adding the cause of her facial appearance cannot be known "with certainty."

Cadaveric spasm is a poorly understood condition. It is thought to happen after severe physical or emotional suffering. The contracted facial muscles become tense and unmoving immediately following death.

Saleem explained that unlike the stiffening¹⁴ of muscles and joints¹⁵ that happens after death - "cadaveric spasm affects only one group of muscles, not the entire body."

Asked whether the woman may have been embalmed while alive, Saleem added, "I don't believe that this is possible."

Saleem was unable to find out how the woman died.

The "Screaming Woman" was found in the ancient city of Thebes during a scientific search of the burial of a high-ranking official named Senmut in 1935.

The mummy was inside a wooden coffin¹⁶ in a room beneath Senmut's family burial area. Her identity is unknown, but her costly jewelry shows her important position.

"She was likely a close family member to be buried and share the family's eternal resting place," Saleem said.

Words in This Story

scream -n. to shout in a high voice or high pitch

mummy - n. a body embalmed or treated for burial with preservatives¹⁷ in the manner of the ancient Egyptians

spasm - n. an involuntary and abnormal muscular contraction¹⁸

arthritis - n. inflammation of joints

preserve - v. to keep free from decay or decomposition¹⁹

embalm⁶ - v. to treat (a dead body) so as to protect from decay

jaw -n. the bones that form the lower part of the mouth and which hold the lower teeth

contract -v. to increase in tension and become shorter or smaller

coffin - n. a box for burying a body

eternal -adj. lasting forever

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 cadaveric   

尸体的

参考例句：

• Study Design. An in vitro human cadaveric biomechanical study. 研究设计：体外人尸体生物力学研究。 来自互联网
• Study Design. In vitro biomechanical investigation using human cadaveric vertebral bodies. 人类尸体椎体标本的体外生物力学研究。 来自互联网

3 spasm   

n.痉挛，抽搐；一阵发作

参考例句：

• When the spasm passed,it left him weak and sweating.一阵痉挛之后，他虚弱无力，一直冒汗。
• He kicked the chair in a spasm of impatience.他突然变得不耐烦，一脚踢向椅子。

4 arthritis   

n.关节炎

参考例句：

• Rheumatoid arthritis has also been linked with the virus.风湿性关节炎也与这种病毒有关。
• He spent three months in the hospital with acute rheumatic arthritis.他患急性风湿性关节炎，在医院住了三个月。

5 spine   

n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊

参考例句：

• He broke his spine in a fall from a horse.他从马上跌下摔断了脊梁骨。
• His spine developed a slight curve.他的脊柱有点弯曲。

6 embalm   

v.保存（尸体）不腐

参考例句：

• The Egyptians used to embalm the bodies of their dead kings and queens.埃及人以前用药物保存国王和王后的尸体。
• His body was embalmed.他的尸体进行了防腐处理。

7 embalmed   

adj.用防腐药物保存（尸体）的v.保存（尸体）不腐( embalm的过去式和过去分词 )；使不被遗忘；使充满香气

参考例句：

• Many fine sentiments are embalmed in poetry. 许多微妙的情感保存于诗歌中。 来自辞典例句
• In books, are embalmed the greatest thoughts of all ages. 伟大思想古今有，载入书中成不朽。 来自互联网

8 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

9 resin   

n.树脂，松香，树脂制品；vt.涂树脂

参考例句：

• This allyl type resin is a highly transparent, colourless material.这种烯丙基型的树脂是一种高度透明的、无色材料。
• This is referred to as a thixotropic property of the resin.这种特性叫做树脂的触变性。

10 preservation   

n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持

参考例句：

• The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。
• The picture is in an excellent state of preservation.这幅画保存得极为完好。

11 jaw   

n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训

参考例句：

• He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
• A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

12 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

13 wig   

n.假发

参考例句：

• The actress wore a black wig over her blond hair.那个女演员戴一顶黑色假发罩住自己的金黄色头发。
• He disguised himself with a wig and false beard.他用假发和假胡须来乔装。

14 stiffening   

n. (使衣服等)变硬的材料, 硬化 动词stiffen的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• Her mouth stiffening, she could not elaborate. 她嘴巴僵直，无法细说下去。
• No genius, not a bad guy, but the attacks are hurting and stiffening him. 不是天才，人也不坏，但是四面八方的攻击伤了他的感情，使他横下了心。

15 joints   

接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语）

参考例句：

• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on gas mains. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在煤气的总管道上了。
• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on steam pipes. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在蒸气管道上了。

16 coffin   

n.棺材，灵柩

参考例句：

• When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
• The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。

17 preservatives   

n.防腐剂( preservative的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The juice contains no artificial preservatives. 这种果汁不含人工防腐剂。
• Meat spoils more quickly without preservatives. 不加防腐剂，肉会坏得快。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

18 contraction   

n.缩略词，缩写式，害病

参考例句：

• The contraction of this muscle raises the lower arm.肌肉的收缩使前臂抬起。
• The forces of expansion are balanced by forces of contraction.扩张力和收缩力相互平衡。

19 decomposition   

n. 分解, 腐烂, 崩溃

参考例句：

• It is said that the magnetite was formed by a chemical process called thermal decomposition. 据说这枚陨星是在热分解的化学过程中形成的。
• The dehydration process leads to fairly extensive decomposition of the product. 脱水过程会导致产物相当程度的分解。