When it comes to pop culture, mummies have been given a bad rap.
"Mummies often are seen as, you know, these spooky, scary creatures, but they are individuals and people and that is really the goal behind all of this is to kind of shift that narrative from the spooky, scary to these are just people," said Stacy Drake, Collections Manager of Biological Anthropology at The Field Museum in Chicago.
Recently, the Field Museum had access for the first time to a CT scanner to peer inside the coffins of the mummified individuals who have been at the museum for decades. It ended up sending 26 mummified individuals through the scanner.
Thousands of digital images were taken that give a 3D perspective on the lives these people led thousands of years ago. The studying of the images is just beginning, but already they're able to make new conclusions about the bodies in their care.
Take Lady Chenet-aa, for example, who lived 3,000 years ago. Thanks to the scans, researchers are now able to age her in her late 30s, early 40s. She had supplementary eyes placed on her to help guide her into the afterlife.
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There's also Harwa, who lived a cushy life as a doorkeeper, protecting the kingdom's grain. His high status was evident by his well-kept teeth.
"These scans really help us to learn more about the people, some of the lived experiences, the markings from their bones, their skeletons, their soft tissue helps us get more information about the lives that they lived," Drake said.
These scans not only give insights into the past but remind the public, that these were people who lived, had jobs and had other people in their lives that loved and cared for them.
"That helps us then remind the public and share those stories of those people, encourage people to speak their names and learn stories of the individuals that may have been portrayed in the past as scary," she said.
Scientists will continue their work, peeling back the layers of these mummified individuals' lives for the next year. And as Halloween approaches, Drake hopes the public reflects on how we're not much different than those who walked before us, instead of seeing them as monsters.