My Patients Were Mummies

Michael R. Zimmerman, MD, PhD is an anthropologist and retired pathologist. He obtained his medical degree and training in pathology from New York University as well as a degree in anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania. He has combined a full career in academic medicine with research in paleopathology, the study of diseases found through the examination of mummies and ancient skeletal human and prehuman remains. Recognized as one of the world's experts in this field, he is currently Adjunct Professor of Biology at Villanova University, Lecturer in Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania and Visiting Professor in the UK at the University of Manchester's KNH Centre for Biomedical Egyptology. He teaches courses in paleopathology, history of disease, medical anthropology and forensic anthropology. His studies have involved working with three archeologic expeditions in Egypt, where he examined mummies in the area of Luxor and the Dakhleh Oasis in the Western Desert. He has also examined a number of frozen mummies in Alaska as well as mummies from the Penn Museum and the Royal Ontario Museum. He has served as a consultant on the find of the Iceman, for the National Archives and Records Administration Special Access and Freedom of Information Act Unit, College Park, MD, President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Review Board, and the National Science Foundation, Arlington, VA, Office of Polar Programs. He has been invited to lectures at many museums, among them the British Museum, the Manchester Museum, Penn Museum, the University of Zurich's Institute of Evolutionary Medicine and the Institute for Mummies and the Iceman. His recent publications include: "Cancer: A New Disease, an Old Disease, or Something in Between?" in Nature Reviews Cancer; "Studying Mummies: Giving Life to a Dry Subject," in Palaeopathology in Egypt and Nubia: A Century in Review; and "PUM I Revisited: Tradeoffs in Preservation and Discovery," in The Anatomical Record. My Patients Were Mummies follows the many adventures of a career that took him to exotic parts of the world and has contributed to our understanding of the role that the evolution of diseases has had in human biological and cultural history.

Sofia is just a normal high school girl, worried about getting her homework done and looking cool in the lunchroom, when HE shows up: a devastatingly handsome new kid, mysteriously covered in decaying bandages and staring at her from the empty holes where his eyes should be. She thinks he's just a hipster, but is there more to this handsome stranger than meets the eye? Yes. He's a mummy. We're not really making a secret about this. The twist is he's a mummy. It's a book about a girl who falls in love with a mummy. We've read young adult books about teenage girls unknowingly falling in love with vampires, werewolves, angels, demons, fairies, mermen, warlocks, dreamwalkers, and trolls. Seriously, there was one about trolls. It's time for mummies, dammit. It's time for mummies.

Discusses mummies found around the world, including Peru, Denmark, and the Italian Alps, and explains how studying them provides clues to past ways of life.

An addition to a popular science series reveals how today's cutting-edge technology--such as x-rays, DNA testing, and forensics--is helping to teach scientists more than ever about mummies from across the world.

Why were mummies mummified? These mysterious corpses provide a fascinating window on the past of cultures worldwide. Mummies has plenty of ghoulish intrigue to keep young readers reading. This irresistible title provides the solid science behind the myths and guarantees a successful and rewarding reading experience for kids at level 2. Mummies is a compelling combination of fun, facts, jokes and captivating photography. National Geographic supports K-12 educators with ELA Common Core Resources. Visit www.natgeoed.org/commoncore for more information.

This landmark 1834 work on mummification unites the twin passions of the surgeon and antiquarian Thomas Joseph Pettigrew (1791-1865).