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Purpose: The aim of this study was to systematically reinvestigate the first human mummy that was ever analyzed with X-ray imaging in 1896, using dual-source computed tomography (DSCT) in order to compare the earliest and latest imaging technologies, to estimate preservation, age at death, sex, anatomical variants, paleopathological findings, mummification, embalming and wrapping of the child mummy from ancient Egypt. Radiocarbon dating was used to determine the mummy’s age and to specify the child’s living period in the Egyptian chronology. Material and methods: The ancient Egyptian child mummy is kept in the Senckenberg Museum of Natural History in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. An accelerator mass spectrometer (MICADAS) was used for radiocarbon dating. DSCT was performed using a 2 × 64 slice dual-source CT system (Siemens Healthineers, Forchheim, Germany). A thorough visual examination of the mummy, a systematic radiological evaluation of the DICOM datasets, and established methods in physical anthropology were applied to assess the bio-anthropological data and the post mortem treatment of the body. Results: Radiocarbon dating yielded a calibrated age between 378 and 235 cal BC (95.4% confidence interval), corresponding with the beginning of the Ptolemaic period. The mummy was a male who was four to five years old at the time of death. Remnants of the brain and inner organs were preserved by the embalmers, which is regularly observed in ancient Egyptian child mummies. Skin tissue, inner organs, tendons and/or musculature, cartilage, nerves and vasculature could be identified on the DSCT dataset. The dental health of the child was excellent. Anatomical variants and pathological defects included a congenital Pectus excavatum deformity, hepatomegaly, Harris lines, and longitudinal clefts in the ventral cortices of both femora. Conclusion: Our results highlight the enormous progress achieved form earliest to latest imaging technology for advanced mummy research using the first human mummy investigated with X-ray. With the application of DSCT, detailed knowledge regarding age at death, sex, diseases, death, and mummification of a child from Ptolemaic Egypt are revealed while considering the temporary rites of body treatment and burial for children. Keywords: X-ray, Dual-energy computed tomography, Child mummy, Ancient Egypt, Pectus excavatum deformity, Hepatomegaly

Publisher Summary The last four interglacials (intervals during which global ice volume was similar to, or less than, that of our current warm stage) correspond to the warmest parts of the marine oxygen isotope stages marine isotopic age (MIS) 5, 7, 9, and 11. These interglacials followed the 100-kyr rhythm of eccentricity, but each had different insolation regimes, different durations, different ice volumes, and different sea-level heights. However, atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations were similar and reached values, which, largely, were close to those of the current interglacial (Holocene or MIS 1) before the industrial revolution led to the artificial enrichment of the atmosphere's greenhouse gas concentrations via the burning of fossil fuels. This chapter summarizes the state of knowledge on each of the climatic warm intervals.

Caves are among the most important sites preserving Quaternary fossils. Owing to the CaCO3-rich environment and the protection against erosion, even remains of early Pleistocene faunas are preserved in caves, while contemporaneous surface deposits have been lost. However, faunal remains cannot be linked to any interglacial or glacial period since no species exists which is characteristic of any specific period. Reliable dating of such remains is therefore required. This is now possible applying 230Th/U dating of speleothems. ESR dating of speleothems or 230Th/U dating of bones is, however, of disputable value. Dating of the base and top speleothem accretional layers permit assigning Pleistocene faunal remains to the MIS chronology. In this paper, we present for the first time an overview of all numerically dated palaeontological cave sites in Central Europe between MIS 5 and MIS 8. From twelve sites, a total of 31 strata were dated, most of them deposited during MIS 5; the rest belongs to MIS 6 and MIS 7; and only one sample representing MIS 8 provided reliable numerical dates. Numerically dated palaeontological cave sites older than MIS 8 are not known.