“A dead Egyptian corpse, or a living British matriarch,” read Alex Trebek’s clue! Contestants in the February 2015 episode.
“What is a mummy?” Answered by a contestant.
Although Trebek accepted the response, A museum curator In the UK today this exact word might be tut-tut.
Visitors to the British Museum in London see some Egyptian mummies.
(Brian Chan/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh and the Great North Museum: decided to avoid using Hancock in Newcastle. the word “mummy” Preferring “mummified remains” or “mummified person” instead.
A National Museum Scotland spokesperson explained to the Daily Mail, “The term ‘mummy’ is not wrong, but it is dehumanizing, whereas using the term ‘mummified person’ encourages our visitors to think about the individual.”
“Where we know a person’s name we use it, otherwise we use ‘mummified man, woman, boy, girl or person’ because we are referring to people, not objects,” he added.
Joe Anderson, assistant keeper of archeology at the Great North Museum, explained the language shift in a lengthy blog post in 2021. The blog focuses specifically on Ertiru, an ancient woman who has been performing in Newcastle for a long time.
“The word ‘mummy’ now often conjures up images of a supernatural creature or monster,” Anderson explains, adding that he hopes these ancient men and women will be “regarded as real people who were once alive and had very specific beliefs about them. After death The body should be treated.”
British Museum in London The Daily Mail refuted a claim that they themselves banned the term but agreed with the approach of their colleagues in Edinburgh and Newcastle.
Museum staff look at the Mummy Mask of Monstuff and Wreath of Monstuff at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.
(Photo by Jeff Jay Mitchell/Getty Images)
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Separate from the linguistic debate, whether it is ethical to display the human body in this way remains a live issue.
Anderson describes several ways in which Irtiru’s remains were desecrated, including having his bandages removed and shellac applied by three surgeons in front of a ticketed audience.
“A large bolt and ring were attached through the cranium to allow him to hang upright. At the same time, a large metal staple was inserted into Ertiru’s spine, securing him to the baseboard below the coffin,” Anderson wrote.
Even mummies that have not been handled in this way appear out of their original context, another point of contention.
Meanwhile, archaeologists Saqqara, Egypt The excavation uncovered a pharaonic tomb containing the oldest and most complete mummy yet discovered in the country, according to a statement Thursday from the leader of the excavation team.
The 4,300-year-old mummy has been identified as a man named Hekashepes. He was found at the bottom of a recently uncovered 15 meter shaft Tomb groups of the Fifth and Sixth Dynasties.
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It remains to be seen if HackaShapes will ever go on display.
Reuters contributed to this report.
