Eurach Research
Institutes & Centers

Institute for Mummy Studies

Institute for Mummy Studies

    Snapshots of the past times that help us to gain unique insights into our present. By studying skeletons and mummies from all over the world and from different historical periods, we gain knowledge on population history, the development of pathogens and the preservation of archaeological finds.

    1 - 8
    Ancient DNA Lab
    Ancient DNA LabCredit: Eurac Research | Ivo Corrà
    Conservation Lab
    Conservation LabCredit: Eurac Research | Ivo Corrà
    Anthropology Lab
    Anthropology LabCredit: Noi Techpark/Eurac Research | Daniele Fiorentino
    Ancient DNA Lab
    Ancient DNA LabCredit: Eurac Research | Ivo Corrà
    Post-PCR Lab
    Post-PCR LabCredit: Eurac Research | Ivo Corrà
    Ancient DNA Lab
    Ancient DNA LabCredit: Eurac Research | Ivo Corrà
    Realization phase of a Conservation Soft Box (CSB)
    Conservation Lab - Realization phase of a Conservation Soft Box (CSB)Credit: Paolo Bondielli | All rights reserved
    Anthropology Lab - Bone Collagen Extraction Lab
    Anthropology Lab - Bone Collagen Extraction LabCredit: Noi Techpark | Daniele Fiorentino | All rights reserved

    Facts
    & Figures

    11
    Staff members
    6 with a PhD degree
    10
    Ongoing projects
    7 of them with international partners
    7
    Assignments (services and consultancies)
    5 of them with international agencies
    20
    Scientific publications
    annual Journal publications
    4
    Laboratories and facilities

    See all Facts & Figures.

    Research Fields

    1 - 5
    • Mummy Studies

      Mummy Studies

      Scientific research on mummies from around the world and different historical periods provide a better understanding of humankind's history.

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    • Iceman Studies

      Iceman Studies

      Reconstruction of the life and death of the Tyrolean Iceman, commonly known as Ötzi.

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    • Paleogenetics

      Paleogenetics

      Study of the past through the analysis of DNA in ancient human remains.

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    • Conservation

      Conservation

      Development of techniques and conservation protocols for the preservation of ancient organic materials with historical and cultural value.

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    • Bioarchaeology

      Bioarchaeology

      Multidisciplinary research on skeletal and mummified human remains that combines archaeology, physical anthropology, paleopathology, paleoradiology and ...

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    News & Events

    1 - 9
    Albert Zink awarded Honorary Doctorate by the University of Szeged

    Albert Zink awarded Honorary Doctorate by the University of Szeged

    Albert Zink, Head of the Institute for Mummy Studies, was awarded the Honorary Doctorate by the University of Szeged. The award recognizes his long-standing collaboration with the Department of ...

    Nuestros Ancestros

    Nuestros Ancestros

    A visually interactive catalog containing a selection of the mummified remains and skulls of pre-Columbian individuals from the MUNARQ – The National Museum of Archaeology in La Paz’s anthropology ...

    Johan Reinhard visited the Institute for Mummy Studies

    Johan Reinhard visited the Institute for Mummy Studies

    On Monday, 17th June 2024 the American anthropologist and archaeologist Johan Reinhard held a lecture at the Institute for Mummy Studies.

    Finalmente visitabile la Marmotta del Lyskamm dal 14 giugno al Castello di Saint-Pierre

    Finalmente visitabile la Marmotta del Lyskamm dal 14 giugno al Castello di Saint-Pierre

    La mummia di marmotta del ghiacciaio del Lyskamm, la più antica mummia animale mai rinvenuta in Italia, dal 14 giugno ha una casa all’interno del Museo regionale di Scienze naturali Efisio Noussan nel ...

    Two studies show atherosclerosis has been with humans for much longer than assumed

    Two studies show atherosclerosis has been with humans for much longer than assumed

    CT scans and genetic analyses of ancient human remains indicate that atherosclerosis has been present in humans for thousands of years.

    Genetic Predisposition of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease in Ancient Human Remains

    Genetic Predisposition of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease in Ancient Human Remains

    Our researchers have published a new paper in the journal Annals of Global Health to enlighten the genetic burden of our ancestors for the not just modern disease atherosclerosis, with our PhD student ...

    Habilitation Frank Maixner

    Habilitation Frank Maixner

    Frank Maixner gained the “venia docendi in Microbiology”

    The Institute for Mummy Studies in Egypt for anthropological examinations

    The Institute for Mummy Studies in Egypt for anthropological examinations

    Our Bioarcheologist Alice Paladin was at Qubbet el-Hawa North, an archaeological site on the west bank of the Nile opposite Aswan in Egypt for doing anthropological examinations.

    Exhibition 'Mummies. Unwrapping the Past'

    Ancient Egypt has arrived in Bolzano

    02.09-08.10.2022

    Exhibition 'Mummies. Unwrapping the Past'

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    Projects

    1 - 10
    Project

    PFM

    Preservation of frozen mummies. Validation of a protocol concerning the process of reconditioning ...

    Duration: - Funding: Provincial P.-L.P. 14. Research ...
    Project

    BOLD

    Paleogenetic analysis of sixty Bolivian mummies provide precious insights into the genetic history ...

    Duration: - Funding: Provincial P.-L.P. 14. Mobility ...
    Project

    CeltUDAlps

    "Celts" up & down the Alps: Origin and Mobility patterns on both sides of the Alps during the Late ...

    Duration: - Funding: Provincial P.-L.P. 14. Research ...
    Project

    MUMBO

    Bioarcheological studies of mummified pre-Columbian remains from Bolivia. Understanding and ...

    Duration: - Funding: Provincial P.-L.P. 14. Seal of ...
    Project

    PrehistoricAlps

    Genomic diversity of prehistoric individuals from the Iceman’s territory in the Eastern Italian Alps

    Duration: - Funding: Provincial P.-L.P. 14. Research ...
    Project

    MUMMY ATHEROSCLEROSIS

    Assessment of missing links in atherogenesis via paleogenetic, computed tomography and stable ...

    Duration: - Funding: Internal funding EURAC (Project)
    Project

    PopGen Ancient Egypt

    Life and death in ancient Egypt – Paleogenetic examinations for the reconstruction of living ...

    Duration: - Funding: Internal funding EURAC (Project)
    Project

    MummyLabs

    Development and centralization of the laboratory infrastructures of the Institute for Mummy Studies ...

    Duration: - Funding: FESR (EU funding / Project)
    Project

    Iceman Conservation Project 2.0

    Iceman Conservation Project 2.0 Study on the state of conservation and feasibility

    Duration: - Funding: Public institutions (Other projects ...
    Project

    ANCIENT PATHOGENS

    Molecular analysis of the microbiome and of infectious diseases in ancient human remains - from ...

    Duration: - Funding: Internal funding EURAC (Project)

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    Institute's Projects

    MAGAZINE Science Stories that Inspire

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    Beer and blue cheese already on the menu 2,700 years ago

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    Vicini, anche oltre la morte
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    Vicini, anche oltre la morte

    Le analisi sulle sepolture uomo-animale nella necropoli del Seminario Vescovile di Verona pongono le società pre-romane sotto la lente della ricerca
    Conservazione delle mummie, il brevetto di Eurac Research
    video reportage

    Conservazione delle mummie, il brevetto di Eurac Research

    Individuals from the early Middle Ages found in the cemetery of Santo Stefano
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    Individuals from the early Middle Ages found in the cemetery of Santo Stefano

    Analyses by Eurac Research have revealed high genetic diversity and kinship links from remains
    The father, son and infant found in a prehistoric tomb
    article

    The father, son and infant found in a prehistoric tomb

    New details from a bioarchaeological study of a grave in Ora
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    Eurac Research is a private research center based in Bolzano (South Tyrol) with researchers from a wide variety of scientific fields who come from all over the globe. Together, through scientific knowledge and research, they share the goal of shaping the future.

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    What we do

    Our research addresses the greatest challenges facing us in the future: people need health, energy, well-functioning political and social systems and an intact environment. These are complex questions, and we are seeking the answers in the interaction between many different disciplines. [About us](/en/about-us-eurac-research)

    Institutes & Centers

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