Soulful creatures : animal mummies in ancient Egypt /

For this catalogue to a 2014-15 travelling exhibition, Bleiberg and co-authors (all, Brooklyn Museum) used archaeology, art history, and medical imaging to look at Egyptian animal mummies. According to the museum's director, the exhibition's purpose is to display treasures from the Brooklyn Museum's Egyptian collection that were recently rediscovered and retrieved from long-term storage. Chemical analysis, CT scans, X-rays, and carbon-14 dating were used to learn how animals were mummified and to show what those mummies contain. The curators used that information to clarify the purposes behind the creation of the large number of animal mummies (over a million of which have been found in Egyptian cemeteries). Numerous full-color in-text images enhance readers' understanding of the easy-to-read essays. Images are not limited to the mummies themselves, but also include many ancient artifacts, e.g., sculptures in wood, faience, bronze, and stone; textiles; and jewelry. Images include X-rays and CT scans of the mummies and mummy bundles. Image captions include a description, medium, size, and provenance. The catalogue features a chronology, essays by museum curators, and an index of illustrations. This lavishly illustrated and informative catalogue will interest a wide variety of readers. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers. N. Mactague Aurora University