Carrier Context :
Unique Projects
Scientists hope to learn much more from her. Dietitians
can discover what she ate and the general state of her nutrition.
Parasitologists and bacteriologists will look for any disease-causing
organisms still intact. Geneticists, if they are able to recover
unfragmented DNA samples from her tissue, could theoretically
track her down to a particular village and even locate living
members of her very extended family.
Textile experts already are marveling at the fine weaving of the woolen garments in which she was dressed. Those garments, woven from the soft wool of the llama-like alpaca, also were on display to the more than 100,000 people who came to see her in Washington.
Did Dr. Johan Reinhard, the mummy's discoverer, know the significance of what he had found?
"I knew it would cause a commotion," the American scientist said from his office at the Mountain Institute in Franklin, W. Va., "but I had no idea it would lead to this much."
He has given more than 80 interviews for international media and has been peppered by requests from a score of sciences to study the "Ampato Maiden." Children's book publishers and World Wide Web sites also have shown interest. That worldwide interest brings the climber/archaeologist back to the Carrier-made units.
"With long-term preservation, you're never sure of what's going to happen," Reinhard says. "The smallest lapse in care can damage the mummy very quickly. The preservation units provide the consistent care she needs. Thanks to Carrier, we'll keep learning from her for a long time."
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