Ecuador’s Baby Mummy: Unlocking Insights into a Global Medical Mystery

An Aepean mummy in Ecuador may be the missing link to understanding the spread of rheumatoid arthritis from the Americas to Europe. His partially mummified remains are set to change history both locally and internationally.

El Comercio reports that during his first examination of the mummified body, French scientist Philippe Charlier detected signs of rheumatoid arthritis in her deformed fingers. The origin of this disease could be genetic or infectious. “This mummy is extremely important for the history of the disease,” Charlier said.

Possibly the oldest case of rheumatoid arthritis

Charlier said: “This is a disease with origins in Latin America and this may be the oldest case of this disease found to date.” The mummy may be “the missing lip that will allow us to better understand the origin and natural history of this disease.”

The states have had that the arthritis of the mataidea is the part of the amer eresa. It is believed that rheumatoid polyarthritis returned to Europe after the return of the Spanish conquistadors.

“After confirming the presence of the disease, we will complete geographical analyses to discover the origins of the map, why the disease developed, and what other diseases the patient had that could have caused him to develop rheumatoid arthritis,” Charlier said, proposing: “This map may correspond to the moment when the two worlds [the Old and the New] met and exchanged germs.”

Who is the Mummy of Gυапo?

The Gapo mummy was found after an earthquake in the small town of Gapo in Ecuador on August 5, 1949. It was discovered in a large jar among the rubble after the walls of the ancient church of Asunción de Gapo collapsed.

It is generally accepted that the body is that of Fray Lázaro de Saptofimia, a religious maquette who came from Spain to spread Catholicism throughout rural Ecuador. He gave food and other aid to the indigenous people living in the town of Gapo and from 1565 to 1572 was the guardian of the church in which the mummy was kept. This had led to the belief that he may have been buried there so that “his soul could wander and be there always watching over” the local people.

The jar in which the mummy was placed has disappeared and the open lid cannot say for sure why Map’s body was put there and covered with the white powder called lime. But when the mummy was discovered, he was wearing a scarf around his chip. Some believed it was simply a tradition of the time and others said it was to keep his mouth closed. But many researchers have claimed that Map died when he had a painful toothache. Charlier has confirmed that there is a six mm (0.24 in) fistula on the left side of the chip that was created by the flow of a large abscess in his jaw, and he believes that the infection caused Map’s death when it spread from his mouth to his jump, blood and brain.

While the stories of Lopely Francisco having a rat as his only friend are likely true, the small mummified rodent found on the map’s body will also be examined to see if it carried all the pests.

Charlier will also try to determine whether the mummy is that of the Spanish Frenchman. According to a report in El Telégrafo, he doubts the claim because of the clothing worn by the mummy. He explained: “The clothing worn by religious members during the colonial period was thick, like jute, but the mummy’s clothing has buttons and is made of a delicate fabric.”

Charlier was also pleasantly surprised by the mummy’s well-preserved state, telling El Ciudadato: “It’s not crumbling or disintegrating. There’s no humidity or mould, it’s perfect.” So far, CT scans show that the mummy’s brain, heart, kidneys, prostate and part of the lupus have been preserved.

The identity of the mummy will be better understood after DNA and Carbop 14 tests, which will have their results in the next six months. Samples of the mummy’s hair will be analysed and fibre optic and toxicological tests will be carried out. This will provide researchers with a better understanding not only of the mummified map, but also of what life was like in the province of Chimborazo during the 16th century.

The Dead is an opera book with a lot to tell us

Charlier is an expert in the analysis of human remains and mummies. He previously examined the remains of Adolf Hitler and Joan of Arc, and was involved in a facial reconstruction of Robespierre. For Charlier, “The dead are an open book for understanding the living and are ambassadors of history.”

He also explained: “The dead are as alive as we are, we are the future deceased; for me it is a copious option. This is not morbid at all, I do not work with the dead because death interests me, I work with the dead because they have a lot to tell us.”