Consent & the Afterlife

In the Egyptian wing of the Brooklyn Museum my young son stands before a beautiful coffin containing the body of woman named Gautseshenu. Her name means “bouquet of lotuses,” though neither of us can pronounce it. After a couple bumbling tries we stop, me out of embarrassment and him because her name is not the […]

Getting Under a Mummy’s Skin

Years ago, when her young son was going through a mummy phase, Eve Lowenstein wound up reading a lot of mummy books. A dermatologist and one-time molecular biologist, she was soon hooked on paleopathology, the study of ancient diseases. Her obsession would long outlive her son’s. At first, just curious, she sat down to do […]

The Man with the (Dragon) Tattoo

Like millions of other readers I’ve turned into a couch potato this summer, curled up with Stieg Larsson’s addictive page-turners.  I could be out accompanying my dog Max as he tears through his favorite park hunting for forgotten sandwiches on summer evenings.  Or dallying on the beach with g&t in hand. But no. I’m at […]

The Tomb She Calls a Museum

Love hurts, especially when you are 3000 years old and dressed in rags. Thank you musician Josh Ritter and puppeteer Liam Hurley for the best mummy video I have ever seen.