Il Progetto “Mummie Siciliane” costituisce il proseguimento degli studi sui corpi mummificati di Età moderna della Sicilia iniziati dalla Divisione di Paleopatologia dell’Università di Pisa nel 1986 e si propone di: – definire, attraverso indagini paleopatologiche multidisciplinari, la natura delle malattie che colpirono gli individui cui sono riferibili le mummie dell’Italia centro-meridionale; – ottenere informazioni dirette e verificabili circa la presenza nelle mummie stesse di agenti patogeni responsabili di importanti patologie infettive; – definire a livello molecolare le caratteristiche degli eventuali agenti patogeni evidenziabili sulle mummie; – determinare mutazioni geniche associate a tumori antichi ed indagare eventuali relazioni tra tipo di mutazione e fattori di rischio ambientale di cancro; – ottenere informazioni su eventuali relazioni genetiche fra individui mummificati riferibili a famiglie storicamente note; – stabilire relazioni tra condizioni di vita, malattie e terapie nei contesti storici ed ambientali cui sono riferibili le mummie in studio; -integrare i dati biomedici con i dati storici e biografici per ricostruire la storia delle malattie del passato. L’obiettivo è quello di ricostruire la storia di specifiche patologie, attraverso lo studio diacronico di trattati di medicina, terapia e chirurgia di evo moderno, e di stabilire una relazione tra condizioni di vita, malattie e terapie, specifiche dei contesti sociali in cui vissero i personaggi storici e gli individui sconosciuti cui sono riferibili le mummie finora rinvenute. In sintesi, l’obiettivo finale è quello di diagnosticare le malattie dei singoli individui, per definirne poi la patocenosi, cioè l’insieme delle malattie di una determinata popolazione in un dato ambiente e in una data epoca (Grmek).

The Sicilian Mummies Project, carried out since 1986 by the Division of Paleopathology of Pisa University, has both historical and medical relevance. With regard to the medical aspect, the main objective is to characterize the nature of the diseases found in the series of mummies of Southern Italy. This objective can be achieved by complementing the information deriving from morphologic paleopathology with data obtained using a paleogenetic approach. Applied to infectious disease, the molecular paleogenetic analysis of the mummies aims at providing objective evidence about the presence and the genetic characteristics of specific pathogens (Mycobacterium tuberculosis, M. leprae, Yersinia pestis, Treponema pallidum, hepatitis B virus, papillomaviruses). Such evidence would be of crucial relevance for the history of disease. With regard to the neoplastic diseases identified in the mummies, the molecular paleogenetic analysis should provide evidence of specific mutations in the p53, K-ras, H-ras, N-ras and APC genes that might be related to exposure to carcinogenic risk factors. Moreover, molecular paleogenetic analyses should provide information on genetic relationships between mummified individuals referable to historically known families. With regard to historical aspects, the main objective of the project is the research of documentary traces concerning the relationships between life habits, diseases and therapies characteristic of the ancient social and geographical environments to which the mummies are referable. Overall, the final objective of the project is to integrate biomedical and historical data to reconstruct the history of ancient diseases. There are three main final tasks: a) research on specific pathologies. This will be obtained by thoroughly examining learned treatises in the fields of early modern medicine, therapy and surgery. This will enable to assess the links between life conditions, diseases and therapies that were a special feature of the context where the celebrated and the unknown individuals whose remains are examined lived. b) data analysis on the diffusion and virulence on the chosen infectious pathologies (syphilis, tuberculosis and malaria) in the Modern Age, as related to environmental and social factors. The data will be compared to current epidemiological data on the same pathologies. c) reconstruction of funerary and burial rituals, both from a historical as from an anthropological and cultural point of view. Data about rituals and ceremonies will be obtained by researching on burials, as well as on documentary sources. Comparison of the data obtained from the contemporary and the following populations will make it possible to draw up a dynamic pattern, showing the ancient pathocenosis evolution during the Modern Age. This part of the project will made feasible by comparing the data obtained from paleopathological studies with those of historical documents. The biomedical study of such a great number of individuals is fundamental for the general enrichment of current knowledge of the environment, life habits and diseases of ancient Italy.