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00:00Υπότιτλοι AUTHORWAVE
00:30Υπότιτλοι AUTHORWAVE
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02:36Τα μία μόνο στους τελευταίους,
02:38τρία που είναι δεκορρήτες με κυριακό κυριακό και σπίρια.
02:43Ήταν σημαντικό μία.
02:46Μπορεί να είναι δημιουργότερα μια μία κυριοσία,
02:50αλλά δεν είναι.
02:52Ήταν τώρα πάνω από 500 αυτές μία μία μία.
02:56Τα μία μία τελευταία και τέτοιες μία μία,
02:59αλλά όλοι είναι όλοι αυτοί να είναι γρήγορας
03:02στους τελευταίους ως καταγωρίες.
03:05Αλλά είναι το τάουή μητέρα που φτιάχνει ως το πιο μακριά, δηλαδή και φινότητα.
03:14Ποιο έγινε το.
03:17Ποιο έγινε το.
03:19Ποιο έγινε το.
03:27Η τάουή μητέρα είναι διευθυνότητα από 1860
03:30από τάουή μήνες βέβαιοί στην τάουή μητέρα,
03:36κι Focus, σήμερα όλοι βάβαιο του Μακρυφαλού.
03:39Συν κάποιοι all the carved balls have turned up in Scotland.
03:43Ένα δευθυνότητα από τα δ shore,
03:46μία ευκνή, μία και Άλεφαλή,
03:49μία ειδημία, persons των Άλεπεντών,
03:53μία από διάστητά από ίδια στο Σκότωή.
03:56Διεύθυνότητα πρέπει να τελείωσαν μία Σκότητα.
03:59Υπότιτλοι AUTHORWAVE, ΡΕΕΙΝΑ ΜΟΕΙΟΗΕΙΙΕΙΑΙΝΟΕΙΑΙΝΟΑΙΕΙΕΟΙΕΙΑΗΙΝΑΙΙΕΙΑΙΕΙΕΙΝΕΙΙΕΙΙΕΙΙΙΙΕΙΟΙΝΙΕΙΙΙΕΙΙΕΙΙΙΙΙΙΙΙΙΙΙΙΙΙΙΙΙΙΙΙΙΙΙΙΙΙΙΙ�
04:29Υπότιτλοι AUTHORWAVE
04:59Υπότιτλοι AUTHORWAVE
05:29The Neolithic first appeared over 10,000 years ago in the Middle East and China,
05:38where they developed new technologies for growing food crops,
05:43rather than having to go out and hunt and gather their food.
05:46It is the beginning of farming and a settled way of life.
05:50It was also a revolution, technologically speaking,
05:55especially in terms of the creation of polished stone artifacts,
06:00and also the increased complex decoration of objects.
06:05The Neolithic period is a dramatic and permanent transformation of human existence.
06:16Neolithic literally means new stone age,
06:20and stone was the calling card and the core tool and material
06:24that the individuals living in this time worked with.
06:27Stone indoors in just about every environment,
06:33and so that is what we have for the most part
06:36to make our understandings of the Neolithic people.
06:40The level of expertise and man hours needed to create these stone balls
06:45suggest they must play a very significant role in Neolithic life.
06:51But what is it?
06:53What are these carved stone balls for?
06:56One theory that's been suggested for the TOWIE ball
07:02is that it is a demonstration of the skill of the stonemason who made it.
07:08Some have speculated that these stones were actually,
07:13in effect, portable portfolios
07:15that craftspeople could carry around with them
07:18and present as evidence of the quality
07:22and the variety of work that they could produce.
07:25and that could explain the level of detail.
07:27It's a bit of showing off, really.
07:30The idea that these carved balls are a sort of stonemason CV
07:34would help explain some of the differences
07:37between the 500 or so balls discovered.
07:40Or does it?
07:44Only maybe a dozen are as intricate or as well-finished as the TOWIE ball.
07:50So, that does not fully convince to explain why they were made.
07:57Unless they aren't all finished pieces.
08:01It took a huge amount of work to create these things.
08:04So, maybe the ones that were less finessed
08:07were the result of people just giving up, getting frustrated.
08:11Maybe the stonemason just ran out of steam.
08:13But some archaeologists think this idea
08:17is just too hard to reconcile with the evidence.
08:21It's not a theory that's entirely without any merit,
08:24but it's not the strongest explanation.
08:28There is a very different and rather surprising theory
08:31to explain the TOWIE ball.
08:33Maybe it was some kind of Stone Age storybook.
08:40Storytelling has always been hugely important to humanity,
08:44but 5,000 years ago in Neolithic Britain,
08:47there wasn't any way of writing it down.
08:50It was all oral.
08:51The notion is that the TOWIE ball
08:53might have served as a sort of trigger for memory.
08:56using the undulations on its surface
09:00as a kind of means of counting
09:05or stringing together a narrative
09:08by playing your fingers across it.
09:12Mnemonic storytelling aids do exist in other cultures.
09:16For the Luba people of Central Africa,
09:19there's a tangible vehicle of memory
09:21which is known as a lukasa or a memory board.
09:25and these made out of wood
09:28with some iconographic carving added to them
09:33but mainly with beads of different colors strung to them
09:37are used as a system of cues for recounting epic tales.
09:42But there's a snag with this theory.
09:46Only a handful of balls are carved with any real detail
09:50and even they throw up problems.
09:52Even if we look at the very best objects
09:56for this sort of thing, like the TOWIE ball,
09:59the patterns are simply too repetitive
10:02and too simple to be extremely useful
10:05as a mnemonic device.
10:07Perhaps the TOWIE ball is something less artistic
10:10and altogether more violent.
10:19One popular theory is that it could be some kind of weapon.
10:24Those things weighing about a pound each,
10:27if you hit someone with it, it's going to hurt.
10:30It's going to leave a mark.
10:31The idea that the TOWIE ball might be a Neolithic killing machine
10:36fits well with increasing evidence
10:38that this is not a peaceful time.
10:41Neolithic burials have been excavated for, you know,
10:45over a hundred years.
10:47But it's only recently,
10:48with the development of very sophisticated osteoarchaeology,
10:52that we can begin to understand
10:54how people died in the Neolithic.
10:58Increasing evidence shows that warfare
11:01was more common than we had thought.
11:03This wasn't a shiny, happy community all the time.
11:07Head injuries inflicted by weapons
11:09often leave a very recognizable pattern of fractures.
11:12A recent research project
11:16examining 350 Neolithic crania from Britain
11:21found that up to 7%
11:24had instances of traumatic injury.
11:27I mean, if you think about it,
11:28with the positive aspects of reliance on agriculture,
11:32which allows you to settle in one place,
11:35you've got a lot of people settled in one place.
11:38And human nature being what it is,
11:40that inevitably leads to stratification
11:43and ultimately to conflict.
11:47So what kind of weapon could the Towie Ball be?
11:50They could have been used as a kind of mace head
11:53with the lobes giving a means
11:55to wrap sinew or cord around them
11:58and attach them to a stout stick
12:01and therefore be a kind of war club.
12:05But if it is just a glorified Stone Age club,
12:08why decorate it so carefully?
12:10There are precedents for this,
12:12particularly the mouth mace head,
12:14which is another Neolithic object
12:15which is quite extensively decorated.
12:19But there may be a problem with this theory.
12:22We know that the Towie Ball is made out of
12:25a metamorphic stone known as hornfells.
12:27If this hits a solid object,
12:32it is going to suffer a conchoidal fracture,
12:36much in the way that glass would.
12:39Expanding the state-of-the-art 3D graphic,
12:42we can examine every part of the Towie Ball
12:44for the tiniest evidence of this distinct fracture.
12:48We don't see these sort of fractures
12:51on the Towie Ball
12:53or any other of these stone balls.
12:56We also know Neolithic peoples
12:58often bury their weapons in their graves.
13:01But the Towie Ball is not found in a grave
13:04and neither are many of the other carved balls.
13:07It all suggests the Towie Ball isn't a weapon.
13:12But is there another explanation,
13:15one that would justify the effort
13:16that has gone into making the Towie Ball?
13:23Is it a message to their gods?
13:26One thing that's really striking about these objects
13:29when you look closely at the designs themselves
13:33says that they really resemble those found
13:35on some religious structures created during the same time.
13:40So particularly thinking about Newgrange,
13:43a passage grave in Ireland,
13:46you know, it suggests that there could be
13:48a religious purpose to these balls.
13:52Archaeologists believe religion
13:54and these intricate symbols
13:56are intimately connected to life in the Neolithic.
13:59It brings us back to the ideology
14:02of the people of the Neolithic period in Europe.
14:06The winter solstice, the equinox,
14:10bodies of water, offerings to other worlds.
14:13We can see traces of the ritual,
14:16but it's hard for us to connect the dots
14:18and reconstruct the full spiritual system.
14:22But it was there.
14:24So what is the truth about the Towie Ball?
14:29Stonemason's advert?
14:30Weapon?
14:30Stone Age storybook?
14:33With so many impossibilities,
14:35there is no single answer.
14:38And ultimately, we may find
14:40that there are two or three
14:42different viable interpretations
14:44for the use of these objects.
14:47The Towie Ball remains
14:48an enduring and beautiful mystery
14:50and a window into the lives
14:53of our ancestors 5,000 years ago.
14:56In an antique collector's cabinet in Virginia
15:05sits a strange metal contraption
15:08from the 19th century.
15:10It was quite literally
15:12one of the most shocking medical devices
15:14ever created.
15:18Now, using the latest technology,
15:20we're bringing this bizarre contraption
15:23out into the light.
15:26Pulvermarker's electro-galvanic chain.
15:30It was claimed to be a revolution
15:32in medical science.
15:34It's made from 120 perforated metal links
15:37connected together into a chain.
15:40Each link consists of a copper casing
15:45housing a zinc rod
15:46wrapped in vinegar-soaked cloth,
15:49handles made of metal and wood
15:51attached to either end.
15:54It looks well-made
15:55and has the feel
15:56of a professional piece of kit.
15:58People went crazy for them.
16:01Thousands of people were strapping
16:02these strange things
16:03across their bodies.
16:03Which is surprising,
16:06given that its sole function
16:08was to deliver 132 volts of electricity
16:11directly into the body.
16:13More or less equivalent
16:15to plugging yourself
16:16into a U.S. power outlet.
16:19This is basically a device
16:20for electrocuting yourself.
16:24Why would someone
16:26do something so bizarre?
16:29Does it actually produce electricity?
16:31And were people
16:33really electrocuting themselves
16:35for their health?
16:40In the mid-19th century,
16:42Britain's empire
16:43is expanding rapidly.
16:46The country is embracing change
16:48led by an explosion
16:49of innovation
16:50and game-changing invention.
16:54And then there's
16:55the Pulvermacher belt.
16:57Its inventor,
16:58Isaac Pulvermacher,
16:59is a mysterious figure.
17:00We don't have any
17:01photographs of him,
17:02but we know he was
17:03a Prussian traveling inventor.
17:07In the 1850s,
17:09Pulvermacher is traveling
17:10around Europe,
17:11gathering support
17:12and testimonies
17:13that will help him sell
17:14what he claims
17:15is the portable cure
17:16for almost every ailment
17:18known to man.
17:20The self-applicable
17:21electro-galvanic chain belt
17:23for the cure of nervous
17:25and chronic diseases
17:26without medicine.
17:28What a title.
17:29It's a panacea.
17:31It can treat rheumatism,
17:33liver problems,
17:34tiredness,
17:35headaches,
17:36dizziness,
17:37fatigue,
17:38even sexual problems.
17:40So you name it,
17:40the belt can fix it
17:42through the magic
17:42of electricity.
17:44Or so says
17:44the mysterious
17:45Pulvermacher.
17:46Pulling the belt apart
17:54reveals that it can
17:55definitely give you
17:56a nasty shock.
17:59So the belt consists
18:00of a series
18:01of interconnected links.
18:04Each one has
18:05a copper casing
18:06and inside that
18:08is a zinc rod
18:09which is wrapped
18:10in a little cloth
18:11soaked in vinegar.
18:12Two different metals
18:15with a conducting
18:16liquid between
18:17like vinegar
18:18will produce
18:19electricity.
18:20It's high school
18:21science.
18:23This makes
18:23every link
18:24in the belt
18:24an individual
18:25battery cell.
18:27The beauty
18:28of these things
18:28is that the more
18:30of these you link up
18:31the bigger
18:32the voltage you get.
18:33Pulvermacher
18:34had a range
18:35of different models
18:35but the 120 cell version
18:38could deliver
18:38a whopping
18:39132 volts.
18:42There are several
18:45recommended ways
18:46to use the device.
18:48These include
18:49the simple
18:50shock method
18:51where you hold
18:52the metal tubes
18:53with damp hands
18:54and bang the link
18:55chains together.
18:56Each time they connect
18:57you get a shock.
19:00There is the
19:01conductor brush
19:02specifically for
19:03electrocuting
19:04the mouth
19:05and ears.
19:07And then there is
19:08the interrupting
19:09clockwork system
19:10which when connected
19:11to the electric chain
19:12and wound up
19:13sends shocks
19:14to that part
19:15of the body
19:15that most needs
19:16a regular jolt.
19:25Pulvermacher
19:25may have designed
19:26the belt
19:26but he didn't invent
19:28the concept
19:28of the electrical cure.
19:30So where does
19:31this crazy idea
19:32come from?
19:33around 5,000 years
19:40before the Victorians
19:41get the belt
19:42people are already
19:43using electricity
19:44to cure.
19:47Ancient Egyptians
19:47use electric catfish
19:49from the Nile
19:50to cure migraines
19:51and gout
19:51and around
19:532,500 years ago
19:54the Greeks
19:55discover the power
19:56of amber.
19:57Thales of Milosus
19:59experimented
20:00by rubbing
20:00amber
20:01on cat's fur
20:02and he notices
20:03that the cat's fur
20:04stands on end.
20:07Thales
20:07and the cat
20:09were witnessing
20:10the attracting
20:11effects of
20:12static electricity.
20:14This is actually
20:15where we get
20:16the name
20:16for electricity
20:17from
20:17because electron
20:18is the Greek
20:19word for amber.
20:21The ancient Greeks
20:22seemed to think
20:23that this mysterious
20:24attracting force
20:25has health benefits.
20:27They started
20:28treating human beings
20:29with it
20:30with the idea
20:31that it might
20:31actually be able
20:32to draw out
20:33the pain
20:34from your body.
20:37Could the ancient
20:38Greeks
20:39be on to something?
20:42Is Pulvermacher
20:43right?
20:44It seems quite a leap
20:45from rubbing
20:46amber on a cat
20:47to the medical wonder
20:48that is Pulvermacher's
20:49belt.
20:52So can electricity
20:54really be
20:55a miracle cure?
20:57The idea of
21:04medical electricity
21:05really takes hold
21:06in the 18th century
21:07with the quest
21:08for something called
21:09the vital force
21:10and an accidental
21:13experiment
21:14with a frog.
21:16Vital force
21:17is an idea
21:18that goes all the way
21:19back to the ancient
21:20Egyptians.
21:21What is it that
21:21animates living beings?
21:23What is this
21:25mysterious force
21:26that makes things
21:27alive rather than
21:28dead?
21:30The man who
21:31believes he has
21:32found it
21:32is Italian
21:33scientist
21:34Luigi Galvani.
21:36His experiment
21:37is unusual.
21:39He was playing
21:40around with static
21:41electricity machines
21:42and at the same time
21:43dissecting frogs
21:44and what we think
21:45might have happened
21:46is that one of his
21:47assistants touched
21:47a scalpel on a nerve
21:49in the frog's leg.
21:50Perhaps that scalpel
21:50had been charged up
21:51with some static
21:52electricity from somewhere
21:53and the frog's leg
21:54kicked.
21:55And what this showed us
21:56was there was a
21:57fundamental relationship
21:58between electricity
21:58and whatever makes
22:00muscles move.
22:02Galvani is convinced
22:03that he has discovered
22:05this vital force
22:06and he renames it
22:07animal electricity,
22:09a light force
22:10that comes from
22:11the tissue itself.
22:14When Galvani publishes
22:16his first report
22:17on this experiment,
22:19it really,
22:20no pun intended,
22:21shocks the world.
22:24Galvani believes
22:25his new theory
22:26of animal electricity
22:27has huge medical potential.
22:30But it was going to take
22:31more than the kicking leg
22:32of a dead frog
22:33to convince the world
22:34of this.
22:35This all changed
22:35in 1798
22:36when Galvani died
22:38and passed on the baton
22:39to his nephew
22:40and assistant
22:40Giovanni Aldini.
22:44Aldini takes
22:45his uncle's theories
22:46on the road.
22:48He provides the inspiration
22:49for the Pulvermacher build
22:50because his work
22:52is designed to prove
22:53that electricity
22:54really is the vital force.
22:56to do that,
22:58Aldini performs
22:59one of the most
23:00literally shocking
23:01experiments
23:02of the entire
23:0319th century.
23:10He tours Europe
23:11with a voltaic pile
23:13and he uses it
23:14to conduct electricity
23:16through the cadavers
23:17of various animals
23:18like dogs and sheep,
23:20making them kick
23:20and twitch.
23:21but he decides
23:23to up the ante a bit
23:25and uses not an animal
23:27but a person.
23:32His most famous experiment
23:34takes place in 1803
23:36at the Royal College
23:38of Surgeons.
23:39In front of a large audience,
23:41Aldini hooks his device
23:43up to recently hanged
23:44murderer George Foster.
23:45He sends 132 volts
23:49of electricity
23:50surging through
23:51the dead convict's corpse
23:53and it immediately
23:55begins to move.
23:58The audience
23:59is terrified.
24:00They think Aldini
24:01is trying to bring back
24:03to life a dead murderer
24:05but he reassures them
24:06saying no,
24:07this is a device
24:09that might be able
24:09to revive others
24:11and save their lives,
24:12perhaps someone
24:13who had recently drowned.
24:15Aldini's demonstration
24:17changes the way
24:1919th century people
24:20view electricity.
24:22Even Mary Shelley's
24:23Frankenstein
24:24is directly influenced
24:26by George Foster's
24:27electrifying return.
24:31Of course,
24:32Aldini isn't actually
24:33reanimating the dead.
24:35He is demonstrating
24:36that the nervous system
24:38uses electricity
24:39to control a living body.
24:42Our muscles move
24:42in response to electrical signals
24:44that flow through our nerves
24:45to the muscles.
24:46Electricity is a vital force.
24:48But in a dead body,
24:50there's no source
24:50of electricity.
24:53Maybe the fabled vital force
24:55hasn't been discovered.
24:56But here is proof
24:58that electricity
24:59is an essential part of life.
25:02Aldini's experiment
25:03kickstarts further experimentation
25:06in using electrotherapy
25:09to treat all kinds of ailments.
25:11It's thought that
25:13the application
25:14of direct current
25:14to the human body
25:15might be able to cure
25:17all kinds of issues.
25:19A true panacea.
25:20The world is ready
25:22to embrace electricity
25:23in medicine.
25:24They call it
25:25electrotherapy.
25:28And leading the charge
25:30is Pulvermacher's belt.
25:31So, does this strange device
25:35really work?
25:40By the middle of the 19th century,
25:42electrotherapy is all the rage.
25:45You have clinics opening up
25:47in major cities like London
25:48and Paris,
25:49all promising cures
25:51for whatever ails you
25:53through the application
25:54of direct current.
25:55But the miracle
25:57electrotherapy cures
25:58rapidly get out of hand.
26:01As is often the case
26:02with new inventions,
26:04especially those
26:04that tout to cure
26:06common ailments,
26:07it quickly moves
26:08out of the control
26:09of scientists
26:10and medical professionals.
26:12And electrotherapy
26:12becomes something
26:14that people are interested in
26:15as a household item.
26:18This huge expansion
26:19in electrotherapy
26:20is possible
26:21because of a very different
26:23type of invention.
26:24mail-order catalogs.
26:27Mail-order catalogs
26:29are the predecessors
26:30of things like Amazon.
26:32You have a huge catalog,
26:33you see the item you like,
26:35you put it in order,
26:37and presto,
26:38a few days or weeks later,
26:39it shows up
26:40on your doorstep.
26:41In this brave new world
26:43of mail-order miracle cures,
26:44Pulvermacher's belt
26:45is a smash hit.
26:47People want to be convinced
26:49that what you have will work.
26:50They want you to cure
26:51their boldness
26:52or their impotence
26:53or whatever else it is.
26:54And it makes them feel better
26:55to think that there's
26:56something out there
26:57that works.
26:58And you can tell them
26:59pretty much anything you want.
27:01Unlike now,
27:02there are no rules
27:03around advertising.
27:05There's no licensing
27:06and there's no regulation
27:07of the market.
27:08The moment you allow someone
27:09to lie and make money
27:11and face no consequences,
27:13the obvious result
27:14is that people will lie
27:15and make money
27:16and face no consequences.
27:17And it isn't just
27:19Pulvermacher's
27:20electrotherapy cures
27:21taking advantage
27:22of this medical
27:23free-for-all.
27:25In parts of America,
27:26there are three times
27:28as many quack doctors
27:29as real ones.
27:31And the mail-order
27:31cure business
27:32is driving them.
27:34You can find adverts
27:35for face soap
27:36containing small amounts
27:37of arsenic.
27:38You can find cigarettes
27:39that are supposed
27:40to cure asthma
27:41and cholera.
27:42And you can even find
27:43adverts with images
27:44of toddlers
27:44advertising cocaine
27:46toothache drops.
27:53Pulvermacher's belt
27:54rides this wave
27:55of miracle cures
27:56because it is supported
27:58by some eye-catching
27:59advertising.
28:00One always successful
28:02strategy is to appeal
28:04to either femininity
28:05or to masculinity.
28:08And this is exactly
28:08what's done
28:09with the electrified belt.
28:11And there's advertisements
28:12of these rather
28:13buff Victorian men
28:15in kind of scant clothing
28:16with this belt strapped on
28:18and it asks the viewer,
28:20men, why are you weak?
28:23The solution is obvious.
28:24Order one of Pulvermacher's
28:26electrified belts
28:27and turn yourself
28:28into a paradigm
28:29of masculinity.
28:31And it isn't just
28:32Pulvermacher
28:33trying to corner
28:34the electrotherapy market.
28:37So you start to see
28:38ads for electric socks,
28:40you've got electric corsets,
28:42advertisements
28:42for all kinds of home
28:44electrotherapy devices
28:45claiming to cure
28:46everything and anything
28:48that ails the human body.
28:50In this brave new world
28:51of DIY electrotherapy treatments,
28:54Pulvermacher's belt
28:54is making a killing
28:55and he moves
28:56his main production center
28:57from London to Cincinnati,
28:59allowing him to sell belts
29:00across Europe and America.
29:02But there is one
29:03very big issue
29:05with lots of these
29:06electrotherapy cures,
29:07including Pulvermacher's belt.
29:10The real problem
29:11with all these
29:11electrotherapy gadgets
29:12is that the claims
29:14were completely overblown.
29:16The idea that you can cure
29:17constipation
29:18and headaches
29:19and impotence
29:20all simply by
29:22mildly electrocuting yourself
29:23is ridiculous.
29:25So ridiculous, in fact,
29:26that it eventually
29:27attracts the attention
29:28of the U.S. government.
29:31How will they respond
29:32to these outlandish claims?
29:39By the early 20th century,
29:41the writing is on the wall
29:43for the Wild West world
29:45of electrotherapy miracle cures
29:47like the Pulvermacher belt.
29:49The government clans down
29:51on the false promises
29:52made by electrotherapy devices.
29:55You also have the postal office
29:57stepping in
29:58and more carefully regulating
29:59what you can buy and sell
30:01and deliver
30:01over the postal service.
30:04The government has spotted
30:06a major stumbling block
30:07with the belt.
30:09There's no proof
30:10that it makes anyone better.
30:13The market in home
30:15electrotherapy devices
30:16really crashes out
30:18and Pulvermacher's
30:20electro-galvanic medical chain
30:22goes down with it.
30:24Europe later follows suit
30:26with their own
30:26tighter regulations.
30:29Pretty soon,
30:30it's impossible to sell.
30:31an electrical miracle cure
30:33without actually proving
30:34that it works.
30:36It's the end of the line
30:37for Pulvermacher's belt.
30:40The company goes bust.
30:43So was electrotherapy
30:45just quackery?
30:47Not completely.
30:49There was just a lot
30:50of quackery surrounding it.
30:52today,
30:53there really are
30:54proven uses for electrotherapy.
30:56It just can't cure everything.
30:58In the modern world,
31:00electrotherapy has found a place.
31:02For example,
31:03TENS machines
31:03that are used to try
31:04and alleviate chronic pain
31:05or pain in pregnant women.
31:07We've got devices
31:08to stimulate muscles
31:09to prevent atrophy,
31:10for example,
31:10in coma patients.
31:12And perhaps the most important
31:13application of electricity
31:14in modern medicine,
31:16the defibrillator,
31:17which can literally restart
31:18a stopped heart
31:19and has saved countless lives.
31:22Pulvermacher's belt
31:23may have been
31:24total quackery,
31:25but electricity
31:26really can produce
31:28medical miracles.
31:29And unlike Aldini,
31:31we can sometimes
31:33bring back the dead.
31:35At the Penn Museum
31:44in Philadelphia
31:44is a curious
31:45ancient Egyptian relic.
31:48A tiny mummy,
31:49but not of a human.
31:52This strange bundle
31:53of linen strips
31:54has the unmistakable head
31:56of a cat.
31:58Cats were really important
31:59for the ancient Egyptians.
32:01So, you know,
32:02it makes sense
32:03that they would have wanted
32:03to mummify cats
32:05just as they did humans.
32:07But something about this mummy
32:09shocked researchers.
32:13Now, using cutting-edge
32:15imaging technology,
32:16we can show
32:17in astonishing detail
32:19what is so strange
32:20about this bizarre object.
32:24It is roughly 50 centimeters long
32:27with a small round head,
32:29tiny ears, eyes, and nose
32:32attached to an elongated body
32:34without legs.
32:36But that's not what makes
32:38this artifact so strange.
32:41Because for a cat mummy,
32:43it's got one
32:44very big shortcoming.
32:46There's no cat inside.
32:48Not even any random bones.
32:51Where is the cat?
32:53Was it removed?
32:54Was the cat even there
32:58in the first place?
33:01Could this weird relic
33:03be a modern fake
33:04or an ancient one?
33:12Egyptian mummies
33:13have fascinated people
33:14for hundreds of years.
33:16But it reaches a peak
33:17in the 19th century.
33:19Egyptomania was an international craze
33:22around the world at the time.
33:25People just can't get enough
33:26of Egypt and its mummies.
33:29People believed
33:30that they had magical powers
33:31and properties,
33:32mystical properties.
33:34But mummies were never meant
33:36to be a Victorian sideshow.
33:38Mummification in ancient Egypt
33:40was a way of preserving
33:42the bodies so that
33:43after the death,
33:44this individual
33:45could have an afterlife.
33:47In the 19th century,
33:48the problem archaeologists have
33:50is that it is impossible
33:52to see inside the wrappings
33:54without destroying the mummy.
33:56In order to learn
33:57about mummies,
33:59they had to be unwrapped.
34:01And this was a very
34:03destructive technique.
34:05But that doesn't stop
34:06the Victorians holding
34:08bizarre unwrapping parties.
34:10People would pay
34:11a lot of money
34:12to be present
34:13at one of these
34:14mummy unwrapping events.
34:15So, late 19th century
34:21Egyptologists leap
34:23on the newly discovered
34:24technique of X-rays
34:25to end this mummy destruction.
34:28Today, X-rays continue
34:30to reveal hidden wonders
34:31beneath the linen wrappings.
34:34It is basically
34:35like a virtual autopsy.
34:38It gives us
34:38lots of new opportunities
34:41to learn about the mummies
34:43without destroying them
34:45in the process.
34:54So, when a team
34:55from Penn Museum
34:56examines the cat mummy
34:57in detail,
34:58they turn to the X-ray machine
35:00to reveal its secrets.
35:03They are expecting
35:04to virtually unwrap the mummy
35:06and examine the cat inside.
35:08But they are in for a shock.
35:11When they image
35:12this mummy,
35:13there is nothing to see.
35:16Using cutting-edge graphics,
35:18we can reveal
35:19the interior in detail.
35:21There is no cat.
35:23Not even any
35:24random bones.
35:26Where is the cat?
35:29Is this just
35:31an elaborate fake?
35:36The idea
35:37that this is a modern forgery
35:39is certainly plausible.
35:40fake Egyptian artifacts
35:41have a long
35:42and infamous history.
35:46Artifacts from Egypt
35:47became very fashionable.
35:49The sites
35:50where the diggings
35:51took place
35:52were rubbed
35:54all the time
35:55and they could not
35:55be protected very well.
35:57And that
35:58opened up
35:59a market
36:00for forgeries
36:01because it was
36:02much, much easier
36:02to forge everything
36:04and to sell it
36:04for very high prices.
36:06And forgers
36:07were definitely
36:08faking mummies.
36:09The Vatican Museum
36:10in Rome
36:11had two mummies
36:12in its collection.
36:13And in 2015,
36:15researchers ran them
36:16through the full battery
36:17of tests.
36:18X-rays,
36:18CT scan,
36:19DNA analysis,
36:21you name it.
36:22And what they discovered
36:23is that the mummies
36:25were fakes.
36:26They were full
36:27of a jumble
36:27of medieval bones
36:29and a 19th century nail.
36:30So it's credible
36:32that the cat mummy
36:33might be a modern forgery
36:34except for one thing.
36:40In close-up,
36:41the wrappings
36:42reveal a telltale pattern.
36:44The way it is wrapped
36:46has this
36:47sort of
36:47crisscross pattern
36:49that creates
36:50these diamond shapes
36:51that was very common
36:52in the late period
36:53and especially
36:54in the Greco-Roman period.
36:55This is then
36:56a good indication
36:57that it is
36:59actually
37:00an ancient Egyptian mummy.
37:03This strange cat mummy
37:05is authentic.
37:06So was the cat removed
37:08in antiquity?
37:09Or was it never there
37:10in the first place?
37:12Is it simply
37:13an ancient fake
37:14rather than a modern one?
37:15Experts now suspect
37:21the ancient Egyptians
37:22may have had
37:23good reasons
37:24for going to so much effort
37:25to make this cat mummy
37:27appear like it contained
37:28the body of a cat.
37:30And it's nothing to do
37:32with the idea
37:32of a 2,000-year-old scam.
37:36But the answer
37:37might have something
37:38to do with the reason
37:39animal mummies
37:40are made
37:41in ancient Egypt.
37:43Animals were associated
37:44with individual
37:45gods and goddesses.
37:47And so
37:48by creating
37:49an animal mummy
37:50people believed
37:52that they were
37:52actually capturing
37:53some of the
37:55spiritual power
37:55of the god
37:56associated with
37:57the animal.
37:58So for example
37:59the falcon
38:01was associated
38:01with the god Horus
38:03the baboon
38:04with the god Thoth
38:05and the cat
38:06with the goddess Bastet
38:07who happened to be
38:09among the most popular
38:10of the gods
38:11in the Egyptian pantheon.
38:12Egyptologists believe
38:16most animal mummies
38:17like this
38:18are gifts
38:18to the gods.
38:20They were mummified
38:21in order to be
38:22presented as offerings
38:24to different gods.
38:26The idea was not
38:27to offer them
38:28an afterlife
38:29but to make them
38:30work as an offering
38:31to a god.
38:32Before the late period
38:39when the cat mummy
38:40is made
38:41bronze statues
38:42were the go-to method
38:43for offerings
38:44to the gods.
38:46But as the demand
38:47for offerings
38:48grew
38:48the cost
38:50and complexity
38:50of bronze
38:51leads to an increase
38:53in the use
38:54of mummified animals
38:55and archaeological
38:57evidence suggests
38:58that Egyptians
38:59get very enthusiastic
39:00about them.
39:03During the so-called
39:04late period
39:05of ancient Egypt
39:06tens of millions
39:08of animal mummies
39:10were produced.
39:12The number
39:13of animal mummies
39:14consumed
39:15is startling.
39:16In 2011
39:18a team
39:19of archaeologists
39:21found a set
39:22of catacombs
39:23in Saqqara
39:24dedicated to
39:25the god Anubis
39:26and they have
39:27estimated
39:27that there are
39:28around 8 million
39:30animal remains
39:31within the catacombs.
39:33There simply
39:34weren't enough
39:35wild animals
39:36to meet
39:36this kind of demand.
39:39Egyptologists
39:40believe this gap
39:41is filled
39:41by farming
39:42sacrificial animals
39:44on an industrial scale.
39:46If so many mummies
39:49are being made
39:50could an empty mummy
39:52be slipped in
39:53to make money
39:54from gullible pilgrims?
39:56Or is this practice
39:57more common
39:58than Egyptologists
39:59believed?
40:02In 2000
40:04researchers start
40:05a 13-year project
40:06to answer
40:07this question.
40:09The results
40:09are astonishing.
40:11They ran
40:12over 800 mummies
40:13through a CT scanner
40:14and were astonished
40:16to find
40:16that only
40:17one third
40:18of them
40:18actually contained
40:20full animal
40:21remains inside.
40:23Another third
40:24had partial
40:25animal remains
40:26and the rest
40:27had no animal
40:28remains at all.
40:30So what is
40:31the explanation
40:32for this empty
40:33cat mummy?
40:34Some scholars
40:35have proposed
40:36the idea
40:36that this sort
40:38of empty mummy
40:39was part
40:39of a generalized
40:40scam culture.
40:43And you know,
40:43honestly,
40:43who's going to
40:44unwrap it
40:44to check,
40:45right?
40:51There is one
40:52problem
40:53with the scam
40:54theory.
40:55It may not
40:56contain an actual
40:57cat,
40:58but this object
40:58has still been
40:59through the same
41:00laborious
41:01and expensive
41:02process
41:02as a real mummy.
41:04It was wrapped
41:05according to
41:06the style
41:07that would be
41:08used in real
41:09cat mummies
41:10and also the face
41:12and the head
41:12of the cat
41:13was modeled
41:14so that it
41:14looked like a cat
41:15in the same way
41:16as was done
41:17with real mummies.
41:18so the ears
41:20would be modeled,
41:21the face,
41:22the snout,
41:22the eyes
41:23and details
41:24would be painted
41:24so that it
41:25looked like
41:25a real cat.
41:27This amount
41:28of care
41:28and effort
41:29doesn't fit
41:30with the idea
41:31that the cat mummy
41:32is just a cheap
41:33knockoff.
41:36The true explanation
41:37for this strange
41:38thing may lie
41:39within some
41:40of the other
41:41animal mummies
41:41the UK researchers
41:42examine.
41:44They found
41:45some extraordinary
41:46things.
41:47I mean one
41:48for example
41:48a crocodile mummy
41:50which inside
41:52revealed to contain
41:54four adult
41:55croc skulls
41:56surrounded by
41:58four baby
41:58crocodile skulls.
42:00Just a very
42:01strange thing.
42:03What purpose
42:04could mummifying
42:05multiple animals
42:06serve?
42:07One explanation
42:08is that this
42:10was a premium
42:10style that those
42:12who were wealthy
42:12enough to purchase
42:13such things
42:14would do
42:15in the hopes
42:16that it would
42:16get them
42:17even more
42:17favour
42:18with the gods.
42:20Egyptologists
42:21have suggested
42:22this could explain
42:23the empty cat mummy.
42:25Perhaps it's
42:26simply at the
42:26other end
42:27of the scale
42:27from the lavish
42:28versions.
42:29A ritual offering
42:30on a budget.
42:32This is a
42:33classic case
42:34of you get
42:35what you pay
42:35for.
42:36If you only
42:37had a little bit
42:37of money
42:38well you would
42:39splash that out
42:40and you'd get
42:40an empty cat mummy
42:42that still looked
42:43okay, was a
42:44little rough
42:44but it served
42:45your purpose.
42:47Because in
42:48ancient Egypt
42:49the absence
42:50of an actual
42:51cat might not
42:51be the problem
42:52it seems
42:53to a modern eye.
42:56According to
42:57ancient Egyptian
42:57thought
42:58if you had
42:59something that
43:00looked like
43:01the mummy
43:01it would do
43:02the job.
43:03It would
43:03magically work
43:04in the same
43:05way as a
43:06real mummy
43:06would do
43:07when you offered
43:08it to the
43:08deities.
43:09So for an
43:10ancient Egyptian
43:10it would actually
43:11not be a
43:12huge problem
43:13to have
43:14one of these
43:14fake mummies.
43:16It seems
43:17this cat mummy
43:17never contained
43:18an actual cat
43:19but that doesn't
43:21make it a fake.
43:22The people
43:23who bought it
43:24probably knew
43:24there was
43:25nothing inside it.
43:27It is still
43:27a gift for the
43:28gods.
43:29Just one
43:30for believers
43:31on a budget.
43:41on a budget.
44:11in the
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