The Great Mummy Mystery: Cocaine, Nicotine and Ancient Egypt

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Added 2 months ago by McDan

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In 1992, forensic physician Svetlana Balabanova reported traces of cocaine and nicotine in Egyptian mummies over 3,000 years old. The discovery raised a difficult question for Egyptologists, since tobacco and coca plants are associated with the New World and were introduced to Europe after 1492.

The documentary investigates this mummy mystery through the Munich analyses, the earlier case of tobacco found on Ramses II during his restoration in Paris, and the debate that followed among researchers, Egyptologists and specialists in ancient plants.

Several explanations are examined, from contamination and fake mummies to Egyptian trade networks, mummification practices, archaeobotany and theories of ancient transatlantic contact. The film also follows Dominique Goerlitz’s experimental archaeology projects inspired by Thor Heyerdahl’s Atlantic crossings.

Through science, history and unresolved questions, the investigation looks at what the cocaine and nicotine traces may reveal, and why the mystery continues to divide specialists.

Documentary: Egyptian Mummies : the Great Fraud
Directed by: Nicolas Brénéol
Production: Factual Factory / AH ! Production (2022)

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