Tragic death of the child’s noble mummy, dies from lack of sunlight

KOMPA.com – For centuries, the crypt of one of the oldest Austrian noble families has kept a tragic secret.

In the room reserved for the Prince of Starhemberg, he buried a child of about one or two years old. The boy was buried there between the mid-16th and 17th centuries.

The baby’s little body is still well preserved and wrapped in elaborate silk robes.

Read also: An Egyptian mummy head found brainless, experts say

But what makes him sad is the cause of the child’s death. The analysis found that the cause of death was not a lack of food or injury, but a shortage sunlight.

To collect Science Notice, On Wednesday (10/26/2022) a virtual autopsy of the corpse using a CT scan revealed a malformation of the ribs reminiscent of the classic signs of malnutrition, particularly vitamin D deficiency.

But the baby did not show crooked legs, a feature that should be seen in people with vitamin D deficiency or rickets.

The researchers also tried to consider other causes of the condition, namely low amounts of vitamin C, which causes scurvy.

However, the analysis of the adipose tissue revealed that the child was overweight for his age, at least compared to other children of the time.

Researchers say children are well fed due to their noble status, vitamin C deficiency is less likely.

Vitamin D, on the other hand, is not absorbed from our diet in significant quantities, but is produced in the skin through chemical reactions that depend on ultraviolet (UV) rays.