August 18, 2005—Call it x-ray vision for archaeologists. High- tech scans and computer modeling have offered scientists a noninvasive glimpse inside the delicate burial case of a millennia- old mummy.

In this photo taken August 3, representatives from computer imaging firm Silicon Graphics unveiled a 3-D model of a 2,000-year-old child mummy. The company, based in Mountain View, California, worked with researchers at Stanford University to take more than 60,000 high-resolution CT scans of the tiny corpse.

The results of the scans helped researchers piece together the life history of the mummy without removing her bandages. Dubbed Sherit, or "little one" in ancient Egyptian, the female mummy was most likely about four years old when she died and was in reasonably good health for most of her life.

CT scans have become a popular method for investigating mummies, in part due to concerns over unwrapping the ancient dead. Earlier this year, a National Geographic Society project used CT scans to create an accurate reconstruction of the face of legendary ancient Egyptian boy king Tutankhamun. (See "King Tut's New Face: Behind the Forensic Reconstruction.")

—Victoria Gilman

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