A Shrew Mummy in the Collections of the Náprstek Museum

Abstract

The extensive collection of animal mummies kept in the National Museum – Náprsek Museum of Asian, African and American Cultures comprises specimens of various species. The latest examination by the means of computed tomography has confirmed that one of the mummified ball-shaped packages contained remains of a shrew. The present paper summarises in wider context the issue of the mummification of these insectivores, introduces the shrew mummy kept in the Náprstek Museum collections and its research history, and presents the results of its recent scientific re-examination.