CHICAGO, ILLINOIS—Stuart Stock of the University of Chicago and his colleagues examined computed X-ray tomography (CT) scans of a small Egyptian mummy decorated with a woman’s portrait, and found that it contained the remains of a five-year-old girl, according to a Live Science report. Known as “Hawara Portrait Mummy No. 4,” the mummy, which dates to the first century A.D., was discovered in the early twentieth century and is currently housed in the collection at Northwestern University. The team also used additional targeted, high-intensity X-rays to determine the chemical composition of materials used in the preparation of the mummy. More than 30 needle-like structures thought to have been inserted in the wrappings to stabilize them within the last 100 years were detected, along with an unusual layer of sediment, and a small, elliptical object made of calcite. Stock said this object may be an amulet placed on the body’s abdomen as a protection for the deceased in the afterlife because the body had been damaged during the process of mummification. A higher-resolution CT scan would be necessary to see the object in finer detail, however. “Every time you go into a study like this you get good answers,” Stock said. “But then you just raise more questions.” Read the original scholarly article about this research in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface. To read about CT scans of mummies from around the world, go to "Heart Attack of the Mummies."