A mummy is a corpse A cadaver, corpse or lich is a dead human body. The Latin term cadaver is normally used for a body being used in medical training or research whose skin The skin is the outer covering of the body. In humans, it is the largest organ of the integumentary system made up of multiple layers of ectodermal tissue, and guards the underlying muscles, bones, ligaments and internal organs. Human skin is not unlike that of most other mammals except that it is not protected by a pelt and appears hairless and organs In biology and anatomy, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in structural unit to serve a common function have been preserved by either intentional or incidental exposure to chemicals In chemistry, a chemical substance is a material with a specific chemical composition, extreme coldness, very low humidity Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air. Relative humidity is defined as the ratio of the partial pressure of water vapor in a parcel of air to the saturated vapor pressure of water vapor at a prescribed temperature. Humidity may also be expressed as specific humidity. Relative humidity is an important metric used in forecasting weather, or lack of air when bodies are submerged in bogs A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland type that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—usually mosses, but also lichens in Arctic climates. Presently, the oldest discovered (naturally) mummified human corpse was a decapitated head dated as 6,000 years old and was found in 1936.^[1] The most famous Egyptian mummies are those of Seti I Menmaatre Seti I was a Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt (Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt), the son of Ramesses I and Queen Sitre, and the father of Ramesses II. As with all dates in Ancient Egypt, the actual dates of his reign are unclear, and various historians claim different dates, with 1294 BC – 1279 BC and 1290 BC to 1279 BC being the most commonly and Rameses II Ramesses II was the third Egyptian pharaoh of the Nineteenth dynasty. He is often regarded as Egypt's greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh. His successors and later Egyptians called him the "Great Ancestor." (13th century BC), though the earliest known Egyptian mummy, nicknamed 'Ginger 'Ginger' is believed to be the earliest known ancient Egyptian "mummified" body, being Late Predynastic and dating to approximately 3300 BC. The body, which lies in a fetal position and is nicknamed 'Ginger' because of its red hair, is not internationally renowned despite being older than other more famous mummies, such as those of' for its hair colour, dates back to approximately 3300 BC.

Mummies of humans and other animals have been found throughout the world, both as a result of natural preservation through unusual conditions, and as cultural artifacts to preserve the dead. There are more than 1000 mummies in dry Xinjiang Xinjiang is an autonomous region (Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region) of the People's Republic of China and also claimed by the Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2. Xinjiang borders Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, has abundant oil China China is seen variously as an ancient civilization extending over a large area in East Asia, a nation and/or a multinational entity.^[2] Over one million animal mummies have been found in Egypt, many of which are cats.^[3] There are so called mummies of mythical beings.^[4]

Etymology

The English English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into South-East Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria. Following the economic, political, military, scientific, cultural, and colonial influence of Great Britain and the United Kingdom from the 18th century, and of word mummy is derived from medieval The Middle Ages is a period of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The period followed the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, and preceded the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period in a three-period division of history: Classical, Medieval, and Modern. The term "Middle Ages" (medium aevum) was coined in Latin Latin or sometimes Roman is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Although often considered a dead language, in view of the fact that it has no native, fluent speakers, Latin continues to be taught in schools and has been, and currently is, used in the process of new word production in modern languages from many mumia, a borrowing of the Persian Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is widely spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and to some extent in Iraq, Bahrain, and Oman. New Persian, which usually is called also by the names of Farsi, Parsi, Dari or Parsi-ye-Dari (Dari Persian), can be classified linguistically word mūm (موم), which means "bitumen Bitumen is a mixture of organic liquids that are highly viscous, black, sticky, entirely soluble in carbon disulfide, and composed primarily of highly condensed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons". Because of the blackened skin The skin is the outer covering of the body. In humans, it is the largest organ of the integumentary system made up of multiple layers of ectodermal tissue, and guards the underlying muscles, bones, ligaments and internal organs. Human skin is not unlike that of most other mammals except that it is not protected by a pelt and appears hairless bitumen Bitumen is a mixture of organic liquids that are highly viscous, black, sticky, entirely soluble in carbon disulfide, and composed primarily of highly condensed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons was once thought to be used extensively in ancient Egyptian embalming Embalming, in most modern cultures, is the art and science of temporarily preserving human remains to forestall decomposition and to make them suitable for public display at a funeral. The three goals of embalming are thus sanitization, presentation and preservation of a corpse to achieve this effect. Embalming has a very long and cross-cultural procedures. (See also: Mummia.)

The Egyptian mummification process

Of special interest are finds that may testify to the beliefs of the Ancient Neolithic population of Egypt. In two Neolithic cemeteries, skulls were found that indicated tooth replacement in antiquity. In both cases, the teeth were apparently collected and repositioned by Neolithic people after being disturbed by later burials. Also in the same cemetery, four bracelets were found encircling a right humerus, which had been moved from its original anatomical position during the deposition of a later burial. However, the bracelets were maintained in place by the insertion of the individual’s own right ulna and radius that had been fractured post-mortem. Such manipulation suggests that the intention was to repair the damage caused during the insertion of later interments. These intentions are supported by the discoveries, of two skulls with mis-positioned teeth. In one case, the right orbit contained eighteen of the individual’s teeth; in the other, the nasal aperture contained one tooth.^[5]

All of these examples suggest a deep conviction about the importance of body preservation, i.e., keeping it together, ideally in an undisturbed state. Perhaps this was necessary to secure eternal life––similar to the belief that is so popular throughout all of ancient Egyptian civilization.^[6]

The earliest known Egyptian mummy , nicknamed 'Ginger 'Ginger' is believed to be the earliest known ancient Egyptian "mummified" body, being Late Predynastic and dating to approximately 3300 BC. The body, which lies in a fetal position and is nicknamed 'Ginger' because of its red hair, is not internationally renowned despite being older than other more famous mummies, such as those of' for its hair colour, dates back to approximately 3300 BC. Currently on display in the British Museum The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its beginning to the present.[a], Ginger was discovered buried in hot desert sand. Desert conditions can naturally preserve bodies so it is uncertain whether the mummification was intentional or not. However, since Ginger was buried with some pottery vessels it is likely that the mummification was a result of preservation techniques of those burying him. Stones might have been piled on top to prevent the corpse from being eaten by jackals A jackal is a member of any of three small to medium-sized species of the genus Canis, found in Africa, Asia, and southeastern Europe. Jackals fill a similar ecological niche to the coyote in North America; both are omnivorous predators of small to medium-sized animals, as well as scavengers. Their long legs and curved canine teeth are adapted for and other scavengers and the pottery might have held food and drink which was later believed to sustain the deceased during the journey to the other world.

From the Middle Kingdom The Middle Kingdom is the period in the history of ancient Egypt stretching from the establishment of the Eleventh Dynasty to the end of the Fourteenth Dynasty, between 2080 BC and 1640 BC onwards, embalmers used salts to remove moisture from the body. The salt-like substance natron Natron is a naturally occurring mixture of sodium carbonate decahydrate (Na2C dried out and preserved more flesh than bone. Once dried, mummies were ritualistically anointed with oils and perfumes. The emptied body was then covered in natron, to speed up the process of dehydration Dehydration is defined as an excessive loss of body fluid. It is literally the removal of water (Ancient Greek: ὕδωρ hýdōr) from an object, however in physiological terms, it entails a deficiency of fluid within an organism and prevent decomposition. Natron dries the body up faster than desert sand, preserving the body better. Often finger and toe protectors were placed over the mummy's fingers and toes to prevent breakage. They were wrapped with strips of white linen that protected the body from being damaged. After that, they were wrapped in a sheet of canvas to further protect them. Many sacred charms and amulets were placed in and around the mummy and the wrappings. This was meant to protect the mummy from harm and to give good luck to the Ka The Ancient Egyptians believed that a human soul was made up of five parts: the Ren, the Ba, the Ka, the Sheut, and the Ib. In addition to these components of the soul there was the human body . The other souls were aakhu, ba, ka, khaibut, khat, and ren of the mummy. Once preserved, they were laid to rest in a sarcophagus A sarcophagus is a funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone. The word "sarcophagus" comes from the Greek σαρξ sarx meaning "flesh", and φαγειν phagein meaning "to eat", hence sarkophagus means "flesh-eating"; from the phrase lithos sarkophagos. The word came to refer inside a tomb, where it was believed that the mummy would rest eternally. In some cases the mummy's mouth would later be opened in a ritual designed to symbolize breathing, giving rise to legends about revivified mummies.^[7]

Scientific study of Egyptian mummies

Mummies were much sought-after by museums worldwide in the 19th and early 20th centuries and many exhibit mummies today. Notably fine examples are exhibited at the Egyptian Museum The museum's Royal Mummy Room, containing 27 royal mummies from pharaonic times, was closed on the orders of President Anwar Sadat in 1981. It was reopened, with a slightly curtailed display of New Kingdom kings and queens in 1985. Today there are about 9 mummies displayed. One of them is the newly discovered mummy of Queen Hatshepsut in Cairo Cairo is the capital of Egypt, and the largest city in Africa, and the Arab World, as well as one of the most densely populated cities in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a center of the region's political and cultural life. Even before Cairo was, at the Ägyptisches Museum in Berlin Berlin (English pronunciation: /bɜrˈlɪn/; German pronunciation: [bɛɐ̯ˈliːn] ) is the capital city and one of 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union. Located in northeastern, and at the British Museum The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its beginning to the present.[a] in London London is a leading global city being the world's largest financial centre alongside New York City, and has the largest city GDP in Europe. Central London is home to the headquarters of most of the UK's top 100 listed companies and more than 100 of Europe's 500 largest. London's influence in politics, finance, education, entertainment, media,. The Egyptian city of Luxor Luxor is a city in Upper (southern) Egypt and the capital of Luxor Governorate. The population numbers 376,022 (1999 survey), with an area of approximately 416 square kilometres (161 sq mi) . As the site of the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes, Luxor has frequently been characterized as the "world's greatest open air museum", as the ruins is also home to a specialized Mummification Museum. The mummified remains of what turned out to be Rameses I ended up in a Daredevil Museum near Niagara Falls The Niagara Falls are voluminous waterfalls on the Niagara River, straddling the international border between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of New York. The falls are 17 miles north-northwest of Buffalo, New York and 75 miles (120 km) south-southeast of Toronto, Ontario, between the twin cities of Niagara Falls, Ontario, and on the United States ^ b. English is the de facto language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 80% of Americans age five and older. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language–Canada The land occupied by Canada was inhabited for millennia by various groups of Aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French expeditions explored, and later settled, along the Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. In 1867, with the union of three border; records indicate that it had been sold to a Canadian in 1860 and exhibited alongside displays such as a two-headed calf for nearly 140 years, until a museum in Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia, which had acquired the mummy along with other artifacts, determined it to be royal and returned it to Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities. It is currently on display in the Luxor Museum.

Modern scientific methods are being applied to mummies for archeological research. Mummies are studied without unwrapping them using CAT scan Computed tomography is a medical imaging method employing tomography created by computer processing. Digital geometry processing is used to generate a three-dimensional image of the inside of an object from a large series of two-dimensional X-ray images taken around a single axis of rotation and X-ray X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz (3 × 1016 Hz to 3 × 1019 Hz) and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma rays. In many machines to form a digital image of what's inside. They have been very useful to biologists Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy and anthropologists Anthropology is the study of humanity. Anthropology has origins in the natural sciences, the humanities, and social sciences. The term "anthropology", pronounced /ænθrɵˈpɒlədʒi/, is from the Greek ἄνθρωπος, anthrōpos, "human", and -λογία, -logia, "discourse" or "study", and was first, providing a wealth of information about the health and life expectancy Life expectancy is the expected number of years of life remaining at a given age. It is denoted by ex, which means the average number of subsequent years of life for someone now aged x, according to a particular mortality experience. (In technical literature, this symbol means the average number of complete years of life remaining, ie excluding of ancient people. In 2008, the latest generation CT scanners (64- and 256-slice Philips machines at the University of Chicago The University of Chicago is a private, coeducational research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890; William Rainey Harper became its first president in 1891 and the first classes were held in 1892) were used to study Meresamun, a temple singer and priestess at the Temple of Amun Amun, reconstructed Egyptian Yamānu , was a God in Egyptian mythology and Berber Mythology who in the form of Amun-Ra became the focus of the most complex system of theology in Ancient Egypt. Whilst remaining hypostatic deities, Amun represented the essential and hidden, whilst in Ra he represented revealed divinity. As the creator deity " whose mummy now resides at the Oriental Institute of Chicago. Mummies have also been used in medicine Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a range of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness. Before scientific medicine, healing arts were practised in accordance with alchemical treatments and ritual practices that developed out of religious and cultural traditions to calibrate CAT scan Computed tomography is a medical imaging method employing tomography created by computer processing. Digital geometry processing is used to generate a three-dimensional image of the inside of an object from a large series of two-dimensional X-ray images taken around a single axis of rotation machines at levels of radiation Ionizing radiation consists of subatomic particles or electromagnetic waves that are energetic enough to detach electrons from atoms or molecules, ionizing them. The occurrence of ionization depends on the energy of the impinging individual particles or waves, and not on their number. An intense flood of particles or waves will not cause that would be too dangerous for living people.

Scientists interested in molecular cloning Molecular cloning refers to the procedure of isolating a defined DNA sequence and obtaining multiple copies of it in vivo. Cloning is frequently employed to amplify DNA fragments containing genes, but it can be used to amplify any DNA sequence such as promoters, non-coding sequences, chemically synthesised oligonucleotides and randomly fragmented the DNA of mummies have reported findings of analyzable DNA in an Egyptian mummy dating to circa 400 BC.^[8] Although analysis of the hair of Ancient Egyptian mummies from the Late Middle Kingdom has revealed evidence of a stable diet,^[9] Ancient Egyptian mummies from circa 3200 BC show signs of severe anaemia and hemolytic disorders.^[10]

Dr. Bob Brier of Long Island University has been the first modern scientist attempting to apply ancient Egyptian methods of mummification.

Natural mummies

Mummies that are formed as a result of naturally-occurring environmental conditions, such as extreme coldness (Ötzi the Iceman, the Ice Maiden, the Llullaillaco child mummies), acid (Tollund Man), salinity (Salt Man), or desiccating dryness (Tarim mummies), have been found all over the world. More than a thousand Iron Age corpses, so called bog bodies, have been found in bogs in northern Europe, such as the Yde Girl and the Lindow Man.^[11] Natural mummification of other animal species also occurs; this is most common in species from shallow saline water environments, especially those with a body structure which is particularly favourable to this process, such as seahorses and starfish. Old mummies such as the dinosaurs Leonardo, Dakota, and the Trachodon mummy in America were very valuable discoveries.

Europe

Italy

Natural mummification is rare, requiring specific conditions to occur, but it has produced some of the oldest known mummies. The most famous ancient mummy is Ötzi the Iceman, frozen in a glacier in the Ötztal Alps around 3300 BC and found in 1991. Also in the Umbria region mummies were discovered in 1805 [1] in Ferentillo. These are twenty natural mummies, the most ancient of which dates four centuries and the most recent is from the 19th century.

Bog bodies

The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark have produced a number of bog bodies, mummies of people deposited in sphagnum bogs, apparently as a result of murder or ritual sacrifices. In such cases, the acidity of the water, cold temperature and lack of oxygen combined to tan the body's skin and soft tissues. The skeleton typically disintegrates over time. Such mummies are remarkably well-preserved on emerging from the bog, with skin and internal organs intact; it is even possible to determine the deceased's last meal by examining the stomach. A famous case is that of the Haraldskær Woman, who was discovered by labourers in a bog in Jutland in 1835. She was erroneously identified as an early medieval Danish queen, and for that reason was placed in a royal sarcophagus at the Saint Nicolai Church, Vejle, where she currently remains.

Guanches mummies

The aboriginal guanches of the Canary Islands, embalmed their dead; many mummies have been found in an extreme state of desiccation, each weighing not more than 6 or 7 pounds. Their method was similar to that of the ancient Egyptians. The process of embalming seems to have varied. In Tenerife, the corpse was simply wrapped up in goat and sheep skins, while on other islands, a resinous substance was used to preserve the body, which was then placed in a cave difficult to access, or buried under a tumulus. Although in many areas of Tenerife also treated the body with vegetal elements. The work of embalming was reserved for a special class, women for female corpses, men for male. Embalming seems not to have been universal, and bodies were often simply hidden in caves or buried. The method used by the aborigines of the island of Tenerife was the most perfect, because their mummies are the best preserved and most famous of the islands and Spain. Of the mummies guanches stand out Mummy of San Andrés in the Museo de la Naturaleza y el Hombre (Tenerife). The Museo de la Naturaleza y el Hombre is a world reference in regard to preservation of mummies.

In South America

Some of the best-preserved mummies date from the Inca period in Peru and Chile some 500^[12] years ago, where children were ritually sacrificed on the summits of mountains in the Andes. Also found in this area are the Chinchorro mummies, which are among the oldest mummified bodies ever found. The cold, dry climate had the effect of desiccating the corpses and preserving them intact. In 1995, the frozen body of a 11- to 14-year-old Inca girl who had died some time between 1440 and 1450 was discovered on Mount Ampato in southern Peru. Known as "Mummy Juanita" ("Momia Juanita" in Spanish) or "The Ice Maiden", some archaeologists believe that she was a human sacrifice to the Inca mountain god Apus. In Chile, there is 'Miss Chile', a well preserved Tiwanaku era mummy.^[13] She is currently displayed in the Gustavo Page Museum in San Pedro de Atacama.^[14]. Three child mummies, discovered in 1999 on Mount Llullaillaco, 6700 m above sea level, are on display at the Museum of High Altitude Archaeology in Salta, Argentina.^[15]

In Russia

In the summer of 1989, a team of Russian archaeologists led by Dr. Natalia Polosmak discovered the Siberian Ice Maiden in a sacred area known as the Pastures of Heaven, on the Pontic-Caspian steppe in the Altay Mountains near the Mongolian border. Mummified, then frozen by unusual climatic conditions in the fifth century B.C. along with six decorated horses and a symbolic meal for her last journey, she is believed to have been a shaman of the lost Pazyryk culture. Her body was covered with vivid blue tattoos of mythical animal figures. The best preserved tattoos were images of a donkey, a mountain ram, two highly stylized deer with long antlers and an imaginary carnivore on the right arm. A man found with her (nicknamed "Conan") was also discovered, with tattoos of two monsters resembling griffins decorating his chest and three partially obliterated images which seem to represent two deer and a mountain goat on his left arm. The Ice Maiden has been a source of controversy, as alleged improper care after her removal from the ice resulted in rapid decay of the body; and since the breakup of the Soviet Union, the Altai Republic has demanded the return of various "stolen" artifacts, including the Ice Maiden, who is currently stored in Novosibirsk in Siberia.^[16][17]

In North America

In 1972, eight remarkably preserved mummies were discovered at an abandoned Inuit settlement called Qilakitsoq, in Greenland. The "Greenland Mummies" consisted of a six-month old baby, a four year old boy, and six women of various ages, who died around 500^{[citation needed]} years ago. Their bodies were naturally mummified by the sub-zero temperatures and dry winds in the cave in which they were found.^[18][19] The oldest preserved mummy in North America is Kwäday Dän Ts’ìnchi ("Long ago person found" in the Southern Tutchone language of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations), found in August 1999 by three First Nations hunters at the edge of a glacier in Tatshenshini-Alsek Park. It was determined that he had died about 550 years ago^{[citation needed]} and that his preserved remains were the oldest discovered in North America.^[20]

Self-mummification

Monks whose bodies remain incorrupt without any traces of deliberate mummification are venerated by some Buddhists who believe they successfully were able to mortify their flesh to death. "Buddhists say that only the most advanced masters can fall into some particular condition before death and purify themselves so that his dead body could not decay."^[21]

Many Mahayana Buddhist monks were reported to know their time of death and left their last testaments and their students accordingly buried them sitting in lotus posture, put into a vessel with drying agents (such as wood, paper, or lime) and surrounded by bricks, to be exhumed later, usually after three years. The preserved bodies would then be decorated with paint and adorned with gold.

Victor H. Mair claims that the self-mummification of a Tibetan monk, who died ca. 1475 and whose body was retrieved relatively incorrupt in the 1990s, was achieved by the sophisticated practices of meditation, coupled with prolonged starvation and slow self-suffocation using a special belt that connected the neck with his knees in a lotus position.

Bodies purported to be those of self-mummified monks are exhibited in several Japanese shrines, and it has been claimed that the monks, prior to their death, stuck to a sparse diet made up of salt, nuts, seeds, roots, pine bark, and urushi tea.^[22] Some of them were buried alive in a pine-wood box full of salt.

Modern mummies

In the 1830s, Jeremy Bentham, the founder of utilitarianism, left instructions to be followed upon his death which led to the creation of a sort of modern-day mummy. He asked that his body be displayed to illustrate how the "horror at dissection originates in ignorance"; once so displayed and lectured about, he asked that his body parts be preserved, including his skeleton (minus his skull, which despite being mis-preserved, was displayed beneath his feet until theft required it to be stored elsewhere)^[23], which were to be dressed in the clothes he usually wore and "seated in a Chair usually occupied by me when living in the attitude in which I am sitting when engaged in thought." His body, outfitted with a wax head created because of problems preparing it as Bentham requested, is on open display in the University College London.

During the early 20th century the Russian movement of Cosmism, as represented by Nikolaj Fedorov, envisioned scientific resurrection of dead people. The idea was so popular that, after Lenin's death, Leonid Krasin and Alexander Bogdanov suggested to cryonically preserve his body and brain in order to revive him in the future.^[24] Necessary equipment was purchased abroad, but for a variety of reasons the plan was not realized.^[25] Instead his body was embalmed and placed on permanent exhibition in the Lenin Mausoleum in Moscow, where it is displayed to this day. The mausoleum itself was modeled by Aleksey Shchusev on the Pyramid of Djoser and the Tomb of Cyrus.

In the state of Guanajuato, Mexico, mummies were discovered in a cemetery of a city named Guanajuato northwest of Mexico City (near León). They are accidental modern mummies and were literally "dug up" between the years 1896 and 1958 when a local law required relatives of the deceased to pay a kind of grave tax. The Guanajuato mummies are on display in the Museo de las momias, high on a hill overlooking the city. Another notable example of natural mummification in modern times is Christian Friedrich von Kahlbutz (1651–1702), whose body is on exhibit in his native Kampehl.

In 1994, 265 mummified bodies were found in the crypt of a Dominican church in Vác, Hungary from the 1729-1838 period. The discovery proved to be scientifically important, and by 2006 an exhibition was established in the Museum of Natural History in Budapest.^[26] In March 2006, the body of the Greek Orthodox Monk Vissarion Korkoliacos was found intact in his tomb, after fifteen years in the grave. The event has led to a dispute between those who believe the preservation to be a miracle and those who claimed the possibility of natural mummification.

Sometimes modern mummies are reported results from unnatural death or improper settlement of dead bodies.^{[27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36]}

Commercial Mummification

In 1975, an esoteric organization by the name of Summum introduced "Modern Mummification", a service that uses modern techniques along with aspects of ancient methods. The organization considers animals and people to have an essence that continues following the death of the body, and their mummification process is meant to preserve the body as a means to aid the essence as it transitions to a new destination.

Rather than using a dehydration process that was typical of ancient mummies, Summum uses a chemical process which includes leaving the body submerged in a tank of preservation fluid for several months. Summum claims its process preserves the body so well that the DNA will remain intact far into the future, leaving open the possibility for cloning should science perfect the technique on humans.

According to news stories,^[37] Summum has mummified numerous pets such as birds, cats, and dogs, as well as people. Summum is further discussed in the book The Scientific Study of Mummies by Arthur C. Aufderheide.^{[38] [39]}

Plastination

Plastination is a technique used in anatomy to conserve bodies or body parts. The water and fat are replaced by certain plastics, yielding specimens that can be touched, do not smell or decay, and even retain most microscopic properties of the original sample.

The technique was invented by Gunther von Hagens when working at the anatomical institute of the University of Heidelberg in 1978. Von Hagens has patented the technique in several countries and is heavily involved in its promotion, especially as the creator and director of the Body Worlds traveling exhibitions,^[40] exhibiting plastinated human bodies internationally. He also founded and directs the Institute for Plastination in Heidelberg.

More than 40 institutions worldwide have facilities for plastination, mainly for medical research and study, and most affiliated to the International Society for Plastination.^[41]

Treatment of Ancient Mummies in Modern Times

In the Middle Ages, based on a mis-translation from the Arabic term for bitumen, it was thought that mummies possessed healing properties. As a result, it became common practice to grind Egyptian mummies into a powder to be sold and used as medicine. When actual mummies became unavailable, the sun-desiccated corpses of criminals, slaves and suicidal people were substituted by mendacious merchants.^[42] The practice developed into a wide-scale business which flourished until the late 16th century. Two centuries ago, mummies were still believed to have medicinal properties against bleeding, and were sold as pharmaceuticals in powdered form as in Mellified Man.^[43] Artists also made use of Egyptian mummies; a brownish paint known as Caput mortuum (Latin for death's head) was originally made from the wrappings of mummies. It was most popular in the 17th century but was discontinued in the early 19th century when its composition became generally known to artists. Many thousands of mummified cats were also sent from Egypt to England to be processed for use in fertilizer.^[44]

In the 19th century, following the discovery of the first tombs and artifacts in Egypt, Egyptology was a huge fad in Europe, especially in Victorian England. European aristocrats would occasionally entertain themselves by purchasing mummies, having them unwrapped, and holding observation sessions.^[45] These sessions destroyed hundreds of mummies, because the exposure to the air caused them to disintegrate.

An urban myth of mummies being used as fuel for locomotives was even popularized by Mark Twain,^[46] but the truth of the story remains debatable. During the American Civil War, mummy-wrapping linens were said to have been used to manufacture paper.^[46][47] Evidence for the reality of these claims is still equivocal.^[48][49]

Mummies in fiction

Mummies are commonly featured in horror genres as undead creatures. During the 20th century, horror films and other mass media popularized the notion of a curse associated with mummies. One of the earliest appearances was The Jewel of Seven Stars, a horror novel by Bram Stoker first published in 1903 that concerned an archaeologist's plot to revive an ancient Egyptian mummy. This book later served as the basis for the 1971 film Blood from the Mummy's Tomb.

Films representing such a belief include the 1932 movie The Mummy starring Boris Karloff as Imhotep; four subsequent 1940s' Universal Studios mummy films which featured a mummy named Kharis, who also was the title mummy in The Mummy, a 1959 Hammer remake of The Mummy's Hand and The Mummy's Tomb; and a remake of the original film that was released in 1999 (and later spawned two direct sequels and a spinoff movie). The belief in cursed mummies probably stems in part from the supposed curse on the tomb of Tutankhamun. In 1979, the American Broadcasting Company aired a TV holiday show, The Halloween That Almost Wasn't, in which a mummy from Egypt (Robert Fitch) arrived at Count Dracula's castle without speaking.

The 1922 discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb by archaeologist Howard Carter brought mummies into the mainstream. Slapstick comedy trio the Three Stooges humorously exploited the discovery in the short film We Want Our Mummy, in which they explored the tomb of the midget King Rutentuten (and his Queen, Hotsy Totsy). A decade later, they played crooked used chariot salesmen in Mummy's Dummies, in which they ultimately assisted a different King Rootentootin (Vernon Dent) with a toothache.

See also

• Embalming
• Incorruptibility
• Bog body
• List of mummies
• List of DNA tested mummies

References

1. ^ "Andean Head Dated 6'000 Years Old". archaeometry.org. http://www.archaeometry.org/paleoamerican.htm. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
2. ^ 中国新疆出土的三千年干尸不腐之谜
3. ^ "Egyptian Animals Were Mummified Same Way as Humans". news.nationalgeographic.com. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/09/0915_040915_petmummies.html. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
4. ^ 组图：日本恐怖干尸
5. ^ Neolitihc Origin of Body preservation in Ancient Egypt
6. ^ Neolitihc Origin of Body preservation in Ancient Egypt
7. ^ Aufderheide, Arthur C. (2003). The scientific study of mummies. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-81826-5. ; p. 525.
8. ^ Pääbo S (1985). "Molecular cloning of Ancient Egyptian mummy DNA". Nature 314 (6012): 644–5. doi:10.1038/314644a0. PMID 3990798.
9. ^ Macko SA, Engel MH, Andrusevich V, Lubec G, O'Connell TC, Hedges RE (1999). "Documenting the diet in ancient human populations through stable isotope analysis of hair". Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond., B, Biol. Sci. 354 (1379): 65–75; discussion 75–6. doi:10.1098/rstb.1999.0360. PMID 10091248.
10. ^ Marin A, Cerutti N, Massa ER (1999). "Use of the amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS) in the study of HbS in predynastic Egyptian remains". Boll. Soc. Ital. Biol. Sper. 75 (5-6): 27–30. PMID 11148985.
11. ^ "Bog bodies of the Iron Age". NOVA. 2006-01-01. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bog/iron-nf.html. Retrieved 2007-10-25.
12. ^ http://maam.culturasalta.gov.ar/index.php?lang=english
13. ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=P_xj3QTHHvoC&pg=PA156&lpg=PA156&dq=Miss+Chile+Mummy&source=bl&ots=BpEJtyAjAs&sig=d0ANonPb7ZjJH5u-X-hXMdC9IiE&hl=en&ei=H7DsScT5NoGeM_SD5ekF&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5
14. ^ http://www.alovelyworld.com/webchili/htmgb/chl030.htm
15. ^ http://maam.culturasalta.gov.ar/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1&Itemid=2
16. ^ "The Siberian Ice Maiden". ExploreNorth. http://www.explorenorth.com/library/weekly/more/bl-icemaiden.htm. Retrieved 2007-03-17.
17. ^ Polosmak, Natalya (1994). "A Mummy Unearthed from the Pastures of Heaven". National Geographic Magazine: 80–103.
18. ^ Deem, James M. (last updated 2007-03-15). "World Mummies: Greenland Mummies". Mummy Tombs. http://www.mummytombs.com/mummylocator/group/greenland.htm. Retrieved 2007-03-16.
19. ^ Hart Hansen, Jens Peder; Jørgen Meldgaard; Jørgen Nordqvist (eds.) (1991). The Greenland Mummies. London: British Museum Publications. ISBN 0714125008.
20. ^ Ministry of Tourism, Sport and the Arts, British Columbia. "Kwaday Dan Ts'inchi". http://www.tsa.gov.bc.ca/archaeology/kwaday/. Retrieved 2007-03-08. 2007-10-25 at the Wayback Machine.; Lundberg, Murray (2001-07-24). "Kwaday Dän Sinchi, The Yukon Iceman". ExploreNorth. http://www.explorenorth.com/library/weekly/aa082599.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-25.
21. ^ Mortals and saints can remain physically immortal after death - Pravda.Ru
22. ^ The Buddhist Mummies of Japan
23. ^ http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/12653
24. ^ See the article: А.М. и А.А. Панченко «Осьмое чудо света», in the book Панченко А.М. О русской истории и культуре. St. Petersburg: Azbuka, 2003. Page 433.
25. ^ Ibidem.
26. ^ Újkori múmiák gyűjteménye
27. ^ 台灣啟示錄-死人復活 蘆洲乾屍奇案
28. ^ 重庆古稀老人想当干尸成中国捐遗塑化第一人
29. ^ 专家确认罗布泊近日发现的干尸不是彭加木遗体
30. ^ 里港女乾屍案男友下的毒手
31. ^ 宅男月餘沒出門變乾屍
32. ^ 拾荒驚見缺手乾屍
33. ^ 兩受情傷荒山隱世 - 太陽報網頁
34. ^ 法醫鑑證實錄2 不能說的真相CAUSE OF DEATH II
35. ^ 5 mummified bodies found in truck in north Mexico
36. ^ Finns Find Mummified Corpse In Smoke Stack
37. ^ Laytner, Ron (2007). "The Mummy Makers". Edit International. http://www.editinternational.com/index.php?pag=stories.php?cat=3f5121f82466f&sub=41e6d1f696796. Retrieved 2007-09-16.
38. ^ Chan, Wah Ho (Cinematographer). (1996). Pet Wraps . [TV]. USA: National Geographic Television.
39. ^ Aufderheide, Arthur C. (2003). The Scientific Study of Mummies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 60, p. 411. ISBN 0-521-81826-5.
40. ^ Body Worlds Official Web Site
41. ^ International Society for Plastination
42. ^ "What was mummy medicine?". Channel 4. http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/B/bodies/cases/case18.html. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
43. ^ Daly, N. (1994). "That Obscure Object of Desire: Victorian Commodity Culture and Fictions of the Mummy". NOVEL: A Forum on Fiction 28 (1): 24–51. doi:10.2307/1345912. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0029-5132(199423)28%3A1%3C24%3ATOOODV%3E2.0.CO%3B2-8. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
44. ^ Wake, Jehanne (1997). Kleinwort, Benson: the history of two families in banking. Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-828299-0. http://books.google.com/?id=Qm1fHrcgZuoC&pg=RA1-PA118&dq=mummified+cats+fertilizer.
45. ^ Daly, N. (1994). "That Obscure Object of Desire: Victorian Commodity Culture and Fictions of the Mummy". NOVEL: A Forum on Fiction 28 (1): 24–51. doi:10.2307/1345912. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0029-5132(199423)28%3A1%3C24%3ATOOODV%3E2.0.CO%3B2-8. Retrieved 2008-03-16.
46. ^ ^{a b} "Do Egyptians burn mummies as fuel?". The Straight Dope. 2002-02-22. http://www.straightdope.com/columns/020222.html. Retrieved 2008-03-16.
47. ^ Pronovost, Michelle (2005-03-17). "Necessity of paper was the 'mummy' of invention". Capital Weekly. http://www.mainecoastnow.com/articles/2005/03/17/capitalweekly/local_news/n6mummy.txt. Retrieved 2008-03-16.
48. ^ Baker, Nicholson (2001). Double Fold: Libraries and the Assault on Paper. New York: Random House. ISBN 0357504443.
49. ^ Dane, Joseph A. (1995). "The Curse of the Mummy Paper". Printing History 17: 18–25.

Sources

Books

• Aufderheide, Arthur C. (2003). The Scientific Study of Mummies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-81826-5.
• Barber, Elizabeth Wayland. 1999. The Mummies of Ürümchi. 1999. London. Pan Books. Also: W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-04521-8.
• Budge, E.A.Wallis. 1925. The Mummy, A Handbook of Egyptian Funerary Archaeology. Dover Publ. Inc., New York, Dover Ed. 1989, (512 pgs.) ISBN 0-486-25928-5.
• Davis-Kimball, Jeannine, with Behan, Mona. 2002. Warrior Women: An Archaeologist’s Search for History’s Hidden Heroines. Warner Books, New York. First Trade Printing, 2003. ISBN 0-446-67983-6.
• Ilkerson, Bill. 2006. Wrap-It-Up: How My Lost Child Will Survive Us All. Portland. Eye of Raw Texts. ISBN 0-439-56827-7.
• Mallory, J. P. and Mair, Victor H. 2000. The Tarim Mummies: Ancient China and the Mystery of the Earliest Peoples from the West. Thames & Hudson. London. 2000. ISBN 0-500-05101-1.
• Pringle, Heather. 2001. Mummy Congress: Science, Obsession, and the Everlasting Dead. Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-028669-1.
• Taylor, John H. 2004. Mummy: the inside story. The British Museum Press. ISBN 0-7141-1962-8.

Online

• "The Mummy Makers". Edit International. 2003-2004. http://www.editinternational.com/index.php?pag=stories.php?cat=3f5121f82466f. Retrieved 2006-05-29.
• Mummies at Howstuffworks.com.
• A look at the Evidence for Cocaine in Mummies
• About the Unknown Mummy E
• "Summum - Modern Mummification". Summum. http://www.summum.us/mummification/. Retrieved 2006-05-29.
• The Virtual Mummy: Unwrapping a Mummy by Mouse Click

Video

• Chan, Wah Ho (Cinematographer). (1996). Pet Wraps . [TV]. USA: National Geographic Television.
• Frayling, Christopher (Writer/Narrator/Presenter). (1992). The Face of Tutankhamun . [TV-Series]. England/USA: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

External links

• Mummification Process animation from the J. Paul Getty Museum
• http://www.mummytombs.com
• Naturally Preserved Peruvian Mummies
• World's Best Preserved Mummies in China
• The "Auto-Icon of Jeremy Bentham, from a University College London website
• Cat Mummies
• Truly Amazing Mummies - slideshow by Life magazine
• Egyptian and Incan Mummification
• Clickable Mummy
• Mummies from the Smithsonian Institution.
• Rameses: Wrath of God or Man? at Discovery Channel
• Summum - Animal Mummy Gallery
• U.S. Museum to Return Ramses I Mummy to Egypt, an article from the National Geographic website
• "King Mutt's Tomb", 2006-09-13 article about dog mummy found in Peru
• Roman Period Fayyum mummies: A picture test from Cognitive Labs
• Cooking With Mummy, by Sarah Bakewell, Fortean Times 124, July 1999. Article on the medicinal uses of mummy.
• Evidence that a West-East admixed population lived in the Tarim Basin as early as the early Bronze Age

Categories: Ancient Egyptian funerary practices | Arabic words and phrases | Archaeology of death | Corporeal undead | Egyptian artefact types | Mummies

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