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{{Short description|Preserved dead human or animal}}
{{about|the preserved person or animal|the maternal parent|Mother|the type of monster|Mummy (undead)|other uses}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
[[File:Ramses I Mummy.jpg|300px|thumb|A mummified man likely to be [[Ramesses I]]]]
A '''mummy''' is a dead [[human]] or an [[animal]] whose [[soft tissue]]s and [[Organ (biology)|organs]] have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to [[Chemical substance|chemicals]], extreme cold, very low [[humidity]], or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not [[Corpse decomposition|decay]] further if kept in cool and dry conditions. Some authorities restrict the use of the term to bodies deliberately [[embalming|embalmed]] with chemicals, but the use of the word to cover accidentally [[desiccation|desiccated]] bodies goes back to at least the early 17th century.

Mummies of humans and animals have been found on every continent, both as a result of natural preservation through unusual conditions, and as cultural artifacts. Over one million [[Animal mummy|animal mummies]] have been found in Egypt, many of which are cats.<ref name="pets">{{cite web|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/09/0915_040915_petmummies.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040917002041/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/09/0915_040915_petmummies.html|archive-date=17 September 2004|title=Egyptian Animals Were Mummified Same Way as Humans|date=15 September 2004|publisher=news.nationalgeographic.com|access-date=2 November 2008}}</ref> Many of the Egyptian animal mummies are [[African sacred ibis|sacred ibis]], and [[radiocarbon dating]] suggests the Egyptian ibis mummies that have been analyzed were from a time frame that falls between approximately 450 and 250 BC.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Wasef|first1=S.|last2=Wood|first2=R.|last3=Merghani|first3=S. El|last4=Ikram|first4=S.|last5=Curtis|first5=C.|last6=Holland|first6=B.|last7=Willerslev|first7=E.|last8=Millar|first8=C.D.|last9=Lambert|first9=D.M.|title=Radiocarbon dating of Sacred Ibis mummies from ancient Egypt|journal=Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports|volume=4|pages=355–361|doi=10.1016/j.jasrep.2015.09.020|year=2015|bibcode=2015JArSR...4..355W }}</ref>

The earliest discovered evidence of deliberate mummification in human cultures now extends to approximately 10,000 B.C. and is documented to have existed across Southeast Asia, China, New Guinea, and Australia in burials discovered there,<ref>
Hsiao-chun Hung, Zhenhua Deng, Hirofumi Matsumura, ''[https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2515103122 Earliest evidence of smoke-dried mummification: More than 10,000 years ago in southern China and Southeast Asia]'', [[PNAS]], September 15, 20205 edited by Fabrice Demeter, University of Copenhagen Globe Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark</ref><ref>Bower, Bruce,''[https://www.sciencenews.org/article/oldest-mummies-found-southeast-asia The oldest known mummies have been found — in Southeast Asia: Corpses dried over smoky fires are at least 7,000 years older than Egyptian mummies]'', Science  News, September 15, 2025</ref> and is prompting research to cultures documented to 20,000 years ago for evidence of use of the same mummification methods. 

In addition to the mummies of [[ancient Egypt]], deliberate mummification was a feature of several ancient cultures in areas of America and Asia with very dry climates. The [[Spirit Cave mummy|Spirit Cave mummies]] of [[Fallon, Nevada]], in North America were accurately dated at more than 9,400 years old. Before this discovery, the oldest known deliberate mummy was a child, one of the [[Chinchorro mummies]] found in the Camarones Valley, Chile, which dates around 5050 B.C.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bartkusa |first1=Luke |last2=Amarasiriwardena |first2=Dulasiri |last3=Arriaza |first3=Bernardo |last4=Bellis |first4=David |last5=Yañez |first5=Jorge |year=2011 |title=Exploring lead exposure in ancient Chilean mummies using a single strand of hair by laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) |journal=Microchemical Journal |volume=98 |pages=267–274 |doi=10.1016/j.microc.2011.02.008 |issn=0026-265X |issue=2 |hdl=10533/131649 |url=http://americanae.aecid.es/americanae/es/registros/registro.do?tipoRegistro=MTD&idBib=3299844 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> The oldest known naturally mummified human corpse is a severed head dated as 6,000 years old, found in 1936 at the {{lang|es|Cueva de las Momias}} in Argentina.<ref name="head">{{cite web|url=http://www.archaeometry.org/paleoamerican.htm|title=Andean Head Dated 6,000 Years Old|publisher=archaeometry.org|access-date=20 February 2009}}</ref>

== Etymology and meaning ==
The English word ''mummy'' is derived from medieval Latin ''Mumia'', a borrowing of the medieval Arabic word ''mūmiya'' (مومياء) which meant an embalmed corpse, as well as the [[bituminous]] embalming substance. This word was borrowed from Persian where it meant [[Bitumen|asphalt]], and is derived from the word ''mūm'' meaning wax.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=mummy |title=Online Etymology Dictionary: mummy |publisher=etymonline.com |access-date= 8 November 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mummy |title=mummy |publisher=Dictionary.reference.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109024209/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mummy |archive-date=9 November 2013 }}</ref> The meaning of "corpse preserved by desiccation" developed post-medievally.<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/oed6barch#page/763/mode/1up mummy] in ''New English Dictionary on Historical Principles''. Also "momie" in [http://www.cnrtl.fr/definition/momie CNRTL.fr (in French)].</ref> The [[Middle English|Medieval English]] term "mummy" was defined as "medical preparation of the substance of mummies", rather than the entire corpse, with [[Richard Hakluyt]] in 1599 AD complaining that "these dead bodies are the Mummy which the Phisistians and Apothecaries doe against our willes make us to swallow".<ref>OED, "Mummy, 1", citing Hakluyr's "Voyages, II, 201"</ref> These substances were called [[mummia]].

The [[Oxford English Dictionary]] defines a mummy as "the body of a human being or animal embalmed (according to the ancient Egyptian or some analogous method) as a preparation for burial", citing sources from 1615 AD onward.<ref>[[OED]], "Mummy", 1, 2, 3</ref> However, [[Cyclopædia, or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences|Chamber's ''Cyclopædia'']] and the Victorian zoologist [[Francis Trevelyan Buckland]]<ref>[[OED]], "Mummy", 3c</ref> define a mummy as follows: "A human or animal body desiccated by exposure to sun or air. Also applied to the frozen carcase of an animal imbedded in prehistoric snow".

Wasps of the genus ''[[Aleiodes]]'' are known as "mummy wasps" because they wrap their caterpillar prey as "mummies".

== History of mummy studies ==

[[File:Tuts Tomb Opened.JPG|thumb|upright|[[Howard Carter]] examining the innermost coffin of [[Tutankhamun]]]]

[[File:US Navy 110427-N-2531L-135 Tori Randall, Ph.D. prepares a 550-year old Peruvian child mummy for a CT scan.jpg|thumb|upright|A 550-year-old Peruvian child mummy being prepared for a [[CT scan]]]]

While interest in the study of mummies dates as far back as [[Ptolemaic Kingdom|Ptolemaic Greece]], most structured scientific study began at the beginning of the 20th century.{{sfn|Cockburn|Cockburn|Reyman|1998|pp=1–2}} Prior to this, many rediscovered mummies were sold as curiosities or for use in [[pseudoscience|pseudoscientific]] novelties such as [[mummia]].{{sfn|Aufderheide|2003|p=1}} The first modern scientific examinations of mummies began in 1901, conducted by professors at the English-language Government School of Medicine in [[Cairo]], Egypt. The first [[X-ray]] of a mummy came in 1903, when professors [[Grafton Elliot Smith]] and [[Howard Carter]] used the only X-ray machine in Cairo at the time to examine the mummified body of [[Thutmose IV]].{{sfn|Cockburn|Cockburn|Reyman|1998|p=3}} British chemist [[Alfred Lucas (chemist)|Alfred Lucas]] applied chemical analyses to Egyptian mummies during this same period, which returned many results about the types of substances used in embalming. Lucas also made significant contributions to the analysis of [[Tutankhamun]] in 1922.{{sfn|Aufderheide|2003|p=16}}

Pathological study of mummies saw varying levels of popularity throughout the 20th century.{{sfn|Aufderheide|2003|pp=14–15}} In 1992, the First World Congress on Mummy Studies was held in [[Puerto de la Cruz]] on [[Tenerife]] in the [[Canary Islands]]. More than 300 scientists attended the Congress to share nearly 100 years of collected data on mummies. The information presented at the meeting triggered a new surge of interest in the subject, with one of the major results being the integration of [[Medical research|biomedical]] and [[bioarchaeology|bioarchaeological]] information on mummies with existing databases. This was not possible prior to the Congress due to the unique and highly specialized techniques required to gather such data.{{sfn| Aufderheide|2003|p=2}}

In more recent years, [[CT scanning]] has become an invaluable tool in the study of mummification by allowing researchers to digitally "unwrap" mummies without risking damage to the body.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Baldock |first1=C |last2=Hughes |first2=SW |last3=Whittaker |first3=DK |last4=Taylor |first4=J |last5=Davis |first5=R |last6=Spencer |first6=AJ |last7=Tonge |first7=K |last8=Sofat |first8=A |year=1994 |title=3-D reconstruction of an ancient Egyptian mummy using x-ray computer tomography |url= http://eprints.qut.edu.au/29982/|journal=Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine |volume=87 |issue= 12|pages=806–808 |pmid=7853321 |pmc=1295009 }}</ref> The level of detail in such scans is so intricate that small linens used in tiny areas such as the nostrils can be digitally reconstructed in [[Stereoscopy|3-D]].<ref name=Gewolb>{{cite journal |last=Gewolb |first=Josh |title=Computer identifies mummy |journal=Science |date=28 September 2001 |volume=293 |issue=5539 |page=2383 |doi=10.1126/science.293.5539.2383a|s2cid=220086568 }}</ref> Such modelling has been utilized to perform digital autopsies on mummies to determine the cause of death and lifestyle, such as in the case of [[Tutankhamun]].<ref name=DeChant>{{cite web |last=De Chant |first=Tim |title=Did King Tut Die in a Chariot Accident? |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/did-king-tut-die-in-a-chariot-accident/ |work=Nova Next |date=12 November 2013 |publisher=PBS |access-date=15 November 2013}}</ref>

== {{anchor|Anthropogenic|Spontaneous|Natural}}Types ==
Mummies are typically divided into one of two distinct categories: anthropogenic or spontaneous. Anthropogenic mummies were deliberately created by the living for any number of reasons, the most common being for religious purposes. Spontaneous mummies, such as [[Ötzi]] and the [[Maronite mummies]], were created unintentionally due to natural conditions such as extremely dry heat or cold, or [[acidic]] and [[Hypoxia (environmental)|anaerobic]] conditions such as those found in [[bog body|bogs]].{{sfn|Aufderheide|2003|p=2}} While most individual mummies exclusively belong to one category or the other, there are examples of both types being connected to a single culture, such as those from the ancient Egyptian culture and the Andean cultures of South America.<ref name="Dunn">{{cite web |last=Dunn |first=Jimmy |title=An Overview of Mummification in Ancient Egypt |date=22 August 2011 |url=http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/mummification.htm |access-date=9 November 2013}}</ref> Some of the later well-preserved corpses of the mummification were found under [[Christian church]]es, such as the mummified [[vicar]] [[Nicolaus Rungius]] found under the St. Michael Church in [[Keminmaa]], [[Finland]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.oulu.fi/university/node/53287 |title=Mummy studies contribute to knowledge of Northern Finnish disease history – University of Oulu |access-date=12 August 2020 |archive-date=28 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128060940/https://www.oulu.fi/university/node/53287 }}</ref><ref>[https://www.visitsealapland.com/en/visitors/sea-lapland/churches/ Churches – Visit Sea Lapland]</ref> There are also cases that fall outside of these categories.

== Egyptian mummies ==
{{Main|Ancient Egyptian funerary practices|List of Egyptian mummies}}
{{Hiero|Mummy (''sˁḥ'')|<hiero>z:a-H</hiero>|align=right|era=egypt}}
[[File:Mummy at British Museum.jpg|left|thumb|Mummy in the British Museum]]
[[File:Bemalte Mumienbinde.JPG|thumb|left|Painted mummy bandage]]
Until recently, it was believed that the earliest [[ancient Egypt]]ian mummies were created naturally due to the environment in which they were buried.<ref name="Penn">{{cite web |title=The Egyptian Mummy |publisher=Penn Museum |url=http://www.penn.museum/long-term-exhibits/the-egyptian-mummy.html |access-date=9 November 2013 |archive-date=8 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150908042505/http://www.penn.museum/long-term-exhibits/the-egyptian-mummy.html }}</ref><ref>Marshall Amandine [https://www.academia.edu/8963492/On_the_Origins_of_the_Egyptian_Mummification On the origins of Egyptian mummification], Kmt 52, 2014, pp. 52–57</ref> In 2014, an 11-year study by the [[University of York]], [[Macquarie University]] and the [[University of Oxford]] suggested that artificial mummification occurred 1,500 years earlier than first thought.<ref name="uyork">{{cite web | url=http://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2014/research/mummification/ | title=Embalming study 'rewrites' key chapter in Egyptian history | publisher=University of York | date=13 August 2014 | access-date=18 August 2014}}</ref> This was confirmed in 2018, when tests on a 5,600-year-old mummy in Turin revealed that it had been deliberately mummified using linen wrappings and embalming oils made from conifer resin and aromatic plant extracts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.livescience.com/63351-mummy-older-than-pharaohs.html|title=This Ancient Mummy Is Older Than the Pharaohs|author1=Mindy Weisberger|date=16 August 2018|website=livescience.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/news-egyptian-prehistoric-mummy-embalming-recipe|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220105150122/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/news-egyptian-prehistoric-mummy-embalming-recipe|archive-date=5 January 2022|title=Mummy Helps Confirm Earliest Egyptian Embalming Recipe|date=15 August 2018|website=Science}}</ref>

The preservation of the dead had a profound effect on [[ancient Egyptian religion]]. Mummification was an integral part of the rituals for the dead beginning as early as the [[Second Dynasty of Egypt|2nd dynasty]] (about 2800 BC).<ref name="Dunn" /> Egyptians saw the preservation of the body after death as an important step to [[Coffin Texts|living well in the afterlife]]. As Egypt gained more prosperity, burial practices became a status symbol for the wealthy as well. This cultural hierarchy led to the creation of elaborate [[tomb]]s, and more sophisticated methods of embalming.<ref name="Dunn" /><ref name="Fletcher">{{cite web |last=Fletcher |first=Joann |title=Mummies Around the World |date=17 February 2011 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/mummies_01.shtml |access-date=9 November 2013}}</ref>

By the [[Fourth Dynasty of Egypt|4th dynasty]] (about 2600 BC) Egyptian embalmers began to achieve "true mummification" through a process of [[Disembowelment|evisceration]]. Much of this early experimentation with mummification in Egypt is unknown.

The few documents that directly describe the mummification process date to the [[Greco-Roman world|Greco-Roman period]]. The majority of the [[Papyrus|papyri]] that have survived only describe the ceremonial rituals involved in embalming, not the actual surgical processes involved. A text known as ''[[The Ritual of Embalming Papyrus|The Ritual of Embalming]]'' does describe some of the practical logistics of embalming; however, there are only two known copies and each is incomplete.<ref name="Riggs">{{cite journal |last=Riggs |first=Christina |title=Funerary Rituals (Ptolemaic and Roman Periods) |journal=UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology |publisher=UCLA Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures |date=January 2010 |url=http://escholarship.org/uc/item/1n10x347 |access-date=9 November 2013}}</ref><ref name="Brier&Wade">{{cite journal |last2=Wade |first2=Ronald S. |last1=Brier |first1=Bob |title=Surgical procedures during ancient Egyptian mummification |journal=[[Chungara (journal)|Chungara: Revista de Antropología Chilena]] |publisher=Universidad de Tarapaca |date=June 2001 |jstor=27802174 |volume=33 |issue=1 |pages=117–123}}</ref> With regards to mummification shown in images, there are apparently also very few. The tomb of Tjay, designated [[TT23]], is one of only two known which show the wrapping of a mummy (Riggs 2014).<ref name="Christina Riggs">{{cite book |last=Riggs |first=Christina |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OdtgBwAAQBAJ&q=The+Ritual+of+Embalming+Papyrus&pg=PA81 |title=Unwrapping Ancient Egypt: The Shroud, the Secret and the Sacred |pages=82–83 |publisher=Bloomsbury |access-date=2015-07-01|isbn=978-0-85785-507-7 |year=2014 }}</ref>

Another text that describes the processes being used in the latter periods is [[Herodotus]]' [[Histories (Herodotus)|Histories]]. Written in Book 2 of the ''Histories'' is one of the most detailed descriptions of the Egyptian mummification process, including the mention of using [[natron]] in order to dehydrate corpses for preservation.<ref name="Herodotus">{{cite web| title = The Greek historian Herodotus on the process of mummification – and he has been proven accurate| publisher = University of Texas| url = http://www.utexas.edu/courses/medworld/herodotus_mummies.html| access-date = 9 November 2013| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131023202442/http://www.utexas.edu/courses/medworld/herodotus_mummies.html| archive-date = 23 October 2013}}</ref> However, these descriptions are short and fairly vague, leaving scholars to infer the majority of the techniques that were used by studying mummies that have been unearthed.<ref name="Brier&Wade" />

By utilizing current advancements in technology, scientists have been able to uncover a plethora of new information about the techniques used in mummification. A series of [[X-ray computed tomography|CT scans]] performed on a 2,400-year-old mummy in 2008 revealed a tool that was left inside the [[cranial cavity]] of the skull.<ref name="Jarus">{{cite web |last=Jarus |first=Owen |title=Oops! Brain-Removal Tool Left in Mummy's Skull |publisher=Yahoo! News |date=14 December 2012 |url=https://news.yahoo.com/oops-brain-removal-tool-left-mummys-skull-160456836.html |access-date=9 November 2013}}</ref> The tool was a rod, made of an organic material, that was used to break apart the brain to allow it to drain out of the nose. This discovery helped to dispel the claim within Herodotus' works that the rod had been a hook made of iron.<ref name="Herodotus" /> Earlier experimentation in 1994 by researchers [[Bob Brier]] and Ronald Wade supported these findings. While attempting to replicate Egyptian mummification, Brier and Wade discovered that removal of the brain was much easier when the brain was liquefied and allowed to drain with the help of [[Gravitation|gravity]], as opposed to trying to pull the organ out piece by piece with a hook.<ref name="Brier&Wade" />

[[File:Egyptian Human Mummy - Egyptian Gallery - Indian Museum - Kolkata 2014-02-14 3293.JPG|thumb|left|The Egyptian human mummy at Indian Museum, Kolkata.]]
Through various methods of study over many decades, modern [[List of Egyptologists|Egyptologists]] now have an accurate understanding of how mummification was achieved in ancient Egypt. The first and most important step was to halt the process of decomposition, by removing the internal organs and washing out the body with a mix of spices and palm wine.<ref name="Dunn" /> The only organ left behind was the heart, as tradition held the heart was the seat of thought and feeling and would therefore still be needed in the afterlife.<ref name="Dunn" /> After cleansing, the body was then dried out with natron inside the empty body cavity as well as outside on the skin. The internal organs were also dried and either sealed in individual jars, or wrapped to be replaced within the body. This process typically took forty days.<ref name="Brier&Wade" />

[[File:This wooden mummy label was inscribed in black ink. The original cord is still in situ. Roman Period. From Hawara, Fayum, Egypt. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London.jpg|thumb|This wooden mummy label was inscribed in black ink. The original cord is still in situ. Roman Period. From Hawara, Fayum, Egypt. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London]]
After dehydration, the mummy was wrapped in many layers of [[linen]] cloth. Within the layers, Egyptian priests placed small [[amulet]]s to guard the decedent from evil.<ref name="Dunn" /> Once the mummy was completely wrapped, it was coated in resin in order to keep the threat of moist air away. The resin was also applied to the coffin in order to seal it. The mummy was then sealed within its tomb, alongside the worldly goods that were believed to help aid it in the afterlife.<ref name="Riggs" />

''[[Aspergillus niger]]'', a hardy species of [[fungus]] capable of living in a variety of environments, has been found in the mummies of ancient Egyptian tombs and can be inhaled when they are disturbed.<ref>Handwerk, Brian (6 May 2005). [https://web.archive.org/web/20050507053304/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/05/0506_050506_mummycurse.html "Egypt's 'King Tut Curse' Caused by Tomb Toxins?"] ''National Geographic''.</ref>

=== Mummification and rank ===
[[File:Mòmia Nesi BMVB 2964.jpg|alt=Nesi mummy (dynasty XX). Biblioteca Museu Víctor Balaguer. Vilanova i la Geltrú. Spain|thumb|{{ill|Nasi (mummy)|lt=Nesi mummy|ca|Mòmia Nesi|es|Momia Nesi|it|Mummia Nesi}} ([[dynasty XX]]). [[Biblioteca Museu Víctor Balaguer]]. Vilanova i la Geltrú. Spain]]
Mummification is one of the defining customs in ancient Egyptian society for people today. The practice of preserving the human body is believed to be a quintessential feature of Egyptian life. Yet even mummification has a history of development and was accessible to different ranks of society in different ways during different periods. There were at least three different processes of mummification according to [[Herodotus]]. They range from "the most perfect" to the method employed by the "poorer classes".<ref name="Brooklyn Museum">{{cite book |last1=Bleiberg |first1=Edward |title=To Live Forever: Egyptian Treasures from the Brooklyn Museum |date=2008 |publisher=Brooklyn Museum |location=Brooklyn, New York |page=50 |author1-link=Edward Bleiberg }}</ref>

==== "Most perfect" method ====
[[File:Mummification simple.png|thumb|500x500px|Simplistic representation of the Ancient Egyptian mummification process.]]
The most expensive process was to preserve the body by dehydration and protect against pests, such as insects. Almost all of the actions Herodotus described served one of these two functions.

First, the [[brain]] was removed from the [[cranium]] through the nose; the gray matter was discarded. Modern mummy excavations have shown that instead of an iron hook inserted through the nose as Herodotus claims, a rod was used to [[wikt:liquefy|liquefy]] the brain via the cranium, which then drained out the nose by gravity. The embalmers then rinsed the skull with certain drugs that mostly cleared any residue of brain tissue and also had the effect of killing bacteria. Next, the embalmers made an incision along the [[Flank (anatomy)|flank]] with a sharp blade fashioned from an [[Ethiopia]]n stone and removed the contents of the abdomen. Herodotus does not discuss the separate preservation of these organs and their placement either in special jars or back in the cavity, a process that was part of the most expensive embalming, according to archaeological evidence.

The [[abdominal cavity]] was then rinsed with palm wine and an infusion of crushed, fragrant herbs and spices; the cavity was then filled with spices including [[myrrh]], [[Cinnamomum cassia|cassia]], and, Herodotus notes, "every other sort of spice except [[frankincense]]", also to preserve the person.

The body was further dehydrated by placing it in [[natron]], a naturally occurring salt, for 70 days. Herodotus insists that the body did not stay in the natron longer than 70 days. Any shorter time and the body would not be completely dehydrated; any longer, and the body would be too stiff to move into position for wrapping. The embalmers then washed the body again and wrapped it with linen bandages. The bandages were covered with a gum that modern research has shown is both a waterproofing agent and an antimicrobial agent.

At this point, the body was given back to the family. These "perfect" mummies were then placed in human-shaped wooden cases. Wealthy people placed these wooden cases in stone sarcophagi that provided further protection. The family placed the [[sarcophagus]] in the tomb upright against the wall, according to Herodotus.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bleiberg |first1=Edward |title=To Live Forever: Egyptian Treasures from the Brooklyn Museum |date=2008 |publisher=Brooklyn Museum |location=Brooklyn, New York |pages=50–51 |author1-link=Edward Bleiberg }}</ref>

==== Avoiding expense ====

The second process that Herodotus describes was used by middle-class people or people who "wish to avoid expense". In this method, an oil derived from [[Cedrus|cedar trees]] was injected with a syringe into the abdomen. A rectal plug prevented the oil from escaping. This oil probably had the dual purpose of liquefying the internal organs but also of disinfecting the abdominal cavity. (By liquefying the organs, the family avoided the expense of [[canopic jar]]s and separate preservation.) The body was then placed in [[natron]] for seventy days. At the end of this time, the body was removed and the cedar oil, now containing the liquefied organs, was drained through the [[rectum]]. With the body dehydrated, it could be returned to the family. Herodotus does not describe the process of burial of such mummies, but they were perhaps placed in a [[shaft tomb]]. Poorer people used coffins fashioned from [[terracotta]].<ref name="Brooklyn Museum"/>

==== Inexpensive method ====

The third and least expensive method the embalmers offered was to clear the [[intestines]] with an unnamed liquid, injected as an [[enema]]. The body was then placed in [[natron]] for seventy days and returned to the family. Herodotus gives no further details.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bleiberg |first1=Edward |title=To Live Forever: Egyptian Treasures from the Brooklyn Museum |date=2008 |publisher=Brooklyn Museum |location=Brooklyn, New York |page=52 |author1-link=Edward Bleiberg }}</ref>

== Christian mummies ==
{{main|Incorruptibility}}

In Christian tradition, some bodies of [[saint]]s are naturally conserved and venerated.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wortley |first=John |date=2006-03-01 |title=The origins of Christian veneration of body-parts |url=https://journals.openedition.org/rhr/4620 |journal=Revue de l'histoire des religions |language=en |issue=1 |pages=5–28 |doi=10.4000/rhr.4620 |issn=0035-1423|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

== Mummification in other cultures ==

=== Africa ===
In addition to the mummies of Egypt, there have been instances of mummies being discovered in other areas of the [[African continent]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Steyn|first1=Maryna|last2=Binneman|first2=Johan|last3=Loots|first3=Marius|date=2007|title=The Kouga Mummified Human Remains|url=https://repository.up.ac.za/bitstream/handle/2263/5758/Steyn_Kouga(2007).pdf?sequence=1|journal=South African Archaeological Bulletin|volume=62|pages=3–8}}</ref> The bodies show a mix of anthropogenic and spontaneous mummification, with some being thousands of years old.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Aufderheide|first1=Arthur C.|last2=Zlonis|first2=Michael|last3=Cartmell|first3=Larry L.|last4=Zimmerman|first4=Michael R.|last5=Sheldrick|first5=Peter|last6=Cook|first6=Megan|last7=Molto|first7=Joseph E.|date=1999|title=Human Mummification Practices at Ismant el-Kharab|journal=The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology|volume=85|pages=197–210|doi=10.2307/3822436|jstor=3822436|issn=0307-5133}}</ref>

==== Canary Islands ====
[[File:MNH - Mumie Mann 1.jpg|250px|thumb|Guanche mummy in [[Museo de la Naturaleza y el Hombre]] ([[Tenerife]], [[Spain]]).]]
{{Main|Guanche mummies}}
The mummies of the [[Canary Islands]] belong to the [[indigenous peoples|indigenous]] [[Guanches|Guanche]] people and date to the time before 14th-century Spanish explorers settled in the area. All deceased people within the Guanche culture were mummified during this time, though the level of care taken with embalming and burial varied depending on individual social status. Embalming was carried out by specialized groups, organized according to gender, who were considered unclean by the rest of the community. The techniques for embalming were similar to those of the ancient Egyptians, involving evisceration, preservation, and stuffing of the evacuated bodily cavities, then wrapping the body in animal skins. Despite the successful techniques utilized by the Guanche, very few mummies remain due to looting and desecration.<ref name="Horne">{{cite journal |last2=Ireland |first2=Robert |last1=Horne |first1=Patrick |title=Moss and a Guanche Mummy: An Unusual Utilization |journal=The Bryologist |year=1991 |volume=94 |issue=4 |page=407 |jstor=3243832 |publisher=American Bryological and Lichenological Society |doi=10.2307/3243832}}</ref><ref name="Cockburn">{{harvnb|Cockburn|Cockburn|Reyman|1998|p=284}}</ref>

==== Libya ====

The mummified remains of an infant were discovered during an expedition by archaeologist [[Fabrizio Mori]] to [[Libya]] during the winter of 1958–1959 in the natural cave structure of [[Uan Muhuggiag]].{{sfn|Cockburn|Cockburn|Reyman|1998|p=281}} After curious deposits and cave paintings were discovered on the surfaces of the cave, expedition leaders decided to excavate. Uncovered alongside fragmented animal bone tools was the mummified body of an infant, wrapped in animal skin and wearing a necklace made of ostrich egg shell beads. Professor Tongiorgi of the University of Pisa radiocarbon-dated the infant to between 5,000 and 8,000 years old. A long incision located on the right abdominal wall, and the absence of internal organs, indicated that the body had been eviscerated [[Autopsy|post-mortem]], possibly in an effort to preserve the remains.{{sfn|Cockburn|Cockburn|Reyman|1998|p=282}} A bundle of herbs found within the body cavity also supported this conclusion.<ref name=Time>{{cite news|title=Science: Older than Egypt?|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,865145,00.html|access-date=13 November 2013|newspaper=Time|date=21 December 1959}}</ref> Further research revealed that the child had been around 30 months old at the time of death, though sex could not be determined due to poor preservation of the sex organs.{{sfn|Cockburn|Cockburn|Reyman|1998|pp=281–282}}<ref name=Wan>{{cite web|title=Wan Muhuggiag|url=http://www.temehu.com/wan-muhuggiag.htm|access-date=13 November 2013}}</ref>

==== South Africa ====
The first mummy to be discovered in [[South Africa]]<ref name=DeemKhoi>{{cite web |last=Deem |first=James |title=Khoi Mummy |url=http://www.mummytombs.com/mummylocator/group/khoi.htm |access-date=13 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103051319/http://www.mummytombs.com/mummylocator/group/khoi.htm |archive-date=3 November 2013 }}</ref> was found in the [[Baviaanskloof Mega Reserve|Baviaanskloof Wilderness Area]] by Dr. [[Johan Binneman]] in 1999.<ref name=SARoutes>{{cite web|title=Baviaanskloof Wilderness Area |url=http://www.routes.co.za/naturereserves/baviaanskloof/ |publisher=SA Routes |access-date=13 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113091947/https://www.routes.co.za/naturereserves/baviaanskloof/ |archive-date=13 November 2013 }}</ref><ref name=Smith>{{cite web |last=Smith |first=Rodger |title=Ancient Communications |url=http://www.languageofthewilderness.nl/upload/Rock%20Art%20Survey%20Part%201.pdf |publisher=Vodacom SA |access-date=13 November 2013 |date=September 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113090915/http://www.languageofthewilderness.nl/upload/Rock%20Art%20Survey%20Part%201.pdf |archive-date=13 November 2013 }}</ref> Nicknamed Moses, the mummy was estimated to be around 2,000 years old.<ref name=DeemKhoi /><ref name=SARoutes /> After being linked to the indigenous [[Khoikhoi|Khoi]] culture of the region, the National Council of Khoi Chiefs of South Africa began to make legal demands that the mummy be returned shortly after the body was moved to the Albany Museum in [[Grahamstown]].<ref name=Khan>{{cite news |last=Khan |first=Farook |title=Khoi chiefs want their mummy back |url=http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/khoi-chiefs-want-their-mummy-back-1.16968#.UoMuC_mThM4 |newspaper=Independent Online |access-date=13 November 2013}}</ref>

=== Asia ===
[[File:Momie de Jingzhou.jpg|thumb|300px|Mummy in the history museum of [[Jingzhou]]]]

The mummies of Asia are usually considered to be accidental. The decedents were buried in just the right place where the environment could act as an agent for preservation. This is particularly common in the desert areas of the Tarim Basin and Iran. Mummies have been discovered in more humid Asian climates; however, these are subject to rapid decay after being removed from the grave.

==== China ====
[[File:Xin Zhui 3.JPG|thumb|left|The mummy of [[Lady Dai]].]]
Mummies from various [[Dynasties in Chinese history|dynasties]] throughout [[China]]'s history have been discovered in several locations across the country. They are almost exclusively considered to be unintentional mummifications. Many areas in which mummies have been uncovered are difficult for preservation, due to their warm, moist climates. This makes the recovery of mummies a challenge, as exposure to the outside world can cause the bodies to decay in a matter of hours.<ref name="AW_2020">{{cite news |title=The naturally Mummified remains of a Government official from the Qing dynasty (1644-1912) was Unearthed during Construction in central China |url=https://archaeology-world.com/the-naturally-mummified-remains-of-a-government-official-from-the-qing-dynasty-1644-1912-was-unearthed-during-construction-in-central-china |access-date=24 April 2023 |work=Archaeology World |date=11 April 2020}}</ref>

An example of a Chinese mummy that was preserved despite being buried in an environment not conducive to mummification is [[Xin Zhui]]. Also known as Lady Dai, she was discovered in the early 1970s at the [[Mawangdui]] archaeological site in [[Changsha]].<ref name="Bonn-Muller">{{cite web |last=Bonn-Muller |first=Eti |title=China's Sleeping Beauty |publisher=Archaeological Institute of America |date=10 April 2009 |url=http://archive.archaeology.org/online/features/mawangdui/ |access-date=9 November 2013 }}</ref> She was the wife of the Marquis of Dai during the [[Han dynasty]], who was also buried with her alongside another young man often considered to be a very close relative.<ref name="K.Hirst">{{cite web |last=Hirst |first=K. Kris |title=Mawangdui – The Tomb of Lady Dai in China |publisher=About.com |url=http://archaeology.about.com/od/mterms/g/mawangdui.htm |access-date=9 November 2013 |archive-date=10 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110042132/http://archaeology.about.com/od/mterms/g/mawangdui.htm }}</ref> However, Xin Zhui's body was the only one of the three to be mummified. Her corpse was so well-preserved that surgeons from the Hunan Provincial Medical Institute were able to perform an autopsy.<ref name="Bonn-Muller" /> The exact reason why her body was so completely preserved has yet to be determined.<ref name="Orbit">{{cite web| title = Meet the Lady Dai . . .| publisher = redorbit.com| date = 4 November 2004| url = http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/100340/meet_the_lady_dai____of_145bc_/| access-date = 9 November 2013}}</ref>

Among the mummies discovered in China are those termed [[Tarim mummies]] because of their discovery in the [[Tarim Basin]]. The dry desert climate of the basin proved to be an excellent agent for desiccation. For this reason, over 200 Tarim mummies, which are over 4,000 years old, were excavated from a cemetery in the present-day [[Xinjiang]] region.<ref name="Wade">{{cite news |last=Wade |first=Nicholas |title=A Host of Mummies, a Forest of Secrets |newspaper=The New York Times |date=15 March 2010 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/16/science/16archeo.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0 |access-date=9 November 2013}}</ref> The mummies were found buried in upside-down boats with hundreds of 13-foot-long wooden poles in the place of tombstones.<ref name="Wade" /> [[Nucleic acid sequence|DNA sequence]] data<ref name=afp>{{cite news |first=Robert J. |last=Saiget |title=Caucasians preceded East Asians in basin |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20050419-101056-2135r.htm |work=The Washington Times |publisher=News World Communications |date=2005-04-19 |access-date=2007-08-20 |quote=A study last year by [[Jilin]] University also found that the mummies' DNA had Europoid genes. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050420224622/http://washingtontimes.com/world/20050419-101056-2135r.htm |archive-date=2005-04-20}}</ref> shows that the mummies had [[Haplogroup R-M420|Haplogroup R1a (Y-DNA)]] characteristic of western Eurasia in the area of [[East-Central Europe]], [[Central Asia]] and the [[Indus River|Indus Valley]].<ref name="bronzeageadmix">{{cite journal |author1=Chunxiang Li |author2=Hongjie Li |author3=Yinqiu Cui |author4=Chengzhi Xie |author5=Dawei Cai |author6=Wenying Li |author7=Victor H Mair |author8=Zhi Xu |author9=Quanchao Zhang |author10=Idelis Abuduresule |author11=Li Jin |author12=Hong Zhu |author13=Hui Zhou |title=Evidence that a West-East admixed population lived in the Tarim Basin as early as the early Bronze Age |journal=BMC Biology |volume=8 |issue=15 |page= 15|year=2010 |pmid=20163704 |pmc=2838831 |doi=10.1186/1741-7007-8-15 |doi-access=free }}</ref> This has created a stir in the [[Turkic languages|Turkic-speaking]] [[Uyghur people|Uighur]] population of the region, who claim the area has always belonged to their culture, while it was not until the 10th century that Uighurs are said by scholars to have moved to the region from Central Asia.<ref name="Wong">{{cite news |last=Wong |first=Edward |title=The Dead Tell a Tale China Doesn't Care to Listen To |newspaper=The New York Times |date=18 November 2008 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/world/asia/19mummy.html?pagewanted=all |access-date=8 November 2013}}</ref> American Sinologist [[Victor H. Mair]] claims that "''the earliest mummies in the Tarim Basin were exclusively Caucasoid, or Europoid''" with "east Asian migrants arriving in the eastern portions of the Tarim Basin around 3,000 years ago", while Mair also notes that it was not until 842 that the Uighur peoples settled in the area.<ref name="Celtic">{{cite news|title = The mystery of China's celtic mummies|url = https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/a-meeting-of-civilisations-the-mystery-of-chinas-celtic-mummies-413638.html|work = [[The Independent]]|date = 28 August 2006|access-date = 28 June 2008|location=London}}</ref> Other mummified remains have been recovered from around the Tarim Basin at sites including [[Qäwrighul]], [[Yanghai]], [[Shengjindian]], Shanpula (Sampul), Zaghunluq, and Qizilchoqa.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Deter-Wolf |first1=Aaron |last2=Robitaille |first2=Benoît |last3=Krutak |first3=Lars |last4=Galliot |first4=Sébastien |title=The World's Oldest Tattoos |journal=Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports |date=February 2016 |volume=5 |pages=19–24 |doi=10.1016/j.jasrep.2015.11.007|bibcode=2016JArSR...5...19D |s2cid=162580662 |url=https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-01227846/file/OldestTattoos.pdf }}</ref>

==== Iran ====
{{multiple image
| footer = Remains of [[Saltmen|Salt Man]] 4 on display at Zanjan.(''left'') Head of Salt Man 1 on display at [[National Museum of Iran]] in [[Tehran]] (''right'').
| width = 170
| image1 = Saltman no4.jpg
| alt1 = Saltman 4
| image2 = Saltman1.jpg
| alt2 = Saltman 1
}}

{{Main|Saltmen}}

As of 2012, at least eight mummified human remains have been recovered from the Douzlakh Salt Mine at Chehr Abad in northwestern [[Iran]].<ref name="Aali">{{cite journal |last2=Abar |first2=Aydin |last3=Boenke |first3=Nicole |last4=Pollard |first4=Mark |last5=Rühli |first5=Frank |last1=Aali |first1=Abolfazl |last6=Stöllne |first6=Thomas |title=Ancient salt mining and salt men: the interdisciplinary Chehrabad Douzlakh project in north-western Iran |journal=Antiquity |volume=086 |issue=333 |publisher=Department of Archaeology, Durham University |location=Durham, UK |date=September 2012 |url=http://antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/aali333/ |access-date=10 November 2013 }}</ref> Due to their salt preservation, these bodies are collectively known as [[Saltmen]].<ref name="Chehr Abad">{{cite journal| title = The Chehr Abad "Salt men" and the isotopic ecology of humans in ancient Iran| journal = American Journal of Physical Anthropology| date = November 2010| pmid = 20949607| doi = 10.1002/ajpa.21314| volume=143| issue=3| pages=343–354| last1 = Ramaroli| first1 = V.| last2 = Hamilton| first2 = J.| last3 = Ditchfield| first3 = P.| last4 = Fazeli| first4 = H.| last5 = Aali| first5 = A.| last6 = Coningham| first6 = R.A.E.| last7 = Pollard| first7 = A.M.| bibcode = 2010AJPA..143..343R| url = https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1551686}}</ref> [[Carbon-14]] testing conducted in 2008 dated three of the bodies to around 400 BC. Later [[isotope|isotopic]] research on the other mummies returned similar dates, however, many of these individuals were found to be from a region that is not closely associated with the mine. It was during this time that researchers determined the mine suffered a major collapse, which likely caused the death of the miners.<ref name="Aali" /> Since there is significant archaeological data that indicates the area was not actively inhabited during this time period, current consensus holds that the accident occurred during a brief period of temporary mining activity.<ref name="Aali" />

==== Lebanon ====
{{Main|Maronite mummies}}
In 1990, a team of speleologists uncovered eight mummies, dating back to around 1283 AD,  during a rescue excavation in the e 'Asi al-Hadath cave in the  [[Qadisha Valley]] of [[Lebanon]]. The well-preserved spontaneous mummies, including an infant named dubbed Yasmine, offer insights into Maronite villagers' lives during the Mamluk era. The grotto's high altitude and dry conditions naturally mummified the bodies. The discovery provides historical context, aligning with documented Mamluk raids in the region. Artifacts, including pottery with inscriptions, manuscripts, and clothing, suggest a Maronite community, and the mummies' burial practices parallel present-day Lebanese customs. The remains were called "Maronite mummies" because the individuals found in the 'Asi-al Hadath cave were believed to be [[Maronites]], an indigenous Christian community in the region. Some of the mummies have been transferred to the National Museum of Beirut.<ref name="cavinglebanon.com">{{Cite web |title=Publications &#124; GERSL : Speleology: Lebanon |url=https://www.cavinglebanon.com/publications/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021051141/https://www.cavinglebanon.com/publications/ |archive-date=2020-10-21 |access-date=2020-10-19}}</ref><ref name="Liban 1993 p. 58">Momies du Liban: Rapport préliminaire sur la découverte archéologique de 'Asi-l-Hadat (XIIIe siècle), GERSL, (France, 1993), p. 58.</ref>

==== Korea ====
[[File:Radiological-Diagnosis-of-Congenital-Diaphragmatic-Hernia-in-17th-Century-Korean-Mummy-pone.0099779.g001.jpg|alt= (A) Removal of clothing. (B) and (C) Very well preserved human and cultural remains. (B) is hand; (C) is straw shoes. (D) The mummy examined in this study.|thumb|A Korean mummy from the 17th century.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kim |first1=Yi-Suk |last2=Lee |first2=In Sun |last3=Jung |first3=Go-Un |last4=Kim |first4=Myeung Ju |last5=Oh |first5=Chang Seok |last6=Yoo |first6=Dong Su |last7=Lee |first7=Won-Joon |last8=Lee |first8=Eunju |last9=Cha |first9=Soon Chul |last10=Shin |first10=Dong Hoon |date=2014-07-02 |title=Radiological Diagnosis of Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia in 17t h Century Korean Mummy |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=9 |issue=7 |article-number=e99779 |bibcode=2014PLoSO...999779K |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0099779 |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=4079512 |pmid=24988465 |doi-access=free}}</ref>]]
Mummies have been discovered in Korea that have been dated to around the 15th to 19th centuries,<ref name="Lee et al 2009">{{Cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=In Sun |last2=Lee |first2=Eun-Joo |last3=Park |first3=Jun Bum |last4=Baek |first4=Seung Hee |last5=Oh |first5=Chang Seok |last6=Lee |first6=Soong Deok |last7=Kim |first7=Yi-Suk |last8=Bae |first8=Gi Dae |last9=Hong |first9=Jung Won |last10=Lim |first10=Do-Sun |last11=Shin |first11=Myung Ho |last12=Seo |first12=Min |last13=Shin |first13=Dong Hoon |date=2009 |title=Acute traumatic death of a 17th century general based on examination of mummified remains found in Korea |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0940960209000351 |journal=Annals of Anatomy - Anatomischer Anzeiger |volume=191 |issue=3 |pages=309–320 |doi=10.1016/j.aanat.2009.02.006 |pmid=19345566 |via=Elsevier Science Direct|url-access=subscription }}</ref> during the [[Joseon]] period. This is thought to be because of the rise of [[Korean Confucianism|Neo-Confucianism in Korea]], which prescribed certain burial practices that created conditions favorable to mummification.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2007-07-25 |title=Korean child mummy holds clues to disease |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna19958902 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240629064844/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna19958902 |archive-date=29 June 2024 |access-date=2024-06-29 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref> However, this mummification was likely unintentional, and even culturally seen as ominous and undesirable.<ref name="Shin et al 2018">{{Cite journal |last1=Shin |first1=Dong Hoon |last2=Bianucci |first2=Raffaella |last3=Fujita |first3=Hisashi |last4=Hong |first4=Jong Ha |date=2018-09-13 |title=Mummification in Korea and China: Mawangdui, Song, Ming and Joseon Dynasty Mummies |journal=BioMed Research International |language=en |volume=2018 |pages=1–12 |doi=10.1155/2018/6215025 |issn=2314-6133 |pmc=6158963 |pmid=30302339 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Mummification likely occurred due to a number of factors. One such factor was the airtight seal (especially as the Korean climate is unfavorable to mummification) around the bodies, which was achieved using a mix of [[Lime (material)|lime]], clay, and sand. Recreations of the sealing process found that chemical reactions with the lime possibly caused a high and prolonged release of heat, which killed bacteria in the bodies.<ref name="Shin et al 2018" /> In addition, a large amount of clothing was usually placed inside tombs, which led to a shortage of oxygen inside.<ref name="Shin et al 2018" /> Mummies buried using the lime mixture sealing technique reportedly have especially excellently preserved soft skin and hair, which has enabled medical and genetic studies to be performed.<ref name="Lee et al 2009" /><ref name="Shin et al 2018" /> Insights have been offered into the lifestyles and pathologies of Korean people during this period. Specific diseases for each individual have been identified.<ref name="Shin et al 2018" />

==== Philippines ====
Philippine mummies, or [[Kabayan Mummies]], are common in [[Igorot]], specifically [[Ibaloi people|Ibaloi]], culture. The mummies date back as far as 200 BC and up to the 19th century. They are named for the [[Kabayan, Benguet|Kabayan]] region where they predominantly are found.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Reyes |first=Fen |last2=Calanno |first2=Camille |last3=Soltis |first3=Sarah |date=23 January 2024 |title=Ancestral ties to the Kabayan ‘fire’ mummies is driving research to save them  {{!}} Pursuit by the University of Melbourne |url=https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/ancestral-ties-to-the-kabayan-fire-mummies-is-driving-research-to-save-them |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250718165803/https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/ancestral-ties-to-the-kabayan-fire-mummies-is-driving-research-to-save-them |archive-date=2025-07-18 |access-date=2025-10-28 |website=Pursuit |language=en}}</ref>

==== Siberia ====
In 1993, a team of Russian archaeologists led by Dr. [[Natalia Polosmak]] discovered the [[Siberian Ice Maiden]], a [[Scythians|Scytho]]-Siberian woman, on the [[Ukok Plateau]] in the [[Altai Mountains]] near the Mongolian border.<ref name="SiberianTimes">{{cite web| title = Siberian Princess reveals her 2,500 year old tattoos| publisher = The Siberian Times| date = 14 August 2012| url = http://siberiantimes.com/culture/others/features/siberian-princess-reveals-her-2500-year-old-tattoos/| access-date = 10 November 2013}}</ref> The mummy was naturally frozen due to the severe climatic conditions of the Siberian steppe. Also known as Princess Ukok, the mummy was dressed in finely detailed clothing and wore an elaborate headdress and jewelry. Alongside her body were buried six decorated horses and a symbolic meal for her last journey.<ref name="Adkins">{{cite web |last=Adkins |first=Jan |title=Unquiet Mummies |publisher=Nova |date=24 November 1998 |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/unquiet-mummies/ |access-date=10 November 2013}}</ref> Her left arm and hand were tattooed with [[animal style]] figures, including a highly stylized [[deer]].<ref name="SiberianTimes" />

The Ice Maiden has been a source of some recent controversy. The mummy's skin has suffered some slight decay, and the tattoos have faded since the excavation. Some residents of the [[Altai Republic]], formed after the breakup of the [[Soviet Union]], have requested the return of the Ice Maiden, who is currently stored in [[Novosibirsk]] in [[Siberia]].<ref name="SiberianTimes" /><ref name="Adkins" /><ref name="Polosmak">{{cite journal |last=Polosmak |first=Natalya |title=A Mummy Unearthed from the Pastures of Heaven |journal=[[National Geographic Magazine]] |pages=80–103 |year=1994}}</ref>

Another Siberian mummy, a man, was discovered much earlier in 1929. His skin was also marked with tattoos of two monsters resembling [[griffin]]s, which decorated his chest, and three partially obliterated images which seem to represent two deer and a mountain goat on his left arm.<ref name="SiberianTimes" />

=== Europe ===
[[File:Nikolaus Rungius in grave.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Mummy of [[Nicolaus Rungius]] under the floor of St. Michael Church in [[Keminmaa]], Finland]]
The European continent is home to a diverse spectrum of spontaneous and anthropogenic mummies.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://theconversation.com/solved-the-mystery-of-britains-bronze-age-mummies-48475 |title=Solved: the mystery of Britain's Bronze Age mummies |last=Booth |first=Tom |date=24 November 2015 |website=The Conversation |access-date=3 December 2015 }}</ref> Some of the best-preserved mummies have come from bogs located across the region. The Capuchin monks that inhabited the area left behind hundreds of intentionally-preserved bodies that have provided insight into the customs and cultures of people from various eras. One of the oldest mummies (nicknamed [[Ötzi]]) was discovered on this continent. New mummies continue to be uncovered in Europe well into the 21st century.

==== Bog bodies ====
{{Main|Bog body}}
[[Great Britain]], [[Ireland]], [[Germany]], the [[Netherlands]], [[Sweden]], and [[Denmark]] have produced a number of [[Bog body|bog bodies]], mummies of people deposited in [[bog|sphagnum bogs]], apparently as a result of murder or ritual sacrifices. In such cases, the acidity of the water, low temperature and lack of oxygen combined to [[Tanning (leather)|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 decedent's last meal by examining [[stomach]] contents. The [[Haraldskær Woman]] 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. Another bog body, also from Denmark, known as the [[Tollund Man]] was discovered in 1950. The corpse was noted for its excellent preservation of the face and feet, which appeared as if the man had recently died. Only the head of Tollund Man remains, due to the decomposition of the rest of his body, which was not preserved along with the head.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tollundman.dk/et-lig-dukker-op.asp |title=A Body Appears |work=The Tollund Man – A Face from Prehistoric Denmark |access-date=22 September 2007 |publisher=Silkeborg Public Library |year=2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131209034959/http://tollundman.dk/et-lig-dukker-op.asp |archive-date=9 December 2013 }}</ref>

==== Czech Republic ====
[[File:Brno CZ Crypt at the Capuchin Monastery 02.jpg|thumb|left|140px|Mummies in the [[Capuchin Crypt in Brno]]]]
The majority of mummies recovered in the [[Czech Republic]] come from underground crypts. While there is some evidence of deliberate mummification, most sources state that desiccation occurred naturally due to unique conditions within the crypts.{{sfn|Aufderheide|2003|p=192}}<ref name=Orchestrion /><ref name=AtlasCapu />

The [[Capuchin Crypt in Brno]] contains three hundred years of mummified remains directly below the main altar.<ref name=Orchestrion>{{cite web|title=Mummies and Mummified Remains |url=http://www.orchestrion.cz/mummy.htm|access-date=11 November 2013}}</ref> Beginning in the 18th century when the crypt was opened, and continuing until the practice was discontinued in 1787, the [[Order of Friars Minor Capuchin|Capuchin friars]] of the monastery would lay the deceased on a pillow of bricks on the ground. The unique air quality and topsoil within the crypt naturally preserved the bodies over time.<ref name=Orchestrion /><ref name=AtlasCapu>{{cite web|title=The Czech's Capuchin Crypt|url=http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/czechs-capuchin-crypt|access-date=11 November 2013}}</ref>

Approximately fifty mummies were discovered in an abandoned crypt beneath the [[Church of St. Procopius of Sázava]] in [[Vamberk]] in the mid-1980s.<ref name=Agentura>{{cite web|title=Monastery of Broumov|url=http://www.broumovsko.cz/en/monastery-of-broumov/monastery-of-broumov|publisher=Agentura pro rozvoj Broumovska|access-date=11 November 2013}}</ref> Workers digging a trench accidentally broke into the crypt, which began to fill with waste water. The mummies quickly began to deteriorate, though thirty-four were able to be rescued and stored temporarily at the District Museum of the Orlické Mountains until they could be returned to the monastery in 2000.<ref name=Agentura /> The mummies range in age and social status at time of death, with at least two children and one priest.<ref name=Orchestrion /><ref name=Agentura /> The majority of the Vamberk mummies date from the 18th century.<ref name=Agentura />

The [[Klatovy]] catacombs currently house an exhibition of [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] mummies, alongside some aristocrats, that were originally interred between 1674 and 1783. In the early 1930s, the mummies were accidentally damaged during repairs, resulting in the loss of 140 bodies. The newly updated airing system preserves the thirty-eight bodies that are currently on display.<ref name=Orchestrion /><ref name=Klatovy>{{cite web|title=New exposition|url=http://www.katakomby.cz/klatovycatacombs/newexposition.aspx|publisher=Klatovské katakomby|access-date=11 November 2013}}</ref>

==== Denmark ====
[[File:Skrudstrupspigen.jpg|250px|thumb|right|The Skrydstrup Woman was unearthed from a grave mound in Denmark.]]
Apart from several bog bodies, Denmark has also yielded several other mummies, such as [[Borum Eshøj Family|the three Borum Eshøj mummies]], the [[Skrydstrup Woman]] and the [[Egtved Girl]], who were all found inside burial mounds, or [[tumuli]].

In 1875, the Borum Eshøj grave mound was uncovered, which had been built around three coffins, which belonged to a middle aged man and woman as well as a man in his early twenties.<ref name=Natmus /> Through examination, the woman was discovered to be around 50–60 years old. She was found with several artifacts made of bronze, consisting of buttons, a belt plate, and rings, showing she was of higher class. All of the hair had been removed from the skull later when farmers had dug through the casket. Her original hairstyle is unknown.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://oldtiden.natmus.dk/udstillingen/bronzealderen/familien_i_borum_eshoej/kvinden_fra_borum_eshoej/language/uk/ |title=The woman from Borum Eshøj – Oldtiden |publisher=Oldtiden.natmus.dk |access-date=11 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809051012/http://oldtiden.natmus.dk/udstillingen/bronzealderen/familien_i_borum_eshoej/kvinden_fra_borum_eshoej/language/uk/ |archive-date=9 August 2011 }}</ref> The two men wore kilts, and the younger man wore a sheath which contained a bronze dagger. All three mummies were dated to 1351–1345 BC.<ref name=Natmus>{{cite web |title=Historical knowledge – the story of Denmark |url=https://en.natmus.dk/historical-knowledge/denmark/ |website=National Museum of Denmark |language=en}}</ref>

The [[Skrydstrup Woman]] was unearthed from a [[tumulus]] in Southern Jutland, in 1935. Carbon-14 dating showed that she had died around 1300 BC; examination also revealed that she was around 18–19 years old at the time of death, and that she had been buried in the summertime. Her hair had been drawn up in an elaborate hairstyle, which was then covered by a horse hair hairnet made by the [[sprang]] technique. She was wearing a blouse and a necklace as well as two golden earrings, showing she was of higher class.<ref>{{cite web |last=Kaul |first=Flemming |url=http://www.kulturarv.dk/1001fortaellinger/en_GB/skrydstrup |title=Skrydstrup, We know where she lived – 1001 Stories of Denmark |publisher=Kulturarv.dk |access-date=11 November 2013}}</ref>

The [[Egtved Girl]], dated to 1370 BC, was also found inside a sealed coffin within a tumulus, in 1921. She was wearing a [[bodice]] and a skirt, including a belt and bronze bracelets. Found with the girl, at her feet, were the cremated remains of a child and, by her head, a box containing some bronze pins, a hairnet, and an [[Bradawl|awl]].<ref>Hogan, C. Michael, Girl Barrow, The Megalithic Portal, editor A. Burnham 4 October 2007</ref><ref>Barber, E.W. The Mummies of Ürümchi. Macmillan, London, 1999. {{ISBN|0-393-04521-8}}</ref><ref>Michaelsen, K.K. Politikens bog om Danmarks Oldtid. Politiken, Denmark, 2002. {{ISBN|87-00-69328-6}}</ref>

==== Hungary ====

In 1994, 265 mummified bodies were found in the crypt of a [[Dominican Order|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]]. Unique to the Hungarian mummies are their elaborately decorated coffins, with no two being exactly alike.<ref name=AtlObs1>{{cite web|title=Mummies of Vác Hungary|url=http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/mummies-v-c-hungary|publisher=AtlasObscura|access-date=12 November 2013}}</ref>

==== Italy ====
[[File:Monks' Corridor.jpg|thumb|right|Mummies in the Friars' Corridor of the [[Catacombe dei Cappuccini]].]]
The varied geography and climatology of Italy has led to many cases of spontaneous mummification.{{sfn|Aufderheide|2003|p=193}} Italian mummies display the same diversity, with a conglomeration of natural and intentional mummification spread across many centuries and cultures.

The oldest natural mummy in Europe was discovered in 1991 in the [[Ötztal Alps]] on the Austrian-Italian border. Nicknamed [[Ötzi]], the mummy is a 5,300-year-old male believed to be a member of the [[Tamins-Carasso-Isera]] cultural group of [[South Tyrol]].<ref name=Owen>{{cite magazine |last=Owen |first=James |title=5 Surprising Facts About Otzi the Iceman |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/10/131016-otzi-ice-man-mummy-five-facts/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016214702/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/10/131016-otzi-ice-man-mummy-five-facts/ |archive-date=16 October 2013 |magazine=National Geographic |access-date=11 November 2013 |date=16 October 2013}}</ref><ref name=OtziCulture>{{cite web|title=Which cultural group did Ötzi belong to?|url=http://www.iceman.it/en/node/295|publisher=South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology|access-date=11 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111110719/http://www.iceman.it/en/node/295|archive-date=11 November 2013}}</ref> Despite his age, a recent DNA study conducted by [[Walther Parson]] of [[Innsbruck Medical University]] revealed Ötzi has 19 living genetic relatives.<ref name=Owen />

The [[Catacombe dei Cappuccini|Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo]] were built in the 16th century by the friars of Palermo's Capuchin monastery. Originally intended to hold the deliberately mummified remains of dead friars, interment in the catacombs became a status symbol for the local population in the following centuries. Burials continued until the 1920s, with one of the final burials being that of [[Rosalia Lombardo]]. In all, the catacombs host nearly 8000 mummies.

The most recent discovery of mummies in Italy came in 2010, when sixty mummified human remains were found in the [[crypt]] of the Conversion of St Paul church in Roccapelago di [[Pievepelago]], Italy. Built in the 15th century as a cannon hold and later converted in the 16th century, the crypt had been sealed once it had reached capacity, leaving the bodies to be protected and preserved. The crypt was reopened during restoration work on the church, revealing the diverse array of mummies inside. The bodies were quickly moved to a museum for further study.<ref name=Huddersfield>{{cite web|title=Dr Stefano Vanin's forensic expertise is used to learn lessons from the extraordinary Mummies of Roccapelago|url=http://www.hud.ac.uk/research/researchcentres/aaarg/projects/the-mummies-of-roccapelago/|publisher=University of Huddersfield|access-date=11 November 2013|date=24 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111111205/http://www.hud.ac.uk/research/researchcentres/aaarg/projects/the-mummies-of-roccapelago/|archive-date=11 November 2013}}</ref>

=== North America ===

The mummies of North America are often steeped in controversy, as many of these bodies have been linked to still-existing native cultures. While the mummies provide a wealth of historically significant data, native cultures and tradition often demands the remains be returned to their original resting places. This has led to many legal actions by Native American councils, leading to most museums keeping mummified remains out of the public eye.<ref name=Spirit />

==== Canada ====
{{Main|Kwäday Dän Ts'ìnchi}}

[[Kwäday Dän Ts'ìnchi]] ("Long ago person found" in the [[Southern Tutchone]] language of the [[Champagne and Aishihik First Nations]]), was found in August 1999 by three First Nations hunters at the edge of a glacier in [[Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park]], [[British Columbia]], [[Canada]]. According to the Kwäday Dän Ts'ìnchi Project, the remains are the oldest well preserved mummy discovered in North America.<ref name=Canada1>{{cite web|title=Kwäday Dän Ts'ìnchi Project Introduction|url=http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/archaeology/kwaday_dan_tsinchi/project_introduction.htm|publisher=Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources Operations|access-date=12 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112063723/http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/archaeology/kwaday_dan_tsinchi/project_introduction.htm|archive-date=12 November 2013}}</ref> (The [[Spirit Cave mummy]] although not well preserved, is much older.)<ref name=Muska>{{cite web |last=Muska |first=D. Dowd |title=Sensitivity Run Amok May Silence the Spirit Cave Mummy Forever |url=http://nj.npri.org/nj98/02/cover_story.htm |publisher=The Nevada Journal |access-date=12 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101208042517/http://nj.npri.org/nj98/02/cover_story.htm |archive-date=8 December 2010 }}</ref> Initial radiocarbon tests date the mummy to around 550 years-old.<ref name=Canada1 />

==== Greenland ====
[[File:Qilakitsoq I-1.jpg|thumb|The mummy of a six-month-old boy found in Qilakitsoq]]
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 years ago. Their bodies were naturally mummified by the sub-zero temperatures and dry winds in the cave in which they were found.<ref>{{cite web |last=Deem |first=James M. |title=World Mummies: Greenland Mummies |url=http://www.mummytombs.com/mummylocator/group/greenland.htm |publisher=Mummy Tombs |date=2007-03-15 |access-date=16 March 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070208160451/http://www.mummytombs.com/mummylocator/group/greenland.htm |archive-date=8 February 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Hart Hansen |editor1-first=Jens Peder |editor2-last=Meldgaard |editor2-first=Jørgen |editor3-last=Nordqvist |editor3-first=Jørgen |title=The Greenland Mummies |location=London |publisher=British Museum Publications |year=1991 |isbn=0-7141-2500-8}}</ref>

==== Mexico ====
[[File:Placid death.JPG|left|190px|thumb|A mummy from Guanajuato]]
Intentional mummification in [[pre-Columbian Mexico]] was practiced by the [[Aztec]] culture. These bodies are collectively known as [[Aztec mummy|Aztec mummies]]. Genuine Aztec mummies were "bundled" in a woven wrap and often had their faces covered by a ceremonial mask.<ref name=Langely>{{cite web |last=Langely |first=James |title=Notes I-3: Teotihuacan Incensarios: The 'V' Manta and Its Message|url=http://archaeology.asu.edu/teo/notes/JL/notes1_3.htm |publisher=Internet Journal for Teotihuacan Archaeology and Iconography |access-date=12 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112060653/http://archaeology.asu.edu/teo/notes/JL/notes1_3.htm |archive-date=12 November 2013 }}</ref> Public knowledge of Aztec mummies increased due to traveling exhibits and museums in the 19th and 20th centuries, though these bodies were typically naturally desiccated remains and not actually the mummies associated with Aztec culture.

Natural mummification has been known to occur in several places in Mexico; this includes the [[mummies of Guanajuato]].<ref name=prof>{{cite news |title= Professor unravels secrets of the Guanajuato mummies |newspaper=US Fed News Service, Including US State News |location=Washington, D.C. |date=30 August 2007}}</ref> A collection of these mummies, most of which date to the late 19th century, have been on display at ''El Museo de las Momias'' in the city of [[Guanajuato, Guanajuato|Guanajuato]] since 1970. The museum claims to have the smallest mummy in the world on display (a mummified [[fetus]]).<ref>{{cite book |title=Guanajuato: Guia para descubrir los encantos del estado |editor1=Jimenez Gonzalez |editor2=Victor Manuel |isbn=978-607-400-177-8 |year=2009 |publisher=Solaris |location=Madrid, Spain |language=es |page=103}}</ref> It was thought that minerals in the soil had the preserving effect, however it may rather be due to the warm, arid climate.<ref name=prof /><ref>{{cite news |title= Detroit Science Center: The Accidental Mummies of Guanajuato Touring Exhibition to Make World Debut in Detroit |newspaper=Pediatrics Week. |location=Atlanta |date=27 June 2009 |page=97}}</ref> Mexican mummies are also on display in the small town of [[Encarnación de Díaz]], [[Jalisco]].

==== United States ====
[[Spirit Cave mummy|Spirit Cave Man]] was discovered in 1940 during salvage work prior to [[guano]] mining activity that was scheduled to begin in the area. The mummy is a middle-aged male, found completely dressed and lying on a blanket made of animal skin. Radiocarbon tests in the 1990s dated the mummy to being nearly 9,000 years old. The remains were held at the [[Nevada State Museum, Carson City|Nevada State Museum]], though the local Native American community began petitioning to have the remains returned and reburied in 1995.<ref name=Spirit>{{cite web|title=Spirit Cave Man|url=http://museums.nevadaculture.org/new_exhibits/cc-UnderOneSky/spiritcave.htm|publisher=Nevada State Museum|access-date=12 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112081148/http://museums.nevadaculture.org/new_exhibits/cc-UnderOneSky/spiritcave.htm|archive-date=12 November 2013}}</ref><ref name=Muska /><ref name=Asher>{{cite web |last=Asher |first=Laura |title=Oldest North American Mummy |url=http://archive.archaeology.org/9609/newsbriefs/nevada.html |work=Archaeology |publisher=Archaeological Institute of America |access-date=12 November 2013 |year=1996}}</ref> When the Bureau of Land Management did not repatriate the mummy in 2000, the [[Paiute-Shoshone Tribe of the Fallon Reservation and Colony|Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe]] sued under the [[Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act]]. After [[DNA sequencing]] determined that the remains were in fact related to modern Native Americans, they were repatriated to the tribe in 2016.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Callaway |first1=Ewen |title=North America's oldest mummy returned to US tribe after genome sequencing |journal=Nature |date=December 2016 |volume=540 |issue=7632 |pages=178–179 |doi=10.1038/540178a |s2cid=89286088 |url=https://www.nature.com/news/north-america-s-oldest-mummy-returned-to-us-tribe-after-genome-sequencing-1.21108 |access-date=17 September 2020|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

=== Oceania ===
[[File:Robley with mokomokai collection 2.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Horatio Gordon Robley with his [[mokomokai]] collection.]]

Mummies from [[Oceania]] are not limited only to [[Australia]]. Discoveries of mummified remains have also been located in [[New Guinea]], [[New Zealand]], and the [[Torres Strait]],{{sfn|Cockburn|Cockburn|Reyman|1998|p=289}} though these mummies have been historically harder to examine and classify.{{sfn|Aufderheide|2003|p=277}} Prior to the 20th century, most literature on mummification in the region was either silent or anecdotal.<ref name=Dawson /> However, the boom of interest generated by the scientific study of Egyptian mummification lead to more concentrated study of mummies in other cultures, including those of Oceania.

==== Australia ====

The aboriginal mummification traditions found in [[Australia]] are thought be related to those found in the [[Torres Strait]] islands,<ref name=Dawson>{{cite journal |last=Dawson |first=Warren |title=Mummification in Australia and in America |journal=The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland |year=1928 |volume=58 |pages=115–138 |jstor=4619529}}</ref> the inhabitants of which achieved a high level of sophisticated mummification techniques. Australian mummies lack some of the technical ability of the Torres Strait mummies, however much of the ritual aspects of the mummification process are similar.<ref name=Dawson /> Full-body mummification was achieved by these cultures, but not the level of artistic preservation as found on smaller islands. The reason for this seems to be for easier transport of bodies by more nomadic tribes.<ref name=Dawson />

==== New Guinea ====

Until the mid-twentieth century, the [[Angu]] (or Anga) people of [[Papua New Guinea]] practiced mummification by [[Smoking (cooking)|smoking]] the bodies of the dead.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20151130-one-of-most-bizarre-rituals-of-the-ancient-world|title=The smoked corpses of Aseki|first=Ian Lloyd|last=Neubauer|website=www.bbc.com |date=25 February 2022 }}</ref> Sites of their preserved mummies exist in the [[Morobe Province]].

==== Torres Strait ====

The mummies of the Torres Strait have a considerably higher level of preservation technique as well as creativity compared to those found on Australia.<ref name=Dawson /> The process began with removal of viscera, after which the bodies were set in a seated position on a platform and either left to dry in the sun or smoked over a fire in order to aid in desiccation. In the case of smoking, some tribes would collect the fat that drained from the body to mix with ocher to create red paint that would then be smeared back on the skin of the mummy.<ref name=Melanesia>{{cite web |last=Deem |first=James |title=Melanesia Mummies |url=http://www.mummytombs.com/mummylocator/group/melanesia.htm |access-date=15 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015193124/http://www.mummytombs.com/mummylocator/group/melanesia.htm |archive-date=15 October 2013 }}</ref> The mummies remained on the platforms, decorated with the clothing and jewelry they wore in life, before being buried.<ref name=Dawson /><ref name=Melanesia />

==== New Zealand ====
{{Main|Mokomokai}}

Some [[Māori people|Māori]] tribes from New Zealand would keep mummified heads as trophies from tribal warfare.<ref name=Maori1 /> They are also known as [[Mokomokai]]. In the 19th century, many of the trophies were acquired by Europeans who found the tattooed skin to be a phenomenal curiosity. Westerners began to offer valuable commodities in exchange for the uniquely tattooed mummified heads. The heads were later put on display in museums, 16 of them in France alone. In 2010, at a ceremony in the [[Hôtel de Ville, Rouen|Hôtel de Ville]] in Rouen, Rouen City Council returned one of the heads to New Zealand, despite earlier protests by the Culture Ministry of France.<ref name=Maori1>{{cite web|title=Mummified Maori head returned to NZ|url=http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/mummified-maori-head-returned-to-nz-after-136-years.htm|publisher=Australian Geographic|access-date=13 November 2013|date=10 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204030056/http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/mummified-maori-head-returned-to-nz-after-136-years.htm|archive-date=4 December 2013}}</ref>

There is also evidence that some Māori tribes may have practiced full-body mummification, though the practice is not thought to have been widespread.<ref name=Orchiston>{{cite journal |last=Orchiston |first=D. Wayne |title=The Practice of Mummification Among the New Zealand Maori |journal=The Journal of the Polynesian Society |year=1968 |volume=77 |issue=2 |pages=186–190 |url=http://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document//Volume_77_1968/Volume_77,_No._2/The_practice_of_mummification_among_the_New_Zealand_Maori,_by_Wayne_Orchiston,_p_186_-_190/p1 |access-date=13 November 2013}}</ref> The discussion of Māori mummification has been historically controversial, with some experts in past decades claiming that such mummies have never existed.<ref name=Tregear>{{cite journal |last=Tregear |first=Edward |title=Maori Mummies |journal=The Journal of the Polynesian Society |year=1916 |volume=25 |issue=100 |pages=167–168 |url=http://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document/?wid=1053 |access-date=13 November 2013}}</ref>
The historical significance of full-body mummification within Māori culture is acknowledged by science, although there is still debate as to the nature of their exact mummification processes. Some mummies appear to have been spontaneously created by the natural environment, while others exhibit signs of direct human involvement. Generally, modern consensus tends to agree that there could have been a mixture of both types of mummification, similar to that of the Ancient Egyptian culture.<ref name=Orchiston />

=== South America ===
The [[South America]]n continent contains some of the oldest mummies in the world, both deliberate and accidental.<ref name="head" /> The bodies were preserved by the best agent for mummification: the environment. The Pacific coastal desert in [[Peru]] and [[Chile]] is one of the driest areas in the world and the dryness facilitated mummification. Rather than developing elaborate processes such as later-dynasty ancient Egyptians, the early South Americans often left their dead in naturally dry or frozen areas, though some did perform surgical preparation when mummification was intentional.<ref name="Field">{{cite web| title = The Earliest Mummies| publisher = The Field Museum| url = http://mummies.fieldmuseum.org/behind-the-scenes/south-american-mummies| access-date = 9 November 2013 }}</ref> Some of the reasons for intentional mummification in South America include memorialization, immortalization, and religious offerings.<ref name="Arriaza">{{cite web |last2=Hapke |first2=Russell A. |last3=Standen |first3=Vivien G. |last1=Arriaza |first1=Bernardo |title=Making the Dead Beautiful: Mummies as Art |publisher=Archaeological Institute of America |date=16 December 1998|url=http://archive.archaeology.org/online/features/chinchorro/ |access-date=11 November 2013}}</ref> A large number of mummified bodies have been found in pre-Columbian cemeteries scattered around Peru. The bodies had often been wrapped for burial in finely-woven textiles.<ref name="Heaney">{{cite web |last=Heaney |first=Christopher |title=The Fascinating Afterlife of Peru's Mummies |url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/fascinating-afterlife-perus-mummies-180956319/ |website=Smithsonian Magazine |date=28 August 2015 |access-date=17 March 2017 }}</ref>

==== Chauchilla Cemetery ====
{{Main|Chauchilla Cemetery}}
Chauchilla Cemetery is a [[cemetery]] that contains prehispanic mummified human remains and archeological artifacts, located {{convert|30|km}} south of the city of [[Nazca]] in [[Peru]].

==== Chinchorro mummies ====
[[File:Momia cultura chinchorro año 3000 AC.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Chinchorro mummies are the oldest artificial mummies on the earth.]]
{{Main|Chinchorro mummies}}
The [[Chinchorro mummies]] are the oldest intentionally prepared mummified bodies ever found. Beginning in [[5th millennium BC]] and continuing for an estimated 3,500 years,<ref name="Arriaza" /> all human burials within the Chinchorro culture were prepared for mummification. The bodies were carefully prepared, beginning with removal of the internal organs and skin, before being left in the hot, dry climate of the [[Atacama Desert]], which aided in desiccation.<ref name="Arriaza" /> A large number of Chinchorro mummies were also prepared by skilled artisans to be preserved in a more artistic fashion, though the purpose of this practice is widely debated.<ref name="Arriaza" />

==== Inca mummies ====
[[File:Llullaillaco mummies in Salta city, Argentina.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Children of Llullaillaco|Llullaillaco]] mummy in [[Salta Province]] ([[Argentina]]).]]
Several naturally-preserved, unintentional mummies dating from the [[Inca Empire|Incan]] period (1438–1532 AD) have been found in the colder regions of [[Argentina]], [[Chile]], and [[Peru]]. These are collectively known as "ice mummies".<ref name="Clark" /> The first Incan ice mummy was discovered in 1954 atop [[Cerro El Plomo|El Plomo Peak]] in Chile, after an eruption of the nearby volcano [[Sabancaya]] melted away ice that covered the body.<ref name="Clark">{{cite web |last=Clark |first=Liesl |title=Ice Mummies of the Inca |publisher=NOVA |date=24 November 1998 |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/ice-mummies-inca/ |access-date=9 November 2013}}</ref> The [[Plomo Mummy|Mummy of El Plomo]] was a male child who was presumed to be wealthy due to his well-fed bodily characteristics. He was considered to be the most well-preserved ice mummy in the world until the discovery of Mummy Juanita in 1995.<ref name="Clark" />

[[Mummy Juanita]] was discovered near the summit of [[Ampato]] in the Peruvian section of the [[Andes]] mountains by archaeologist [[Johan Reinhard]].<ref name="Hall" /> Her body had been so thoroughly frozen that it had not been desiccated; much of her skin, muscle tissue, and internal organs retained their original structure.<ref name="Clark" /> She is believed to be a ritual sacrifice, due to the close proximity of her body to the Incan capital of [[Cusco]], as well as the fact she was wearing highly intricate clothing to indicate her special social status. Several Incan ceremonial artifacts and temporary shelters uncovered in the surrounding area seem to support this theory.<ref name="Clark" />

More evidence that the Inca left sacrificial victims to die in the elements, and later be unintentionally preserved, came in 1999 with the discovery of the [[Children of Llullaillaco|Llullaillaco mummies]] on the border of Argentina and Chile.<ref name="Hall">{{cite magazine |last=Hall |first=Yancey |title=Interview: "Inca Mummy Man" Johan Reinhard |magazine=National Geographic |date=28 October 2010 |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/06/0621_050621_incamummy.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050624021528/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/06/0621_050621_incamummy.html |archive-date=24 June 2005 |access-date=9 November 2013}}</ref> The three mummies are children, two girls and one boy, who are thought to be sacrifices associated with the ancient ritual of ''[[qhapaq hucha]]''.<ref name="Handwerk">{{cite magazine |last=Handwerk |first=Brian |title=Inca Child Sacrifice Victims Were Drugged |magazine=National Geographic |date=29 July 2013 |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/?rptregcta=reg_free_np&rptregcampaign=20131016_rw_membership_r1p_us_se_w |access-date=9 November 2013}}</ref> Recent [[biochemistry|biochemical analysis]] of the mummies has revealed that the victims had consumed increasing quantities of [[alcohol (drug)|alcohol]] and [[coca]], possibly in the form of [[chicha]], in the months leading up to sacrifice.<ref name="Handwerk" /> The dominant theory for the drugging reasons that, alongside ritual uses, the substances probably made the children more docile. Chewed coca leaves found inside the eldest child's mouth upon her discovery in 1999 supports this theory.<ref name="Handwerk" />

The bodies of Inca emperors and wives were mummified after death. In 1533, the [[Spanish empire|Spanish]] [[conquistador]]s of the Inca Empire viewed the mummies in the Inca capital of Cuzco. The mummies were displayed, often in lifelike positions, in the palaces of the deceased emperors and had a retinue of servants to care for them. The Spanish were impressed with the quality of the mummification which involved removal of the organs, embalming, and freeze-drying.<ref name="Heaney"/>

The population revered the mummies of the Inca emperors. This reverence seemed idolatry to the [[Roman Catholic]] Spanish and in 1550 they confiscated the mummies. The mummies were taken to [[Lima]] where they were displayed in the San Andres Hospital. The mummies deteriorated in the humid climate of Lima and eventually they were either buried or destroyed by the Spanish.<ref>{{cite web |last1=McCaa |first1=Robert |last2=Nimlos |first2=Aleta |last3=Hampe Martinez |first3=Teodoro |title=Why Blame Smallpox |url=http://users.pop.umn.edu/~rmccaa/aha2004/why_blame_smallpox.pdf |date=27 January 2017 }}</ref><ref name="Pringle">{{cite web |last=Pringle |first=Harriet |title=Inca Empire |website=National Geographic |url=http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/04/inca-empire/pringle-text/2 |date=2011 |access-date=27 January 2017 |archive-date=26 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170126074244/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/04/inca-empire/pringle-text/2 }}</ref>

An attempt to find the mummies of the Inca emperors beneath the San Andres hospital in 2001 was unsuccessful. The archaeologists found a crypt, but it was empty. Possibly the mummies had been removed when the building was repaired after an earthquake.<ref name="Pringle"/>

== Self-mummification ==
{{Main|Buddhist mummies|Sokushinbutsu}}
Monks whose bodies remain [[incorruptibility|incorrupt]] without any traces of deliberate mummification are venerated by some Buddhists who believe they successfully were able to mortify their flesh to death. Self-mummification was practiced until the late 1800s in Japan and has been outlawed since the early 1900s.

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 position]], put into a vessel with drying agents (such as wood, paper, or [[Calcium oxide|lime]]) and surrounded by bricks, to be [[exhume]]d later, usually after three years. The preserved bodies would then be decorated with paint and adorned with gold.

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, [[Nut (fruit)|nuts]], [[seed]]s, [[root]]s, [[pine]] bark, and {{transliteration|ja|[[Toxicodendron vernicifluum|urushi]]}} tea.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sonic.net/~anomaly/japan/dbuddha.htm |title=The Buddhist Mummies of Japan |publisher=Sonic.net |date=24 August 1998 |access-date=9 March 2012}}</ref>

== Modern mummies ==

=== Jeremy Bentham ===
[[File:Jeremy Bentham's Severed Head.JPG|thumb|[[Jeremy Bentham]]'s mummified head]]

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),<ref>{{cite magazine |author=Miss Cellania |url=http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/12653 |title=6 Restless Corpses |magazine=Mental Floss |access-date=9 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119161451/http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/12653 |archive-date=19 January 2012 }}</ref> 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]].

=== Vladimir Lenin ===
{{see also|Communist mummies}}
During the early 20th century, the Russian movement of [[Russian cosmism|Cosmism]], as represented by [[Nikolai Fyodorovich Fyodorov]], envisioned scientific resurrection of dead people. The idea was so popular that, after [[Vladimir Lenin]]'s death, [[Leonid Krasin]] and [[Alexander Bogdanov]] suggested to [[Cryonics|cryonically preserve]] his body and brain in order to revive him in the future.<ref name="azbuka">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.</ref> Necessary equipment was purchased abroad, but for a variety of reasons the plan was not realized.<ref name="azbuka" /> Instead his body was [[Embalming|embalmed]] and placed on permanent exhibition in the [[Lenin's Mausoleum|Lenin Mausoleum]] in Moscow, where it is displayed to this day. The mausoleum itself was modeled by [[Alexey Shchusev]] on the [[Pyramid of Djoser]] and the [[Tomb of Cyrus]].

===Gottfried Knoche===
{{Unreferenced section|date=February 2022}}
In late 19th-century Venezuela, a German-born doctor named [[Gottfried Knoche]] conducted experiments in mummification at his laboratory in the forest near [[La Guaira]]. He developed an [[embalming fluid]] (based on an [[aluminium chloride]] compound) that mummified corpses without having to remove the internal organs. The formula for his fluid was never revealed and has not been discovered. Most of the several dozen mummies created with the fluid (including himself and his immediate family) have been lost or were severely damaged by vandals and looters.

=== Summum ===
In 1975, an [[Western esotericism|esoteric]] organization by the name of [[Summum]] introduced "Modern Mummification", a service that utilizes modern techniques along with aspects of ancient methods of mummification. The first person to formally undergo Summum's process of modern mummification was the founder of Summum, [[Claude Nowell|Summum Bonum Amen Ra]], who died in January 2008.<ref name="CNNBeliefBlog">{{cite news |last=Ravitz |first=Jessica |title=Summum: Homegrown spiritual group, in news and in a pyramid |publisher=CNN |date=11 June 2010 |url=http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2010/06/11/summum-a-belief-system-in-the-news-%E2%80%93-and-unlike-any-other/ |access-date=9 November 2013 |archive-date=26 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926152019/https://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2010/06/11/summum-a-belief-system-in-the-news-%E2%80%93-and-unlike-any-other/ }}</ref> Summum is currently considered to be the only "commercial mummification business" in the world.<ref>{{cite news |last=Olsen |first=Grant |title=Summum: Religious group performs mummification rituals in Utah pyramid |publisher=KSL.com |date=30 October 2010 |url=http://www.ksl.com/?sid=22660276 |access-date=9 November 2013}}</ref>

=== Alan Billis ===
In 2010, a team led by forensic archaeologist Stephen Buckley mummified Alan Billis using techniques based on 19 years of research of 18th-dynasty Egyptian mummification. The process was filmed for television, for the documentary ''Mummifying Alan: Egypt's Last Secret''.<ref>{{cite episode| title = Mummifying Alan: Egypt's Last Secret | series=Mummifying Alan: Egypt's Last Secret | network = Channel 4| airdate = 24 October 2012 }}</ref> Billis made the decision to allow his body to be mummified after being diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2009. His body currently resides at London's Gordon Museum.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kcl.ac.uk/gordon/newsevents/newsrecords/2012/Feb/Museums-final-resting-place-for-modern-mummy.aspx|title=King's College London – Museum's final resting place for modern mummy|access-date=22 November 2014}}</ref>

=== Amélie of Leuchtenberg===
[[Amélie of Leuchtenberg]] (1812–1873) was [[List of Brazilian royal consorts|Empress of Brazil]] as the wife of [[Pedro I of Brazil|Emperor Pedro I]] (also King of Portugal as Pedro IV). Between February and September 2012, researchers at the [[University of São Paulo]] in Brazil exhumed her remains, as well as those of her husband and his first wife, [[Maria Leopoldina of Austria|Maria Leopoldina]]. They were surprised to find that the body of Amélie had been mummified. Skin, hair and internal organs were preserved. Examinations at the [[Hospital das Clínicas da Universidade de São Paulo|Hospital das Clínicas]] found an incision in the empress' [[jugular vein]]. Aromatics such as [[camphor]] and [[myrrh]] were injected into the incision during the embalming process. "It certainly helped to nullify the decomposition", said Brazilian forensic archaeologist Valdirene Ambiel, responsible for the research. She added that another contributing factor was the casket, saying it was so hermetically sealed that there were no micro-organisms in it. Before the reinterment, scientists reembalmed Amélie's mummified body using a method similar to the first one.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gazetadopovo.com.br/vida-e-cidadania/cientistas-exumam-corpo-de-d-pedro-i-0svlbeclrsblwgmdd3ylf2g9b/ |title=Cientistas exumam corpo de d. Pedro I|website=[[Gazeta do Povo]]|date=February 18, 2013 |access-date=February 10, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://aventurasnahistoria.uol.com.br/noticias/almanaque/por-que-o-corpo-de-dona-amelia-foi-mumificado.phtml |title=Restos da imperatriz consorte: O impressionante corpo mumificado de Dona Amélia|website=aventurasnahistoria.uol.com.br|date=September 24, 2021 |access-date=February 10, 2023}}</ref>

The remains of Amélie, Pedro I, and Maria Leopoldina are interred in the [[Monument to the Independence of Brazil]] in [[São Paulo]].

=== Plastination ===
{{Main|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 [[Heidelberg University]] 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,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bodyworlds.com |title=Body Worlds Official Web Site |publisher=Bodyworlds.com |access-date=9 March 2012}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://isp.plastination.org/ |title=International Society for Plastination |publisher=Isp.plastination.org |access-date=9 March 2012}}</ref>

== Treatment of ancient mummies in modern times ==
[[File:Félix Bonfils - Mumienhändler.png|thumb|Egyptian mummy seller in 1875]]
[[File:Albarello MUMIA 18Jh.jpg|thumb|upright|An 18th century [[albarello]] used for storing ''[[mummia]]'']]

In the [[Middle Ages]], based on a mistranslation from the [[Arabic language|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. [[Francis Bacon]] and [[Robert Boyle]] recommended them for healing [[bruises]] and preventing [[bleeding]].<ref name=ChrisElliotPage27>{{cite journal |last1=Elliott |first1=Chris |title=Bandages, Bitumen, Bodies and Business – Egyptian mummies as raw materials |journal=Aegyptiaca |date=2017 |issue=1 |page=27 |url=https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/aegyp/article/view/40163/33822 |access-date=17 June 2019}}</ref> 

When actual mummies became unavailable, the [[Desiccation|sun-desiccated]] corpses of criminals, slaves and people who committed [[suicide]] were substituted by some merchants.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/B/bodies/cases/case18.html | title = What was mummy medicine? | access-date =8 February 2008 | publisher = [[Channel 4]] }}</ref> The trade in mummies seems to have been disapproved of by [[Ottoman Egypt|Turkish authorities]] who ruled Egypt – several Egyptians were imprisoned for boiling mummies to make oil in 1424. However, mummies were in high demand in Europe and it was possible to buy them for the right amount of money. John Snaderson, an English tradesman who visited Egypt in the 16th century shipped six hundred pounds of mummy back to England.<ref name=ChrisElliotPage27 />

The practice developed into a wide-scale business that flourished until the late 16th century. As recently as two centuries ago, mummies were still believed to have medicinal properties to stop bleeding, and were sold as [[pharmaceutical drug|pharmaceuticals]] in powdered form as in [[mellified man]].<ref name="Daly unwrapping">{{cite journal |last=Daly |first=N. |year=1994 |title=That Obscure Object of Desire: Victorian Commodity Culture and Fictions of the Mummy |journal=Novel: A Forum on Fiction |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=24–51 |doi=10.2307/1345912 |jstor=1345912}}</ref> Artists also made use of Egyptian mummies; a brownish pigment known as [[mummy brown]], based on ''[[mummia]]'' (sometimes called alternatively ''[[caput mortuum (pigment)|caput mortuum]]'', Latin for ''death's head''), which was originally obtained by grinding human and animal Egyptian 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 who replaced the said pigment by a totally different blend -but keeping the original name, mummia or mummy brown-yielding a similar tint and based on ground minerals (oxides and fired earths) and or blends of powdered gums and oleoresins (such as myrrh and frankincense) as well as ground bitumen. These blends appeared on the market as forgeries of powdered mummy pigment but were ultimately considered as acceptable replacements, once antique mummies were no longer permitted to be destroyed.<ref>[http://kremer-pigmente.de/mumie.htm Mumie – nicht lieferbar!] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120215033915/http://www.kremer-pigmente.de/mumie.htm |date=15 February 2012 }} article by Kremer Pigmente GmbH & Co NYC, (in German).</ref> In 1890, about 180,000 mummified cats were excavated and shipped from Egypt to England to be processed for use in [[fertilizer]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Wake |first=Jehanne |author-link=Jehanne Wake |title=Kleinwort, Benson: the history of two families in banking |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=Oxford [Oxfordshire] |year=1997 |isbn=0-19-828299-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qm1fHrcgZuoC&q=mummified+cats+fertilizer&pg=RA1-PA118 }}</ref>

[[File:US Scientists Get Closer Look at Egyptian Mummy.webm|left|thumb|thumbtime=0:04|2014 [[VOA]] report about reparation of an Egyptian mummy in the US]]
During the 19th century, following the discovery of the first tombs and artifacts in Egypt, egyptology became popular in Europe, especially in [[Victorian era|Victorian England]]. European aristocrats would occasionally entertain themselves by purchasing mummies, having them unwrapped, and holding observation sessions.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Moshenka |first1=Gabriel |title=Unrolling Egyptian Mummies in Nineteenth-Century Britain |journal=The British Journal for the History of Science |date=2013 |url=https://www.academia.edu/5038351 |access-date=17 August 2019}}</ref><ref name="Daly unwrapping" /> The pioneer of this kind of entertainment in Britain was [[Thomas Pettigrew]] known as "Mummy" Pettigrew due to his work.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Moshenska |first1=Gabriel |title=Unrolling Egyptian Mummies in Nineteenth-Century Britain |journal=The British Journal for the History of Science |date=2013 |url=https://www.academia.edu/5038351 |access-date=4 September 2019}}</ref> Such unrolling sessions destroyed hundreds of mummies, because the exposure to the air caused them to disintegrate.

While mummies were used in [[medicine]], some researchers have brought into question these other uses such as making paper and paint, fueling locomotives and fertilizing land.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Elliott |first1=Chris |title=Bandages, Bitumen, Bodies and Business – Egyptian mummies as raw materials |journal=Aegyptiaca |date=2017 |issue=1 |pages= 40–46|url=https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/aegyp/article/view/40163/33822 |access-date=17 June 2019}}</ref> The use of mummies as [[fuel]] for [[steam locomotive|locomotives]] was documented by [[Mark Twain]], likely humorously,<ref name="Straight">{{cite web | url = http://www.straightdope.com/columns/020222.html | publisher = [[The Straight Dope]] | title = Do Egyptians burn mummies as fuel? | date = 22 February 2002 | access-date =16 March 2008 }}</ref> 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.<ref name="Straight" /><ref name="Capital Weekly">{{cite news |last=Pronovost |first=Michelle |url=http://www.mainecoastnow.com/articles/2005/03/17/capitalweekly/local_news/n6mummy.txt |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101106183429/http://www.mainecoastnow.com/articles/2005/03/17/capitalweekly/local_news/n6mummy.txt |archive-date=6 November 2010 |access-date=16 March 2008 |date=17 March 2005 |publisher=[[Capital Weekly]] |title=Necessity of paper was the 'mummy' of invention}}</ref> Evidence for the reality of these claims is still equivocal.<ref name="Baker">{{cite book |last=Baker |first=Nicholson |author-link=Nicholson Baker |title=''Double Fold: Libraries and the Assault on Paper'' |year=2001 |publisher=Random House |location=New York |isbn=0-375-50444-3|title-link=Double Fold: Libraries and the Assault on Paper }}</ref><ref name="Dane">{{cite journal |last=Dane |first=Joseph A. |year=1995 |title=The Curse of the Mummy Paper |journal=Printing History |volume=17 |pages=18–25 }}</ref> Researcher [[Ben Radford]] reports that, in her book ''The Mummy Congress'', Heather Pringle writes: "No mummy expert has ever been able to authenticate the story ... Twain seems to be the only published source – and a rather suspect one at that". Pringle also writes that there is no evidence for the "[[mummy paper]]" either. Radford says that many journalists have not done a good job with their research, and while it is true that mummies were often not shown respect in the 1800s, there is no evidence for this rumor.<ref name="Radford">{{cite journal |last1=Radford |first1=Ben |author-link=Ben Radford|title=Bailing in the Mummies |journal=Skeptical Inquirer |date=2019 |volume=43 |issue=2 |pages=43–45}}</ref>

== In popular culture ==
{{main|Mummy (undead)|List of mummy films}}A 2023 report by ''CNN'' revealed that a number of museums in Britain were rethinking how they described their displays of ancient Egyptian human remains, known as "mummies", in order to emphasize that these individuals were once living people. The museums started using terms such as "mummified person" or the individual's name instead of "mummy". The shift in language was also intended to distance the display of mummies from their depiction in popular culture, which often "undermined their humanity" by depicting them as supernatural monsters and perpetuating the notion of a "mummy's curse". The change in language is part of a larger effort by museums to address historical bias and reflect on the way they represent the past to audiences. The [[British Museum]], for example, has not banned the use of the term "mummy" in its displays, but has started to use alternative terminology such as "mummified remains" and including the individual's name when known.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ronald |first=Issy |title=Don't say 'mummy': Why museums are rebranding ancient Egyptian remains |url=https://www.cnn.com/style/article/mummies-museums-name-change-intl-scli-scn/index.html |access-date=2023-01-27 |website=CNN |date=23 January 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Animal mummy]]
* [[Bodies: The Exhibition]]
* [[Corpse decomposition]]
* [[Embalming]]
* [[Fossil]]
* [[Incorruptibility]]
* [[List of mummies]]
* [[List of Egyptian mummies]]
* [[List of DNA-tested mummies]]
* [[Medical cannibalism]]
* [[Mummia]]
{{clear}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== References ==
=== Books ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Aufderheide |first=Arthur C. |year=2003 |title=The Scientific Study of Mummies |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |location=Cambridge, UK |isbn=0-521-81826-5 }}
* Barber, Elizabeth Wayland (1999). ''The Mummies of Ürümchi''. London: Pan Books. {{ISBN|0-393-04521-8}}.
* [[E. A. Wallis Budge|Budge, E. A. Wallis]] (1925). ''The Mummy, A Handbook of Egyptian Funerary Archaeology''. Dover Publ. Reprint: New York: Dover Ed., 1989, {{ISBN|0-486-25928-5}}.
* {{cite book |last1=Cockburn |first1=Aidan |last2=Cockburn |first2=Eve |last3=Reyman |first3=Theodore A. |title=Mummies, Disease and Ancient Cultures |year=1998| publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, UK |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8KZHa5vHOS0C |edition=2nd |isbn=978-0-521-58954-3}}
* [[Jeannine Davis-Kimball|Davis-Kimball, Jeannine]], with Behan, Mona (2003). ''Warrior Women: An Archaeologist's Search for History's Hidden Heroines''. Paperback edition. New York: Warner Books. {{ISBN|0-446-67983-6}}. First published 2002.
* Mallory, J. P. and Mair, Victor H. (2000). ''The Tarim Mummies: Ancient China and the Mystery of the Earliest Peoples from the West''. London: Thames & Hudson. {{ISBN|0-500-05101-1}}.
* [[Heather Pringle (writer)|Pringle, Heather]] (2001). ''The 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}}.
{{refend}}

=== TV and video ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite video|people = Chan, Wah Ho (cinematographer)|year=1996|title = Pet Wraps |medium = TV |publisher = National Geographic Television}}
* {{cite video|people = Frayling, Christopher (writer/narrator/presenter)|year = 1992 |title = The Face of Tutankhamun |url = https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0262957/ |medium = TV series |publisher = British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite web |last=Berlin |first=Samantha |date=28 Jan 2022 |title=Scientists Discovered Why Fetus 'Pickled' Inside Mummified Woman's Uterus |website=Newsweek |url=https://www.newsweek.com/scientists-discovered-why-fetus-pickled-inside-mummified-womans-uterus-1674097}}

== External links ==
{{Commons}}
{{Wikisource|Philosophical Transactions/Volume 54/An Account of a Mummy, inspected at London 1763|An Account of a Mummy, inspected at London 1763|nocat=yes}}
* {{cite EB1911|wstitle=Mummy |volume=18 |short=x}}
* [http://science.howstuffworks.com/mummy.htm Mummies] at [[HowStuffWorks]]
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220324140924/http://www.aldokkan.com/religion/mummy.htm |title=Comparison Between Egyptian and Incan Mummies |date=24 March 2022}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20030502083753/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/04/0430_030430_royalmummy.html U.S. Museum to Return Ramses I Mummy to Egypt] (30 April 2003) – ''[[National Geographic Society|National Geographic]]''
* {{cite web|url = http://www.summum.us/mummification/|title = Modern Mummification|publisher = Summum|access-date =29 May 2006}}
* Simon Cleveland, {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091027144751/http://geocities.com/dimitrovs75/mummy.htm |date=27 October 2009 |title=About the Unknown Mummy E }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160120030119/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/01/160118-mummies-world-bog-egypt-science/ Mummies Around the World – Dried, Smoked, or Thrown in a Bog] (18 January 2016) – ''National Geographic''
* [https://www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com/126-the-death-of-tiye/ Interview with Prof. Ann Rosalie David on Egyptian mummies], "History of Egypt Podcast" series by Eyptologist Dominic Perry (2020)
* [https://www.virtual-body.org/gallery/virtual-mummy/ The Virtual Mummy: Unwrapping a Mummy by Mouse Click]

{{Mummies}}
{{Death}}
{{Ancient Egypt topics}}
{{Prehistoric technology}}
{{The Mummy}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Ancient Egyptian funerary practices]]
[[Category:Archaeology of death]]
[[Category:Egyptian artefact types]]
[[Category:Mummies| ]]