The Basics: Mummification—Not just for Egyptian kings

Let’s start with the basics: what is a mummy?  Most people associate the word only with the intentionally preserved bodies found in Egyptian tombs, but there’s a lot more to it.

The term “mummy” derives from the Latin word mumia, which itself comes from the Arabic word mumiya.  In turn, mumiya is derived from the Persian mum, which means “wax,” and therefore mumiya initially referred to a wax-like substance.  I know that probably means nothing to you but please indulge my inner linguistic nerd for a minute.  Mumiya was an old medicinal remedy made from bitumen, a term that refers to asphalt as well as other similar natural hydrocarbons.  Mumiya was very popular but also very rare and hard to find.  In the search for more sources of it, reports started circulating that mumiya had been used in the embalming process of Egyptian mummies because the hardened resins on the bodies looked like mumiya.  Due to this belief and the demand for bitumen, people started trying to obtain mumiya from Egyptian mummies.  Eventually, the true meaning and source of mumiya became mixed up with preserved Egyptian corpses and the word took on a new definition.  Mumiya came to refer to the mummified bodies themselves and not just the hardened embalming materials that covered, and sometimes were inside of, the bodies.  So, through some miscommunication and misunderstanding, the term mummy eventually came to mean “preserved bodies from Egypt,” but it has since come to refer to any human or animal body that has resisted full decomposition and retains preserved soft tissue.

Mummification is the name of the process that prevents decay and preserves the body’s soft tissues.  It can be achieved through intentional means, such as with the Egyptian mummies.  The Egyptian mummification process changed over the years and varied from body to body.  Pharaohs would receive more elaborate treatment than the poor.  Often, some of the organs would be removed (stomach, lungs, intestines, liver) and placed within canopic jars for use in the afterlife.  Sometimes the brain would be removed and discarded, but the heart was left inside because it was believed to be the seat of the soul.  The body would then be dried out with natron, covered with resins, and wrapped in linen.  Early on, the resins were made from trees, but later asphalt was mixed into the recipe, possibly due to a depletion of the supply of trees used previously.

King Tutankhamen, one of the most famous Egyptian mummies. Despite claims, he was not in fact born in Arizona.  Picture source

However, Egyptians weren’t the only ones that preserved their dead.  The Chinchorro mummies found in northern Chile and southern Peru are even older than those of Egypt, dating to as far back as 7,000 years ago.  The Chinchorro mummification technique differed greatly from that of the Egyptians.  It involved removing the skin and setting it aside to be placed back on after all other soft tissues were removed, the bones reinforced with sticks, and the body covered in white ash paste.  The skin, after being put back on, was then painted with dark paint.  Over the centuries, the preservation technique changed but many of the basics stayed the same.

A Chinchorro mummy.  Picture source

In modern times, we have also seen plenty of intentionally preserved bodies.  Lenin is perhaps one of the better known, but plenty of other bodies have been embalmed and well-preserved within recent centuries.  Some are other famous leaders, such as Mao Zedong and even Eva Peron.  But you don’t necessarily have to be a famous revolutionary or played by Madonna to have been preserved.  For instance, Rosalia Lombardo was only two-years-old when she died of pneumonia and her father had her embalmed and placed inside the Capuchin catacombs of Palermo, Sicily. 

Rosalia Lombardo.  Picture source

Mummification, however, can also occur through natural processes.  Climate and terrain can create the perfect environment for preservation, resulting in mummies made by accidents of nature.  Natural mummies can occur in deserts, ice, bogs, caves, and salt as well as man-made environments that create enough dry air to cause desiccation.

To be honest, natural mummies are those that fascinate me the most.  Somehow, completely by accident, these people have survived the decay process that almost everyone faces after death.  They’re wonders of nature and I tend to wax poetic about them.  In fact, I have written poetry about them, but I’ll spare you that torture.

Some of my favorite natural mummies are the Tarim Mummies.  They were found in the Taklamakhan Desert in China and are amazingly well preserved, an excellent example of the desiccating abilities of extremely dry climates.  The Tarim Mummies aren’t just well preserved, however.  They appear to be at least partly from European descent but they lived in China during a time when Europeans supposedly had no contact with the East.  They prove that there are still so many gaps in history that we know nothing about and their existence hints at a long lost connection between the early development of Eastern and Western civilization.  Their story is what made me begin to explore mummies in more depth rather than just flipping through pictures.

A Tarim Mummy known as Cherchen Man.  I only recently stumbled upon this picture but I like it a lot, mostly because it looks like the most disturbing fashion shoot ever.  Picture source

If corpses can be celebrities, then Ötzi the Iceman is like Brad Pitt.  And speaking of Brad, he apparently has a tattoo of Ötzi on his forearm.  Discovered frozen in the Alps back in 1991, Ötzi is one of the most well known mummies in the world and one of the most thoroughly studied.  He’s been dated to be about 5,000 years old and new research is still being done even twenty years after his discovery.

Özti the Iceman.  Apparently makes a great tattoo.  Picture source

Finally, possibly my oldest mummy obsession is bog bodies.  They are the mummies that first caught my eye as something to see with awe, not fear.  Bog bodies have been found across Northern Europe, their skin and organs preserved through the acidic nature of sphagnum bogs combined with low temperatures and a lack of oxygen that occurs when the bog has no drainage.  These conditions prevent bacteria from living and growing, thus decomposition does not occur.  The bog acid essentially pickles and tans the soft tissues, preserving it, though it often has the opposite effect on bones since the acid dissolves the calcium phosphate.

Tollund Man, found in a peat bog on the Jutland Peninsula in Denmark.  Picture source

These are just some of the mummies that have been found around the world.  Volumes have been written about them, and there is still more to discover.  Each one tells us a little more about our world, our past, and ourselves because they show the truth of our humanity, our fragility, and our ultimate destiny.

*A note on terminology: I’ve heard the terms artificial, man-made, and intentional to describe mummies purposely preserved by humans.  I only recently encountered the term intentional but it has quickly become my favorite because it feels more accurate than the others.  The words artificial and man-made suggest a lack of natural processes.  However, sometimes elements of nature were used to preserve a body but these natural means were used intentionally.  I may still use the term artificial on occasion because it’s the one I’ve used for years, but I’ll try to use intentional from now on.