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Mummification is the natural or artificial preservation of the soft tissue of a dead body. Natural mummification can happen in extremely cold, dry, or anaerobic conditions. Perhaps the most famous example of a natural mummy preserved in ice is Ötzi, the Iceman. Dry, desert conditions are responsible for the Tarim mummies, for example, and lack of oxygen prevented bog bodies from decaying.
Intentional mummification is mostly associated with ancient Egyptian burial rites, but it was also common practice in the Andean cultures of South America, such as the Nazca civilization. Depending on the culture and the technique, the process can involve the removal of internal organs, dismemberment, heat treatment, the use of chemicals, and wrapping the body. The intentional preservation of some individuals extends into the modern age, with Lenin's embalmed body put on permanent display in Moscow.
In this gallery, we feature 20 images of preserved bodies from all around the world.
Black Chinchorro Child Mummy
by Regional Program for Protection of the Chinchorro Sites / Bernardo Arriaza
published on 12 June 2024
A Chinchorro child, mummified using the black technique. The Chinchorro culture flourished in modern-day Chile from approximately 9,000 to 3,500 years ago and produced the world's oldest intentionally preserved mummies from c. 5500 BCE. The black technique involved systematically dismembering, heat-treating, and reassembling the body.
San Miguel de Azapa Archaeological Museum, Arica, Chile.
Mummification was (and in some places and certain cases still is) practiced in many parts of the world. The intentional preservation of the body is best known from the ancient Egyptian culture, but mummies have been found all over the world.
How old is the oldest mummy ever found?
The oldest intentionally preserved mummies come from the Chichorro culture, which flourished from c. 9000 to c. 3500 years ago in modern-day Chile. The complex mortuary practices of this culture that produced the first intentionally preserved mummies date back to c. 7000-7500 years ago.
License & Copyright
Original image by Regional Program for Protection of the Chinchorro Sites / Bernardo Arriaza. Uploaded by Ibolya Horváth, published on 12 June 2024. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs. This license allows for redistribution, commercial and non-commercial, as long as it is passed along unchanged and in whole, with credit to you. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.
