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Lady Dai, Xin Zhui
The body of Xin Zhui (c. 217 BCE to 168/169 BCE), aka Lady Dai, was extremely well preserved in her tomb. She was buried in four coffins in an underground burial chamber, where the conditions were ideal to prevent decomposition. The tomb was discovered in 1971 at Mawangdui, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Hunan Museum, China.
Bibliography
- Arrazia, B. et al. The Chinchorro Culture: A Comparative Perspective.The archaeology of the earliest human mummification, accessed 14 Jun 2024.
Questions & Answers
Where can you find mummies?
- 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
This image was first published on Flickr.
Original image by Gary Todd. Uploaded by Ibolya Horváth, published on 13 June 2024. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Public Domain. This item is in the public domain, and can be used, copied, and modified without any restrictions. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.
