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Mummy

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Archaeology

   Mummy (sˁḥ)
   in hieroglyphs


   z
   a H A53

   A mummy is a corpse whose skin and dried flesh have been preserved by
   either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold or
   dryness, or airlessness.

Types of mummies

Intentionally prepared "ritualistic" mummies

   The best-known mummies are those that have been deliberately embalmed
   with the specific purpose of preservation, particularly those in
   ancient Egypt. Egyptian culture believed the body was home to a
   person's Ka which was essential in one's afterlife. In Egypt, the
   abdomens were opened and many organs were removed. The emptied body was
   then covered in natron, to speed up the process of dehydration, and to
   prevent decomposition.They are covered with sheets of white linen then
   wrapped with canvas.

   In China, preserved corpses have been recovered from submerged cypress
   coffins packed with medicinal herbs.

Naturally preserved mummies

   Mummies formed as a result of naturally occurring environmental
   conditions, such as extreme cold ( Ötzi the Iceman), acid ( Tollund
   Man) or desiccating dryness have been found all over the world. Some of
   the best-preserved mummies formed under natural conditions date from
   the Inca period in Peru.

Etymology

   The English word mummy is derived from mediaeval Latin mumia, a
   borrowing of the Arabic word mūmiyyah (مومية), which means " bitumen".
   (Because of the blackened skin of unwrapped mummies, bitumen was once
   thought to be used extensively in ancient Egyptian embalming
   procedures. Asphalt and tar are forms of bitumen.) The Arabic word was
   itself borrowed from the Persian word mūmiya, meaning "bitumen"; this
   is related to another Persian word, mūm, which means "wax". (The
   ancient Greek historians record that the Persians sometimes mummified
   their kings and nobility in wax, though this practice has never been
   documented in Egypt.)

Mummies in ancient Egypt

   The earliest known 'mummified' individual dates back to approximately
   3300 BC, although it is not an internationally renowned mummy, such as,
   Rameses II or Seti I. This virtually unknown mummy is on display in the
   British Museum and has been given the nickname of 'Ginger' because he
   has red hair. Ginger was buried in the hot desert sand, possibly with
   stones piled on top to prevent the corpse being eaten by jackals. The
   hot, dry conditions desiccated and preserved the body. Ginger was
   buried with some pottery vessels, which would have held food and drink
   to sustain him on his journey to the other world. There are no written
   records of the religion from that time, but it likely resembled the
   later religion to some extent. The desert conditions were a fact of
   life "and death", so, in any case, some physical preservation would be
   natural.

Mummification

   Although mummification existed in other cultures, eternal life was the
   main focus of all Ancient Egyptians, which meant preserving the body
   forever. The earliest attempts were recorded in 3000 B.C. The technique
   used during this period was minimal and not yet mastered. As time
   progressed, the organs were eventually removed and stored in canopic
   jars, allowing the body to preserve better. It wasn’t until the Middle
   Kingdom that embalmers used natural salts to remove moisture from the
   body. This dried it out and preserved more flesh than bone. Once dried,
   mummies were anointed with oils and perfumes, which was part of their
   ritual. The 21st Dynasty brought forth its most advanced skills in
   embalming and the mummification process reached its peak. After going
   though the process, the mummies were laid to rest inside a tomb. There
   the mummy would rest forever, or so it was thought.

Mummies in other civilizations

   A mummified body displayed in the British Museum.
   Enlarge
   A mummified body displayed in the British Museum.

   A number of other civilizations are known to have practiced the art of
   mummification.
     * Aztec
     * Incas, (See Mummy Juanita). A practice also adopted by peoples they
       conquered, e.g. Chachapoyas.
     * Japan, see external link Buddhist mummies in Japan, PubMed.
     * Tibetans, who reserved this honour for people who reached a highest
       level of enlightenment.
     * Catholicism; for many centuries, deceased popes were mummified,
       though this has not been the case in recent papacies.

Chinese mummies

   Chinese mummies of an Indo-European type have been found in the Tarim
   Basin dating to as early as 1600 BC and suggesting very ancient
   contacts between the east and the west. It has been suggested that
   these mummified remains may have been the work of the ancestors of the
   Tocharians whose Indo-European language remained in use in the Tarim
   Basin (Modern day Xinjiang in China) until the 8th century AD (see Silk
   Road: Tocharians).

   An ancient mummy dubbed the "handsome Yingpan man" was found in China's
   remote northwest province of Xinjiang. Archaeologists from the Xinjiang
   Archeological Institute found the mummified body when they opened a
   coffin in a graveyard dating back 1,900 years, according to Xinhua news
   agency. The mummy had thick brown hair, a shrunken face and body, and
   gray and brown skin. Its beard, eyebrows and eyelashes were clearly
   discernible and its clothes were intact and retained their bright
   colour.

   The mummified man, believed to have lived during the Eastern Han
   Dynasty (25-220 AD), was 1.8 meters (nearly six feet) tall and might
   have died at about 25 years of age. His coffin, which had colorful
   paintings on the outside, was discovered together with over 150 ancient
   tombs dating back to the Eastern Han Dynasty at Yingpan near Lop Nur in
   the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. This coffin along with five
   others had been shipped to Urumqi, the regional capital, and were kept
   in the institute, unopened, for three years. The mummy is believed to
   be significant for the study of economic and cultural exchanges between
   China and Western countries in ancient times.

   The "handsome Yingpan man" is thought to be comparable to the
   "beautiful Loulan woman," a 3,800-year-old female mummy discovered in
   1980 at the Tiebanhe Delta, about 200 kilometers east of Yingpan, said
   the report. Loulan was an ancient kingdom along China's Silk Road in
   Xinjiang, about 200 kilometers east of Yingpan.

   The three best-preserved mummies in the world are found in China. These
   mummies were debut on the US National Geographic Channel, September 6,
   2004, as part of the kick-off of the National Geographic Channel's
   "Most Amazing Discoveries" series.

Natural mummies

   Natural mummification is fairly rare, requiring specific conditions to
   occur, but it has produced some of the oldest known mummies. The most
   famous ancient mummy is Ötzi the Iceman, frozen in a glacier in the
   Ötztal Alps around 3300 BC and found in 1991. An even older but less
   well preserved mummy was found in Spirit Cave, Nevada in 1940 and
   carbon-dated to around 7400 BC.

   The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands,
   Sweden and Denmark have all produced a number of bog bodies, mummies of
   people deposited in sphagnum bogs apparently as a result of murder or
   ritual sacrifices. In such cases, the acidity of the water, the cold
   temperature and the lack of oxygen combine to tan the body's skin and
   soft tissues. The skeleton typically disintegrates over time. Such
   mummies are remarkably well preserved, with skin and internal organs
   surviving ; it is even possible to determine what their last meal was
   by examining their stomach contents.

   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.

   Some of the best-preserved mummies date from the Inca period in Peru
   some 500 years ago, where children were ritually sacrificed and placed
   on the summits of mountains in the Andes. The cold, dry climate had the
   effect of desiccating the corpses and preserving them intact.

   In the state of Guanajuato, Mexico mummies were discovered in a
   cemetery of a city named Guanajuato northwest of Mexico City (near
   Léon). They are accidental modern mummies and were literally "dug up"
   between the years 1896 and 1958 when a local law required relatives to
   pay a kind of grave tax. The Guanajuato mummies are on display in the
   Museo de las momias high on a hill overlooking the city.

Mummies in recent times

   The "auto-icon" of Jeremy Bentham at University College London
   Enlarge
   The "auto-icon" of Jeremy Bentham at University College London

   Mummies have been an object of intense interest in the West since
   archaeologists began finding them in large numbers. 19th-century
   aristocrats would often entertain themselves by buying mummies, having
   them unwrapped, and holding observation sessions. On occasion a tea
   would be made from the wrappings. These sessions destroyed hundreds of
   mummies, because the exposure to the air caused them to disintegrate.

   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, for which he had
   other plans), which was 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 his
   head as Bentham requested, is on display in the University College
   London.

   Egyptian mummies were much sought-after by museums worldwide in the
   19th and early 20th centuries and many exhibit mummies today. Notably
   fine examples are exhibited at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, at the
   Ägyptisches Museum in Berlin, and at the British Museum in London. The
   Egyptian city of Luxor is also home to a specialised Mummification
   Museum. The mummified remains of what turned out to be Ramesses I ended
   up in a "Daredevil Museum" near Niagara Falls on the United
   States–Canada border; records indicate that it had been sold to a
   Canadian in 1860 and exhibited alongside displays such as a two-headed
   calf for nearly 140 years, until a museum in Atlanta, Georgia, which
   had acquired the mummy along with other artifacts, determined it to be
   royal and returned it to Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities. It is
   currently on display in the Luxor Museum.
   Mummy in the British Museum
   Enlarge
   Mummy in the British Museum

   Mummies were also believed to have medicinal properties, and were sold
   as pharmaceuticals in powdered form. As seen to the left, Emad Mousa,
   Ancient Mummy of the Obstetrical gods was very popular in historic
   Egyptian culture. An urban myth of mummies being used as fuel for steam
   locomotives, was popularized by Mark Twain, but whether it was true or
   not remains a debate. Encyclopedia Brittanica 1771 Edition claims that
   this was a real practice on the railway that ran from Cairo to
   Khartoum, an area with few trees but lots of mummies. During the First
   World War, mummy wrapping linens were manufactured into paper.

   Science has also taken notice of mummies. Dr. Bob Brier, an
   Egyptologist, has been the first modern scientist to successfully
   recreate a mummy using the Egyptian method. Mummies have been used in
   medicine, to calibrate CAT scan machines at levels of radiation that
   would be too dangerous for use on living people. In fact, mummies can
   be studied without unwrapping them using CAT scan and X-ray machines to
   form a picture of what's inside.

   They have been very useful to biologists and anthropologists, as they
   have provided a wealth of information about the health and life
   expectancy of ancient peoples. In particular, mummies have demonstrated
   that even 5,000 years ago, humans were anatomically indistinguishable
   from their present-day counterparts. This has had important
   repercussions for the study of human evolution.

   Scientists interested in cloning DNA of mummies have recently reported
   findings of clonable DNA in an Egyptian mummy dating to circa 400 BC.
   Although analyzing the hair of Ancient Egyptian mummies from the Late
   Middle Kingdom has revealed evidence of a stable diet , Ancient
   Egyptian mummies from circa 3200 BC show signs of severe anaemia and
   hemolitic disorders .

   Artists also made use of mummies during the late 1800's, in the form of
   paint. The brownish paint was called "Caput Mortum", latin for "Dead
   Head", made from the wrappings of mummies.

   In March 2006, the body of the Greek Orthodox Monk Vissarion
   Korkoliacos was found intact in his tomb, after fifteen years in grave.
   The event had as a result a dispute between those who spoke about a
   miracle and those who claimed the possibility of natural mummification.
   However, the scientific research did not come to an end until today and
   as a result of this any opinion on the matter could not be
   characterized as definitive.

Modern Mummies

   A cat being mummified by Summum
   Enlarge
   A cat being mummified by Summum

Summum

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

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

   According to news stories, Summum has mummified numerous pets such as
   birds, cats, and dogs. People were mummified early on when Summum
   developed its process and many have made personal, "pre-need"
   arrangements. Summum has been included in television programs from
   National Geographic and the British Broadcasting Corporation, and is
   also discussed in the book, The Scientific Study of Mummies, by Arthur
   C. Aufderheide.

Plastination

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

   The technique was invented by Gunther von Hagens when working at the
   anatomical institute of the University of Heidelberg in 1978. Von
   Hagens has patented the technique in several countries and is heavily
   involved in its promotion, especially with his travelling exhibition
   Body Worlds showing plastinated human bodies all over the world. He
   also founded and directs the Institute for Plastination in Heidelberg.

Mummies in fiction

   During the 20th century, horror films and other mass media popularized
   the notion of a curse associated with mummies. Films representing such
   a belief include the 1932 film The Mummy starring Boris Karloff as
   Imhotep; four subsequent 1940's Universal Studios mummy films which
   featured a mummy named Kharis (pictured at right in The Mummy's Ghost),
   who also was the title mummy in a 1959 Hammer version; and a remake of
   the original film that was released in 1999. The belief in cursed
   mummies probably stems in part from the supposed curse on the tomb of
   Tutankhamun.

   Mummies commonly feature in fantasy genres as a undead creature.

   Mummy is Monster in My Pocket #41. He is associated with the good
   monsters.

   Dark Magic Priest Meemy of Mahou Sentai Magiranger is based on the
   classic concept of reanimated mummies in horror films, Meemy's Power
   Rangers: Mystic Force counterpart is Imperious.

Famous mummies

   Mummy of Pharaoh Ramesses II
   Enlarge
   Mummy of Pharaoh Ramesses II

From Egypt

     * Tutankhamun
     * Ramesses I
     * Nesperennub
     * Amenhotep III
     * Thutmose II
     * Seti I
     * Ramesses II
     * Nesyamun
     * Yuya

Others

     * Ötzi the Iceman
     * Tollund Man
     * Jeremy Bentham
     * James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell
     * Christian Friedrich von Kahlbutz
     * Vladimir Lenin
     * Eva Perón
     * Loung Pordaeng
     * Mao Zedong
     * Ho Chi Minh
     * Kim Il-Sung
     * Vissarion Korkoliacos
     * Qilakitsoq mummies
     * Lindow Man
     * Lindow Woman

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mummy"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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