Mummies and Mummification

Posted by Natasha Sheldon Jun 7, 2008

Mention mummification and most people automatically think of the ancient Egyptians. But mummification is a world wide phenomenon and not necessarily the result of deliberate embalming to preserve a corpse for the afterlife.

After death, decomposition immediately beings due to the actions of bacteria naturally present in the body. However, by preventing these bacteria from starting work, it is possible to preserve a body indefinitely. This can be acheived by deliberate embalming, the process most people associate with mummification and the source of it's name, coming from ‘mummya’ the Persian word for bitumen or pitch.

However, in the right conditions, mummification can occur naturally. The Chinese desert has yielded up the Takla Makan mummies, preserved almost perfectly by the aridity of the environment whilst extreme cold has produced the Qilakitsoq mummies of west Greenland and Inca Ice mummies. Then there are the bog bodies of northern Europe, preserved by peat acid and oxygen free conditions. Each of these accidental mummies offers up fascinating details of life and death in ancient cultures worldwide, not just amongst the elite but ordinary people.