2. What are Mummies?
Mummies are corpses whose skin and organs
have been conserved from natural causes or
from using chemicals. The most famous ones
are found in Egypt, but the location of all
mummies vary from Greenland, to China.
Mummies can be created in a variety of ways,
for example from extreme coldness, very low
humidity, lack of air when their bodies are
submerged in bogs, or intentional or incidental
exposure to chemicals. The ancient Egyptians
believed that mummifying a person would result
in a safe passage to the afterlife.
3. The Mummification Process Anubis
The mummification process is the process that is
believed to be invented by Anubis, the Egyptian god.
This process was used by the ancient Egyptians to
preserve their bodies, and create a safe journey to the
afterlife.
First, the body is washed and ritually purified
The Ancient Egyptians would then remove the inner organs but not
the heart (to do this, they would cut a slit to the left side of the
body; they left the heart because they thought it was the centre of
intelligence and emotions)
Each organ would be preserved using natron which is used to dry
out the organs and stop bacteria from decaying the tissues
Finally the body was filled with stuffing
After 40-50 days, the stuffing was removed and replaced with
sawdust or linen
The body would then be wrapped in strands of linen and covered in
a sheet called a shroud
To finish the process, the body is put in a stone coffin called a
sarcophagus
4. Top half of the
mummies
sarcophagus
Mummy Bottom half of
the mummies
sarcophagus
Strands of linen covering
the mummy
5. Mummy Facts
During the medieval times physicians would sell fake or
even real mummy flesh and wrapping in the form of
powder medicine. It was used to help with problems
from acne to ulcers
Egyptian priests worked hard and tried several ways to
protect royal tombs. They even inscribed curses of the
mummies. They also built secret passageways, and
enormous granite entryways
Scientists were the first people to create the worlds first
international mummy tissue bank at Manchester
Museum, UK, in the late 1990’s. The tissue bank
contains several tissue samples that came from
mummies living in museums throughout the world, for
use in medical research
6. Types of Mummies
There is more than one type of mummy in the world. Mummies are
categorized on their location, species, how the mummies were
created and other minor aspects of them. Here are some examples:
Animal Mummies- Egyptians loved their animals immensely, so they
mummified them. The species of animals range from cats to birds.
Mud Mummies- The Chinchocos, a fishing tribe, would completely
disassemble the dead persons body. They would then remove all
the persons flesh, heat dry and treat it, and then reassemble it.
Sticks were all stuck into the body to strengthen the limbs. Then,
everything would be tied together, and covered in white ash paste.
The persons skin would then be put back on the face, and the
Chinchocos would create a mud mask for the mummy.
Red Mummies- the mummifiers wouldn’t disassemble the body, but
instead would cut slits in the body to remove all the guts and
organs, which would then allow the body to dry out. The brain,
along with the other organs, would also be removed by cutting the
head off of the body. The mummifiers would then pack up the
bodies with feathers, clay and sticks for support, and place the head
back on with the help of human hair and clay to keep it from falling
off. They often wouldn’t place the skin back on, but instead cover
the mummy with a coat of red ochre.
7. Types of Mummies Continued…
Ice Mummies- Ice mummies are made naturally, from extreme
weather conditions. These mummies are frozen and preserved that
way. There are some famous ice mummies, including the one they
call “Ice Man.”
Bog Mummies- Bog Mummies are created when a person dies, and
the body is left in a bog. The bog must be just the right
temperature, and must contain tannic acid for the body to be
preserved.
Egyptian Mummies- Egyptian Mummifiers would use the
mummification process to preserve their dead. Although not all
mummies were given equal respect. Only the rich were buried in
tombs, while the poor were buried in the sand.
There are many more types of mummies, the list could go on, and
on, but the examples I gave you are of the most famous.
10. Ötzi The “Ice Man”
During the September of 1991, a mummy was found in the Ötzal Alps, on
the border between Italy and Australia. The mummy was named Ötzi due
to the fact that he was found in the Ötzal Alps. This mummy is Europe's
oldest naturally made human mummy. Ötzi was found frozen in a glacier,
until it was removed by the Austrian authorities using a jackhammer and
ice-axes. Once released from the ice, he was taken away to be carefully
examined. Ötzi was approximately 5 ft 5 when he died, and weighed about
110 lb’s. Because of breathing in smoke from campfires, the Ice Man also
had blackened lungs. The examiners were even able to find out the last
couple of meals the mummy ate! Before he died, Ötzi consumed chamois
meat, red deer meat, grain, roots and fruits. They also discovered that the
Ice Man was sick three times in the last six months before he died. The
examiners were not fully certain, but they did believe that Ötzi may have
died from exposure to a winter storm, it has also been thought that the
mummy was a victim of a ritual sacrifice. Ötzi also wore clothing, and
carried tools and equipment with him. The tools and equipment included a
flint knife and its sheath, a copper axe, and 14 arrows. The clothing he
wore included a grass woven cloak, a belt, pair of leggings, coat, shoes,
and a bearskin cap.
15. The Vancouver Mummy
It just so happens that there is a mummy living in our own
city, Vancouver. If you visit the Museum of Vancouver (MOV),
there is one exhibit that will stand out to them all. An actual
mummy was donated to the museum by Dr. G.E. Kidd, and
from there was further examined. It was discovered that the
name Panechates son of Hatres was written on the mummies
chest. The mummy was also x-rayed, and it was revealed that
he had severe fractures in his skull, and both of his femurs.
Studies of the mummies teeth and bones, made the
examiners come to the conclusion that the mummy was about
7 to 8 years old when he died. When studying the writing
style, and mummification techniques of the mummy, the
examiners also believed that the mummy died sometime
between the late 2nd century, and midst 1st century BCE.
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18. Mythical Mummies
In movies and books, people are always
getting cursed by mummies, mummies come to
life, mummies have special powers, etc. The
truth is, mummies can’t actually do this, because
they are dead. These stories are just made up
for entertainment, and to scare off unwanted
guests in mummies tombs. Also, mummies are
often associated with Halloween characters, and
people will dress up as mummies using toilet
paper. Here are some examples.
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26. THE END
As you can see, there is a lot more to mummies
than just being dead. Mummification started out
as a religious thing to do (it resulted in a safe
passage to the afterlife), but now people also
use mummies to entertain people, like in movies
or books. Of course, before this presentation
you had probably heard of the ancient Egyptian
mummy, but you now know that there is much
more then one type of mummy.
