mummy

A mummy in the British Museum

A mummy is a dead body whose skin and dried flesh have been preserved over an extended time period. This may be accomplished by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air when bodies are submerged in bogs. Taken from the medieval Latin word “mumia,” this process was practiced in ancient Egypt upon the higher ranked populous. Other cultures have also been known to practice mummification, and a number of examples exist from a variety of locations and time periods.
The findings of mummies from different cultures and time periods has been of great value to science, providing a source of information about the health and lifestyles of the various peoples. Their existence, and the continuing interest in the process of mummification or modern equivalents, also provides interesting insights into beliefs regarding death and what comes after it. Some, like the ancient Egyptians, believe in an eternal soul that still needs the body to continue its existence in connection with the earthly plane, fearing that it will wander lost without it. For others, there is the hope of some kind of return to life, or physical resurrection. Others yet seem to have desired a continuing presence on the earth to influence the living. For those who believe that the soul exists on a different plane in the afterlife, no longer needing its physical body, mummification is merely a curiosity.