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Mummies in Egypt were
buried as per the financial status of their families. Objects used
during their lifetime and even food was also buried with them.
Burial of royal mummies was an elaborate affair and some records say
that servants were strangled and buried along with kings, as it was
believed that their services would be required after death too.
Mummies’ contribution
to history
A study of the mummies and the things buried along with them has
provided valuable insight into the history of the period. A copper
axe discovered with a natural mummy made historians rethink about
the dates that they had assigned to the copper age. Tattoos found on
him told about early acupuncture methods, and his medicines kit and
a fire kit gave a lot of information about what the people of his
time knew. This mummy named Otzi is now displayed in a museum in
Italy.
How mummies are
studied
The tomb of Tutankhamun discovered in 1922 was the first
undisturbed royal tomb that archaeologists had a chance to study. In
1967, mummies kept in the Egyptian museum, Cairo were X-rayed for
the first time. An analysis of their hair can establish
relationships between two different mummies. The 1970s saw the
advent of CT scans and their use in studying mummies. The 1980s
ushered in the studies of genetics and the early 1990s saw
scientists experimenting with the recovery of DNA from mummies. The
study of mummies has so many facets that teams consisting of experts
in the fields of anthropology, radiology, ancient languages and
Egyptologists to name a few, are constituted for the purpose.
Natural mummys
Mummys have been found in deserts where hot, dry sand has
helped preserve bodies. Natural mummys found in the western region
of China indicate the presence of salt as a preservative. Mummys
have been found in caves in regions like Alaska and Greenland. The
reason for mummification has been the cold, dry climate of these
regions. Mud, tar, bogs and glacial ice have also been found to
contain mummys. |
