Mummification: How and Why People Preserved the Dead

When people think of mummies, they think of Egypt. But mummification is much older and more widespread than most people know. The idea is simple. Most decay comes from moisture, so if you dry a body out, it lasts. Here is how it was done, and why.

What is mummification?

Mummification is the preservation of a body by drying it out. Smithsonian Magazine notes that preserved human and animal bodies have been found all over the world, from China to the Middle East and from Europe to South America. Some were made on purpose. Others formed by accident when conditions happened to keep the body from decaying.

How did the ancient Egyptians mummify a body?

The best-known method took about 70 days. The Australian Museum describes the version used for royals and high officials from about 1550 to 664 BCE, which it calls the best and most complicated. The steps were:

1. The embalmers removed most of the internal organs. The lungs, stomach, liver, and intestines were embalmed separately.
2. The body was covered with natron, a natural salt that absorbs moisture.
3. After 40 days, the natron was removed. The body cavities were filled with materials such as linen, natron pouches, herbs, sawdust, sand, or straw.
4. The body was then wrapped and prepared for burial. The whole process lasted about 70 days.

What were canopic jars?

Canopic jars were containers for the organs. They were often decorated with one of the four animal-headed sons of the god Horus, each said to protect a particular organ. The Australian Museum explains that the Egyptians valued the organs because they believed the dead person needed them to breathe and eat in the afterlife. Usually only wealthy families could afford this. After about 1000 BCE, organs were usually wrapped and returned to the body, and jars placed in the tomb were often solid or empty, serving as symbols.

Why did the Egyptians do it?

Because they believed the body was needed in the afterlife. Smithsonian Magazine quotes an expert who explains that mummification could be simple or grand, and that Egyptian belief promised a passage to the afterlife no matter how rich or poor the burial was. The Egyptians probably worked out the method by trial and error. Long before it became a formal process, bodies buried in hot desert sand dried naturally.

Who mummified the dead first?

The Chinchorro people of the coast of present-day Chile and Peru. Smithsonian Magazine reports they began drying the bodies of their dead about 7,000 years ago. That is roughly 2,000 years before the Egyptians and about 6,000 years before the Incas. The Chinchorro removed internal organs and skin, and sometimes the head. The very dry climate of the region helped.

What are natural mummies?

They are bodies preserved by accident. Very dry or cold places can stop decay without any human effort. One famous case is a man studied at a museum in Bolzano, Italy. He is thought to have died from an arrow wound, and researchers still do not fully understand how his body became mummified.

Is mummification the same as modern embalming?

No, but they share a goal: slowing the decay of the body. Modern embalming uses chemicals to preserve a body for a short time, usually so a family can hold a viewing. It does not aim to preserve it for thousands of years. See Embalming: What It Is and Whether It’s Required for how it works today.