The process of mummification occurs both naturally and unnaturally, and it has been carried out by various cultures throughout history. Some climates allow for the natural mummification and impressive preservation of the dead due to the extremely hot and dry climate or extremely cold climate.
Some historic cultures, however, have purposefully mummified their dead. There is evidence that the Chinchorro society of South America mummified their dead as early as 7,000 years ago (PRI 2012). Mummies from the time of the Inca have also been discovered – remains of a cultural practice of human sacrifice (NYTimes 1999). There have even been mummies from prehistoric Britons that have been discovered dating back to 1500 BCE (Keys 2003).
Certainly the most well known of the historic mummies are those of ancient Egypt. The mummies of elite ancient Egyptians, boasting impressive tombs, some of which the well known pyramids, underwent the expensive process of mummification following their death as preparation for burial (Smithsonian). We know a fair amount about the mummification process carried out by these people, and in addition we understand why they did it. This preservation of the dead made sure that they would be able to live
The pyramids of ancient Egypt are the most well known form of a tomb that would have housed a mummy.
out a full life in another world. As Salima Ikram, an Egyptologist at the American University in Cairo puts it, “they were obsessed with life! (…) Most Egyptians died by the time they were 40. So they wanted to have a better afterlife. What you see in the tombs is a really careful preparation for eternity” (NOVA 2006).
Believe it or not, a sort of mummification, in a shockingly similar fashion to that of the Egyptians, exists within the United States today. This is the result of a process called cryonics. This process involves taking a recently deceased body, lowering its temperature to -196 degrees celcius, and replacing its blood with antifreeze to preserve organ function (Cryonics Institute 2018). Like the mummification of Ancient Egypt, this industry is expensive, costing up to $200,000 per body. The question remains: why? Quite similarly to the ancient Egyptians, some people are simply not ready to part with the idea of a prolonged life. While it sounds like something out of
This image is from the facility of one company that specializes in the preservation of bodies through cryonics. These cylinders each are meant to house a preserved body.
science fiction, the cryo freezing industry is based on the belief that at some point in the future there will be technology advanced enough to revive a deceased, frozen body, and these people are willing to spend their money on that chance (Cryonics Institute). One Arizona based company currently has “147 brains and bodies, all frozen in liquid nitrogen with the goal of being revived one day” (Guzman 2016). Some companies are even working with countries to try to get the legal rights to begin the freezing process before death in order to increase the health of the body prior to freezing (Weston 2017). While we have a new name for it, this mummification-esque process draws on a desire that we share with other humans of the past to experience a greater life.
Additional Content for more information:
For a straightforward piece by the Smithsonian with more information about the ancient Egyptian mummification process, click Here!
For a youtube video which is the official advertisement video displayed on the website of one of the leading Cryo freezing companies which provides their information on the process of Cryo freezing, click Here!
Reference List:
Guzman, Zack. 2016 NBC news. Electronic document, https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/innovation/company-will-freeze-your-dead-body-200-000-n562551 , accessed September 15, 2018.
Keys, D. 2003 Europe’s First Mummies. Archaeology, 56(5), 16-17. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/41658742 , accessed September 15, 2018
NOVA. 2006 PBS. Electronic Document, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/afterlife-ancient-egypt.html , accessed September 16, 2018.
Smithsonian. Electronic document, https://www.si.edu/spotlight/ancient-egypt/mummies , accessed September 16, 2018.
Weston, Phoebe. 2017 Dailymail. Electronic document, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5080705/Cryogenics-firm-start-freezing-people-die.html , accessed September 15, 2018.
Wilford, John Noble. 1999 New York Times. Electronic Document, https://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/07/us/entirely-preserved-inca-mummies-found.html , accessed September 15, 2018
2018 Cryonics Institute. Electronic documents, http://www.cryonics.org/resources/ , accessed September 16, 2018
2012 PRI’s The World. Electronic Document, https://www.pri.org/stories/2012-08-14/new-study-looks-why-ancient-south-american-culture-mummified-its-dead , accessed September 16, 2018.
Image sources:
Pyramids image: 2018 Daily Times. Electronic Document. https://dailytimes.com.pk/290373/of-stars-and-pyramids/ , accessed September 16, 2018
Cryonics image: Ahmed, Syed Sujeel. 2017 About Islam. Electronic Document. 2018 Daily Times. Electronic Document. https://dailytimes.com.pk/290373/of-stars-and-pyramids/ , accessed September 16, 2018 , accessed September 16, 2018.
I love the way you connect the idea of mummification to today with cryonics. Mummies have always been fascinating since their discoveries; millions of dollars have been spent to create special facilities to care for them and ensure they are preserved and able to be used for viewing and their data. I wanted to know if you could speak to the politics of viewing mummies and using them for data. In the United States, we have NAGPRA (Native America Graves Protection and Repatriation Act); the law stipulates what types of artifacts and remains can and cannot be collected in order to respect and honor the ancestors of contemporary Indigenous groups living in the United States. The act also creates processes for repatriating artifacts to tribes and peoples who have had them wrongfully taken from their lands, past or present. Native peoples have forcefully fought for returning of ancestors such as the Ancient One, who were used for their ‘scientific data’ potential. With this type of information in mind, what do you think should be the place for our mummies? Why are people so intrigued with them? (You have to be a little interested, too, or you wouldn’t have chosen to written on the subject [-:).
I think it’s a really interesting question to think about in what cases we have decided it is okay to disturb the dead and in what cases we think it is not. I remember that Dr. Beisaw said something while we were looking at a graveyard for field work about how you can get away with disturbing the dead if their descendents aren’t around, or at least don’t live there, anymore. While the descendants of Egyptians and native peoples do still exist, our culture tends so fetishize their cultures as so ‘other worldly’ and ‘before our time’ which allows a train of thought in which disturbing their dead is more acceptable. With native people, there has always been a narrative that if they were not already dying off, it was bound to happen soon, and America has never really legitimized their existence. Actually, according to research conducted just this year, 40% of respondents in a pool that was questioned did not believe that native americans still exist (Nagle). I think this must contribute to the ‘west’s’ sense of entitlement when dealing with disturbing the ancestors of cultures today. I also think that our own fascination with preserving life, as evidenced in cryonics and the oddly protestant ‘secular’ undertones of our state, definitely contributes to the fetishization and obsession with mummies. Rather than looking at the dead and seeing a skeleton, people can look at the dead and see a person they can recognize, which not only plays into our obsession with prolonged life, but also to our obsession with likening our own culture to the past: the ‘wow they were just like us’ effect. As for what the place for our mummies should be? I’m not quite sure. I think this should be an open discussion with our own culture and the descendents of those who we have disturbed in death, and we should listen to what they want and what they say. While of course we can learn so much scientifically from them, it has to be a balance between that and leaving them at rest/returning them to rest after research has been conducted potentially (with permission of descendents).
Nagle, Rebecca. 2018 Women’s Media Center. Electronic document, https://www.womensmediacenter.com/news-features/research-reveals-media-role-in-stereotypes-about-native-americans accessed October 23, 2018.