Mummy

A mummy is a dead <a href="/facts/Human/rlcTENsr">human</a> or an <a href="/facts/Animal/4b8J33nd">animal</a> whose <a href="/facts/Soft_tissue/cHBwqLpP">soft tissues</a> and <a href="/facts/Organ_(biology)/FUYsLaxz">organs</a> have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to <a href="/facts/Chemical_substance/EWcXU41d">chemicals</a>, extreme cold, very low <a href="/facts/Humidity/Nwb28VlT">humidity</a>, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not <a href="/facts/Corpse_decomposition/G0fjWhfw">decay</a> further if kept in cool and dry conditions. Some authorities restrict the use of the term to bodies deliberately <a href="/facts/Embalming/Mrk79Ku2">embalmed</a> with chemicals, but the use of the word to cover accidentally <a href="/facts/Desiccation/X6IUsM3R">desiccated</a> bodies goes back to at least the early 17th century.
Mummies of humans and animals have been found on every continent, both as a result of natural preservation through unusual conditions, and as cultural artifacts. Over one million <a href="/facts/Animal_mummy/gy2JXmnv">animal mummies</a> have been found in Egypt, many of which are cats. Many of the Egyptian animal mummies are <a href="/facts/African_sacred_ibis/tsnhM1w1">sacred ibis</a>, and <a href="/facts/Radiocarbon_dating/qjNglhKP">radiocarbon dating</a> suggests the Egyptian ibis mummies that have been analyzed were from a time frame that falls between approximately 450 and 250 BC.
In addition to the mummies of <a href="/facts/Ancient_Egypt/BDsEGK4g">ancient Egypt</a>, deliberate mummification was a feature of several ancient cultures in areas of America and Asia with very dry climates. The <a href="/facts/Spirit_Cave_mummy/9KhTbyJF">Spirit Cave mummies</a> of <a href="/facts/Fallon%2c_Nevada/hPdHXq4A">Fallon, Nevada</a>, in North America were accurately dated at more than 9,400 years old. Before this discovery, the oldest known deliberate mummy was a child, one of the <a href="/facts/Chinchorro_mummies/2bTdYdRn">Chinchorro mummies</a> found in the Camarones Valley, Chile, which dates around 5050 BC. The oldest known naturally mummified human corpse is a severed head dated as 6,000 years old, found in 1936 at the Cueva de las Momias in Argentina.

Mummy open-in-new

Mummy