MUMMY FACTS by Laketempest 2011/02/24 20:11
> Mummies are usually associated with Egypt, but they have been found all over the world, in places like China, Greenland, and even Alaska. Mummies occur when a body is dried after death. If a body is left moist in open space, bacteria will eat away until only a skeleton is left, but if a body is dried and wrapped in certain chemicals, it will remain as a husk of what a person looked like in life.
> It is also possible to use smoke, extreme sun, dust or cold to dry a body, and sometimes this occurs unexpectedly in nature. Mummies have been fully preserved in ice, snow, bogs and mud. As a consequence, we often study naturally preserved bodies and bodies of embalmed kings from ancient lands side by side.
> When a body is ritually embalmed, it is often believed that the process will bring the person into the afterlife.
> Egyptian kings often ordered jewels and even wives to be placed in tombs, so that they could bring them along on their spiritual journey. Embalming is the process of drying a body. All internal organs besides the heart and kidney are removed, and then the inside of the body is rinsed with wine to kill bacteria. Salt is added inside the body, to dry it further, and then the corpse is covered with sawdust. Bodies were often painted and massaged to make them supple, then stuffed and perfumed before final entrance into a coffin. Coffins for mummies were often form-fitting, to make sure that drying occurred more easily. Egypt is the only country in the world where the process of preserving a body became an art.
[img=http://i.ebayimg.com/08/!B8fZ4F!!mk~$(KGrHqR,!g4Eyrr7Cs)3BM3KS2TP+Q~~0_3.JPG]
> Mummification was not only accepted, it was fought for.
[img=http://www.thegreenhead.com/imgs/mummy-stein-1.jpg]
> Huge fees were charged for making oneself immortal. Booth ran up and down the side of the Nile for this purpose alone, and it is estimated that some 70 million mummies were created before the practice to mummification became extinct.
[img=http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_x7xEbaBRmPw/Sf3rDY8C-qI/AAAAAAAAEH4/HsXTg2sQ_Zc/s400/Pharaoh-Tutankhamun-3.jpg]
> It is often believed that mummies were ousted by the gradual rise of Christianity in the areas of South America, Egypt and Mexico. According to this religion, mummification was declared pagan, and bodies were to return naturally to the dust they once inhabited.
[img=http://scotlandsimages.com/wemail/CAA00366.jpg]
> The most famous mummies are Egyptian ones, like King Tut and Ramses II. The reason for this is the fact that Egypt contains a dry, arid climate. It is very easy to preserve bodies in the desert due to strong winds and intense heat. The oldest mummy discovered in the Egyptian area appears to have been dried by the natural climate and his surroundings. There are famous frozen kings in Peru, Mexico and the Southern Highlands of the Andes that are relatively unknown, however, and mud and bog preserves that are fascinating. Perhaps a greater understanding of the mummy in general will allow these special cases into the spotlight.
[img=http://thegalleryofmonstertoys.com/60swing/donpostmummy.jpg]
> Today, mummies have obtained almost a myth-like stature. They are used at Halloween to scare parents and children alike, and seen on TV as bungling invaders. This perception of mummies is a far cry from the scientific evidence on this subject, but nonetheless amusing.
> Mummies are usually associated with Egypt, but they have been found all over the world, in places like China, Greenland, and even Alaska. Mummies occur when a body is dried after death. If a body is left moist in open space, bacteria will eat away until only a skeleton is left, but if a body is dried and wrapped in certain chemicals, it will remain as a husk of what a person looked like in life.
> It is also possible to use smoke, extreme sun, dust or cold to dry a body, and sometimes this occurs unexpectedly in nature. Mummies have been fully preserved in ice, snow, bogs and mud. As a consequence, we often study naturally preserved bodies and bodies of embalmed kings from ancient lands side by side.
> When a body is ritually embalmed, it is often believed that the process will bring the person into the afterlife.
> Egyptian kings often ordered jewels and even wives to be placed in tombs, so that they could bring them along on their spiritual journey. Embalming is the process of drying a body. All internal organs besides the heart and kidney are removed, and then the inside of the body is rinsed with wine to kill bacteria. Salt is added inside the body, to dry it further, and then the corpse is covered with sawdust. Bodies were often painted and massaged to make them supple, then stuffed and perfumed before final entrance into a coffin. Coffins for mummies were often form-fitting, to make sure that drying occurred more easily. Egypt is the only country in the world where the process of preserving a body became an art.
[img=http://i.ebayimg.com/08/!B8fZ4F!!mk~$(KGrHqR,!g4Eyrr7Cs)3BM3KS2TP+Q~~0_3.JPG]
> Mummification was not only accepted, it was fought for.
[img=http://www.thegreenhead.com/imgs/mummy-stein-1.jpg]
> Huge fees were charged for making oneself immortal. Booth ran up and down the side of the Nile for this purpose alone, and it is estimated that some 70 million mummies were created before the practice to mummification became extinct.
[img=http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_x7xEbaBRmPw/Sf3rDY8C-qI/AAAAAAAAEH4/HsXTg2sQ_Zc/s400/Pharaoh-Tutankhamun-3.jpg]
> It is often believed that mummies were ousted by the gradual rise of Christianity in the areas of South America, Egypt and Mexico. According to this religion, mummification was declared pagan, and bodies were to return naturally to the dust they once inhabited.
[img=http://scotlandsimages.com/wemail/CAA00366.jpg]
> The most famous mummies are Egyptian ones, like King Tut and Ramses II. The reason for this is the fact that Egypt contains a dry, arid climate. It is very easy to preserve bodies in the desert due to strong winds and intense heat. The oldest mummy discovered in the Egyptian area appears to have been dried by the natural climate and his surroundings. There are famous frozen kings in Peru, Mexico and the Southern Highlands of the Andes that are relatively unknown, however, and mud and bog preserves that are fascinating. Perhaps a greater understanding of the mummy in general will allow these special cases into the spotlight.
[img=http://thegalleryofmonstertoys.com/60swing/donpostmummy.jpg]
> Today, mummies have obtained almost a myth-like stature. They are used at Halloween to scare parents and children alike, and seen on TV as bungling invaders. This perception of mummies is a far cry from the scientific evidence on this subject, but nonetheless amusing.
this reminds me of a woman who says she's an egyptian mummie (rolf)
#34 Myth&Mystery
For discussion of mythologies, ancient cultures, the supernatural, mysticism and folklore. Explore the darker mysteries of life here.
For discussion of mythologies, ancient cultures, the supernatural, mysticism and folklore. Explore the darker mysteries of life here.