Mummification across different cultures

Flora Becker (OHS), Tanika Brandaro (OHS), Vera Kjellberg (WHS)

While many associate the origins of mummification with the Ancient Egyptians, the tradition was almost certainly born in South America. The rightful owners of the title for the oldest practitioners of mummification are believed to be the Chinchorro people of modern-day Chile.

Approximately 2000 years before the Egyptians began mummifying their dead, the Chinchorro people were developing the art of mummification in response to an increasing population – and thus an increasing population of corpses to handle. The extremely arid climate of the Atacama Desert meant that corpses would naturally mummify, so it was only natural that the Chinchorro people would begin purposefully mummifying their deceased. This was done in a nondiscriminatory practice: all ages and social classes had the opportunity to be mummified after death. Perhaps this mass-scale mummification allowed a pre-literate society to develop five distinct forms of mummification. The most significant two, however, are ‘red’ and ‘black’ mummies.

To create a ‘black’ mummy, one would take apart, treat, and reassemble the entire body. If a ‘red’ mummy were desired, small incisions would be made into the body so that the internal organs could be removed. Both types were stuffed with sticks to replace the lost organs before being decorated with wigs, coloured clay, and jewellery. The bodies were typically mummified in a sitting foetal position with the knees drawn towards the chin and the hands towards the face. After seeing such a mummy at a museum in Paris whose jaw had fallen open, Edvard Munch was inspired to create his well-known painting, ‘The Scream’.

China had an advanced and effective mummification process, focusing partly on the concealment of the body rather than the mummification process itself to preserve. For example, mummies found dating back to the Song (960–1279 A.D.) and Ming (1368–1644 A.D.) dynasties were found in graves which had a unique structure to them called sticky rice paste (or soup) sealed tombs which were made up of lime soil mixture. To make this, the Chinese blended a mixture of lime, yellow clay soil, sand, and sticky rice water proportionately and once it hardened it completely sealed the grave, which protected the mummy from outside threats such as bacteria, fungi and animals. In addition, the Chinese ensured bacteria would not decompose the corpse. They packed clothing densely inside the coffins, to ensure there was little oxygen so bacteria were unable to reproduce and died, and the lime from the mixture was bactericidal which prevented the growth of bacteria. The clothing also meant that the bodily fluids from the corpse would have absorbed into the clothing and moisture absorbents, such as charcoal, were put into the coffins too. These actions both ensured there was less moisture which was needed to mummify, as the body needs the opposite conditions for decomposition, therefore, the lack of moisture means less digestive enzymes, released from lysosomes in cells after death, will be breaking down the cells in the body because they need water to survive.

Egyptians began to wrap their dead in linen around 3400BC, but they only started to remove organs and treat the body with resin and oil in around 2600BC, becoming one of the greatest specialists in mummification.

The Egyptians mummified their dead due to their beliefs surrounding the afterlife. They believed that all of the parts of the body formed a whole, which was the earthly home for the three parts of the soul, the Ka, Ba and Akh. The Ka was responsible for the part of the soul that existed in the living realm and the Akh existed in the underworld, whereas the Ba could travel between both realms. These three parts all relied on the good condition of the body to work effectively in the afterlife, as the body provided a constant home for them.

During the process of Egyptian mummification, in a version for the more wealthy, the brain was normally removed through the nose, while the rest of the body was hollowed out, dried using natron, then treated with oils and resins. The organs removed were then placed in their four associated Canopic Jars, the liver in the Imset jar, the lungs in the Hapi jar, the stomach in the Duamutef jar, and the intestines in the Kebechsenef jar. However, the heart was not removed as they believed it was needed when the deceased entered the Hall of Judgement. Beauticians then restored a lifelike appearance to the body, which was then wrapped in metres of linen and covered with an array of protective amulets, before being placed in a highly decorative coffin. A detailed funeral was then held to reactivate the soul within the body.

Bibliography

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Discovering Egypt - Egyptian Mummification - Mark Millmore

Chatterjee, Rhitu. “Why the South American Chinchorro People Made the First Mummies.” Public Radio International, 13 Aug. 2012 Johanson, Mark. “Oldest Mummies Found in Driest Place on Earth.” CNN, Cable News Network, 1 May 2019

Fletcher, Dr Joann. “History - Ancient History in Depth: Mummies Around the World.” BBC, BBC, 17 Feb. 2011