Mummies have mesmerized mortals over the years. Popular culture has helped boost the image of Egyptian mummies and have kept them in the limelight for a long time. Dig deep and you’ll see that there are many mummies out there in other cultures that have a tale to tell. Some are even older than the Egyptian ones. Fascinating? Read on.
Mummies Deconstructed
Simply put, a mummy is a dead human body or animal that has been preserved intentionally or unintentionally. The word mummy is derived from the Arabic word 'mummiya' which means 'bitumen'. Arabs who invaded Egypt believed that the blackened condition of the mummies was due to the use of bitumen. The word mummy hence has its origins in the Arabic word 'mummiya'. Several ancient cultures like the Egyptians believed that preserving the dead for posterity helped them stay in touch with them long after they were gone.
However, not all mummies found were deliberately mummified. Some have been preserved unintentionally. Meet 'Otz'’ also known as the Ice Man. Otzi is 5,300 years old and believed to be one of the oldest and best preserved mummies. He was discovered under some very interesting circumstance. A couple was hiking on the Otzal Alps near the Austrian Italian border when they stumbled upon a frozen human body. The obvious thought that struck them was that they had just discovered an unfortunate hiker who had succumbed to the harsh mountainous conditions. It turned out to be a remarkable archaeological find instead. It was the body of a man who had died 5,300 years ago! His body was preserved perfectly in the bitterly cold mountain top. Since he was found in the Otzal Alps, he was nicknamed ‘Otzi’.
You have probably heard enough about the Egyptian mummies and the wonderful treasures that have been found in the pyramids. But that's not all. There are several cultures around the world that practiced mummification and some in fact were doing this long before the Egyptians.
The Chinchorro Mummies
The Chinchorros were fishing tribes inhabiting the region along the coastal areas of the Atacama desert of Northern Chile. They are said to have practiced mummification as early as 5000 B.C. as a way to preserve the dead. The Chinchorro mummies were mostly children and it is believed that women carried out the process as a way to probably be close to their loved ones long after they had died. The bodies were preserved by removing the flesh and internal organs but were reconstructed using twigs and reeds. The face was painted with red and black dyes sometimes even several times. Archaeologists haven’t yet been able to discover the exact reason for the tribe’s intention to preserve their dead. These mummies go back in time even earlier than the Egyptian ones.
