If you want to be mummified after death, you can contact the organization in Salt Lake City, Utah, which will carry out this procedure for 70 thousand dollars. Mummification of a pet is less expensive - only about 4 thousand dollars if it weighs up to 7 kilograms.
The procedure is so expensive in part because mummification is a fairly rare occurrence these days. But for thousands of years, people have preserved the remains of their dead in the form of mummies. This practice was especially true in hot and dry climates such as parts of ancient Peru and Egypt.
Field Museum exhibition
Now a special exhibit, which is on display at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York, allows people to see 18 of these ancient mummies. Some of them were last shown at the Chicago World's Fair over 100 years ago.
At the exhibition of the collection of the Field Museum (Chicago), visitors can see for the first time what is under the bandages of these mummies. This became possible thanks to computed tomography. “This technology allows visitors to see who these mummies were, what their lives were like, and perhaps even get an idea of what they looked like,” Ellen Futter, president of AMNH, told reporters.
The images below show a fraction of what visitors can see at the exhibition. Unfortunately, most of it, including mummified bodies, bandages covering mummies, and body parts that were revealed by marauders, cannot be photographed and can only be viewed in person.
Promotional video:
Peruvian mummies
Several South American cultures created mummies even before the Egyptians. This practice has evolved and changed. A thousand years ago, this "false head" was placed on the mummy of the Cankaya culture. The mummy itself was placed in decorated bundles.
Parcels of mummified members of the same family were placed in the pits together. These burial pits were accessible to living family members, allowing relatives to bring food or drinks to their loved ones' graves or even collect mummies so that they could “take part” in festivals or other special events.
Through scanning, we can find out what is inside the bundles. One of them contained a woman (about 20 years old) and her two children, 6 and 2 years old.
Many Peruvian mummies were buried with the tools they used during their lifetime (such as fishing tackle) or with food and drink. These vessels were used to store corn beer (chicha). As you can see, they have little cups on them for the dead to refresh themselves a little.
Many artifacts buried with the mummies could be seen immediately after they were found. However, the scans used by the researchers for the exhibits mean that for the first time we have the opportunity to see what is under the bandages of many mummies from Peru and Egypt.
The Gilded Lady
Computed tomography allows you to take hundreds of images and see all the details in 3D. A scan of an Egyptian mummy known as the "Gilded Lady" revealed that inside was the body of a woman in her forties, with curly hair and a slight bite. She may have died of tuberculosis.
And in the photo above you can see the sarcophagus in which the "Gilded Lady" lies. It is being prepared for the exhibition by J. P. Brown, one of the employees of the Field Museum.
The meaning of hieroglyphs
The Egyptian mummies on display show how complex the mummification procedure was. Many sarcophagi were covered with hieroglyphs.
This sarcophagus dates from around 700-600 BC. BC e. In the upper part, the god Thoth with the head of an Ibris is depicted, he is holding the hand of a person who has just died. He leads a person to Osiris - the god of the underworld (in a white headdress). The lower part of the hieroglyphs shows the embalming procedure for this person by the god Anubis, who has the head of a jackal.
Organs of the deceased
In Egypt, the organs of the deceased were removed and sometimes placed in animal-shaped containers (as in this photo) next to the mummy. In Peru, organs were generally not removed.
Animal mummies
Animals in Egypt were also mummified. This gazelle was probably brought to the temple to be mummified and used as a burial sacrifice. But the intricately wrapped mummified baby crocodile was buried as an offering to the gods in an ancient Egyptian tomb.
New possibilities of science
The scans allow researchers to examine what is under the bandages of the mummies without destroying them. According to David Hirst Thomas, curator of the exhibition: "Science has changed so much over the past few decades that children can now practically 'unwrap' a mummy."
Scientists used the same technology to find out why this baby mammoth died.
Computed tomography can be used to create 3D images, as in the case of this teenager who was also mummified.
The exhibit will remain at the American Museum of Natural History in New York until January 7, 2018, and then will be shown in other cities. This tour will end at the Field Museum.
Anna Pismenna