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What Is A Mummy?
Basically, it's any preserved dead body -- human, animal, or insect.
Mummies had been found all over the world. Some were preserved intentionally, as in Egypt, which others happened accidentally because of the environment.
Mummies are mini-time capsules. They can tell us about the biology and culture of past people. Through the study of mummies we can learn about diet, health, disease and death as well as religion, art, and technology.
The word "mummy" derives from an old Persian word mummia, which referred to a rare asphalt or bitumen, used in Roman times to heal fractures and to cure toothaches, dysentery, and gout. In the Middle Ages, travelers to Egypt thought the dark resin used on mummies was the same substance, thus the word mummia became linked with the preserved body. |