Mummy: Encyclopedia II - Mummy - Mummies in recent times

Mummy - Mummies in recent times

Mummies have been an object of intense interest in the West since archaeologists began finding them in large numbers. 19th-century aristocrats would often entertain themselves by buying mummies, having them unwrapped, and holding observation sessions. These sessions destroyed several mummies, because the exposure to the air caused them to disintegrate.

In the 1830s Jeremy Bentham, the founder of utilitarianism, left instructions to be followed upon his death which led to the creation of a sort of modern-day mummy. He asked that his body be displayed to illustrate how the "horror at dissection originates in ignorance"; once so displayed and lectured about, he asked that his body parts be preserved, including his skeleton (minus his skull, for which he had other plans), which was to be dressed in the clothes he usually wore and "seated in a Chair usually occupied by me when living in the attitude in which I am sitting when engaged in thought." His body, outfitted with a wax head created because of problems preparing his head as Bentham requested, is on display in the University College London.

Egyptian mummies were much sought-after by museums worldwide in the 19th and early 20th centuries and many exhibit mummies today. Notably fine examples are exhibited at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, at the Ägyptisches Museum in Berlin, and at the British Museum in London. The Egyptian city of Luxor is also home to a specialised Mummification Museum. The mummified remains of what turned out to be Ramesses I ended up in a "Daredevil Museum" near Niagara Falls on the United States–Canada border; records indicate that it had been sold to a Canadian in 1860 and exhibited alongside displays such as a two-headed calf for nearly 140 years, until a museum in Atlanta, Georgia, which had acquired the mummy along with other artifacts, determined it to be royal and returned it to Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities. It is currently on display in the Luxor Museum.

Mummies were also believed to have medicinal properties, and were sold as pharmaceuticals in powdered form. However, they were not used as fuel for steam locomotives, and the idea that they were came from a joke by Mark Twain. However, during the First World War, mummy wrapping linens were manufactured into paper.

Science has also taken notice of mummies. Dr. Bob Brier, an Egyptologist, has been the first modern scientist to successfully recreate a mummy using the Egyptian method. Mummies have been used in medicine, to calibrate CAT scan machines at levels of radiation that would be too dangerous for use on living people. In fact, mummies can be studied without unwrapping them using CAT scan and X-ray machines to form a picture of what's inside.

They have been very useful to biologists and anthropologists, as they have provided a wealth of information about the health and life expectancy of ancient peoples. In particular, mummies have demonstrated that even 5,000 years ago, humans were anatomically indistinguishable from their present-day counterparts. This has had important repercussions for the study of human evolution.

Scientists interested in cloning DNA of mummies have recently reported findings of clonable DNA in an Egyptian mummy dating to circa 400 BC. Although analyzing the hair of Ancient Egyptian mummies from the Late Middle Kingdom has revealed evidence of a stable diet [1], Ancient Egyptian mummies from circa 3200 BC show signs of severe anemia and hemolitic disorders [2]. Some have claimed that traces of cocaine, hashish and nicotine have also been found in the skin and hair of Egyptian mummies [3]. But these claims are unlikely to be true. These drugs come from New World plants and they weren’t available in Africa during the time of the Pharos. There is no evidence of pre-Columbian trans-Atlantic trade, and there is no further evidence of these drugs in Old World civilization until after the voyage of Columbus 4 .

Artists also made use of mummies during the late 1800's, in the form of paint. The brownish paint was called "Caput Mortum", latin for "Dead Head", made from the wrappings of mummies.

In 1975, an esoteric organization by the name of Summum introduced "Modern Mummification," a form of mummification that Summum claims uses modern techniques along with aspects of ancient methods. Summum has been featured on shows by National Geographic and the British Broadcasting Corporation and is even mentioned in the book, The Scientific Study of Mummies, by Arthur C. Aufderheide. Summum has mummified numerous pets such as birds, cats, and dogs. People were mummified early on when they developed their process and many have made personal "pre-need" arrangements.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Mummies in recent times", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki