Mummies

Mummies provide a window into the traditions and rituals practiced by ancient cultures. Modern analyses on their bones, teeth, hair and preserved soft tissues can also provide information on the health conditions these ancient people experienced, as well as what type of food they ate. Here's the latest news on mummies and what analyses have revealed about their lives.

Related Topics: Ancient Egypt, Archaeology,

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Left image shows a sheep leg recovered from a historic salt mine in northwest Iran, specimen is on site at the mine. Right two images show the cleaned leg against a plain grey background

Pristine DNA recovered from 1,600-year-old sheep mummy

By Nicoletta Lanese

The sheep specimen is a rare example of "natural" mummification.

Journalists film as the carriage carrying the mummy of Pharaoh Ramses II (12791213 BC) advances as part of the parade of 22 ancient Egyptian royal mummies departing from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo's Tahrir Square on April 3, 2021, on their way to their new resting place at the new National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation.

Glitzy parade of 22 mummified pharaohs fills Cairo streets

By Nicoletta Lanese

The 22 mummies included 18 kings and four queens.

The reconstruction of KV 55, thought to be the pharaoh Akhenaten.

King Tut's father revealed in stunning facial reconstruction

By Mindy Weisberger

An astonishingly lifelike facial reconstruction reveals the face of an enigmatic mummy who may have been the biological father of the renowned pharaoh Tutankhamen.

Section of the papyrus that deals with swellings of the skin.

Ancient papyrus holds the world’s oldest guide to mummification

By Mindy Weisberger

A newly discovered instruction manual for embalming mummies in ancient Egypt contains the earliest known description of these mysterious techniques.

The man lived in the Lower Pecos Canyonlands of Texas, pictured here, sometime between 1,400 - 1,000 years ago. The arid area where he was buried caused his body to become naturally mummified.

Man who died of constipation 1,000 years ago ate grasshoppers for months

By Owen Jarus

A man who died of constipation more than 1,000 years ago survived on just grasshoppers for months, his mummy has revealed.

X-ray diffraction showed the mummy's unerupted adult teeth and a mass of resin inside the skull.

Roman-era Egyptian child mummy scanned with laser-like precision

By Mindy Weisberger

High-energy X-ray scans of an intact Egyptian mummy mapped a detailed glimpse of the bones and objects inside.

The adult cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) mummy still has a nose.

Cave bear mummy discovered in Siberia still has its internal organs, fur and black nose

By Laura Geggel

An ancient cave bear adult and cub mummy have been found in the melting permafrost of Siberia.

The ice age pup's well-preserved teeth are still sharp.

A pup preserved in permafrost ate one of the last woolly rhinos on Earth

By Laura Geggel

Before it died in what is now Siberia, this ice age puppy ate a chunk of woolly rhino meat.

Scientists used a micro CT scanner to 'unwrap' a mummified kitten without even touching it

Mummified kitten 'strangled' to death before being offered to the gods, new 3D scans reveal

By Brandon Specktor

Researchers scanned the mummified corpses of a cat, a snake and a bird, revealing the grim details of their deaths

"Meritamun" was inscribed on the mummy's wrappings. And the researchers believe that when she was alive, Meritamun would have stood just under 5 feet (151 centimeters).

'Screaming mummy' may have died of a heart attack, researchers say

By Stephanie Pappas

An Egyptian woman who was mummified with her mouth open in a silent scream probably died of a heart attack, new research finds.

Photo of an Egyptian mummy in a museum.

Mummification: The lost art of embalming the dead

By Tom Garlinghouse

Mummification, or the process of preserving the dead, was once a widespread practice among many ancient societies.

Several skulls were found in the burial ground. These would likely be from mummies that have not survived intact.

Mummies of ancient Egyptian priests found buried with thousands of afterlife 'servants'

By Owen Jarus

A massive burial ground holding the remains of several high priests of ancient Egypt, along with their assistants, has been discovered in the northern part of the site of Tuna el-Gebel.

The remains of Takabuti, a woman who was murdered 2,600 years ago in Egypt.

Egyptian mummy cold case closed: 'Takabuti' was stabbed to death

By Laura Geggel

This cold case is finally cracked; the mummified woman was murdered with a knife.

The mummified body of the ancient Egyptian priest Nesyamun underwent medical scans in 2018 so that a copy of its vocal tract could be made.

Egyptian mummy speaks again after 3,000 years

By Tom Metcalfe

The voice of an ancient Egyptian priest has been heard for the first time in more than 3,000 years, thanks to a detailed reconstruction of his vocal tract from his mummified remains.

The pup still had its milk teeth, suggesting it was under 2 months old when it died.

Mummified Pup Died in Siberia 18,000 Years Ago ... And Might Be a Wolf (or Something Else)

By Mindy Weisberger

Permafrost mummified and preserved a young pup for millennia, maintaining its body in near-perfect condition.

This cat statue, along with many others, was discovered in a tomb discovered at Saqqara in Egypt.

Two Lion Cub Mummies Discovered in Egypt for the First Time

By Owen Jarus

Two mummified lions, dating back about 2,600 years, have been discovered in a tomb full of cat statues and cat mummies in Saqqara, in Egypt.

The exterior of the catacomb that the Egyptian-Japanese team discovered. It was constructed almost 2,000 years ago at a time when the Romans ruled Egypt.

Magnificent Egyptian Catacomb Reveals Carvings of a 'Worthy' Woman and Her Pet

By Owen Jarus

Almost 2,000 years ago, at a time when the Romans ruled Egypt, a woman named "Demetria" was laid to rest in a magnificently decorated catacomb at Saqqara in Egypt.

Example of the millions of votive mummies presented as offerings by pilgrims to the god Thoth.

Ancient Egyptians May Have Corralled Millions of Wild Birds to Sacrifice and Turn into Mummies

By Nicoletta Lanese

New DNA evidence suggests that Egyptians captured wild birds for millions of ritualistic sacrifices, rather than farming the animals.

A group of researchers used a CT scan to examine the insides of this ancient Egyptian cat mummy held at the Museum of Fine Arts of Rennes in France.

Inside Ancient Egyptian Cat Mummy, Archaeologists Find the Remains of 3 Cats

By Yasemin Saplakoglu

Scans of the inside of an ancient cat mummy revealed that the 2,500-year-old feline supposedly resting within wasn't a single animal.

The mummified hand of Otzi the iceman, who died in the Alps some 5,300 years ago.

Ötzi the Iceman's Unfortunate Last Journey Possibly Uncovered

By Stephanie Pappas

The mummified body of Ötzi the Iceman was discovered alongside 75 different species of mosses and liverworts, some of which he carried with him.