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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,

Latest Updates

Ulcers Discovered in Mummies

By Live Science Staff

Two Mexican mummies had ulcers when they were alive.

Climate Threat: Thawing Tundra Releases Infected Corpses

By Kristin Elise Phillips

Global warming unlocks tundra, with it some frozen corpses infected with smallpox.

Lice Shed Light on Ancient History of Americas

By Charles Q. Choi

New findings pin blame for lice on Vikings, not Christopher Columbus.

Top 10 Weird Ways We Deal With the Dead

Top 10 weird ways we deal with the dead

By Heather Whipps

Dying is a fact of life, as is the disposal of a body after the fact. You know all about burial and cremation, but here are the other ways people, past and present- have dealt with the departed.

Incan Kids Fattened Before Sacrifice

By Dave Mosher

Archaeologists find Incan kids were fattened up prior to sacrifice.

Woolly Mammoth Hair Yields 'Fantastic' DNA

By Ker Than

Hair is a better source of ancient DNA than bone or muscle, a woollymammoth study suggests.

World's First Prosthetic: Egyptian Mummy's Fake Toe

By Charles Q. Choi

An artificial big toe has been found on the foot of an Egyptian mummy

Korean Mummy Holds Clues to Disease

By Jeanna Bryner

A 500-year-old liver from a child mummy holds hepatitis B.

Mummy Reveals Egyptian Queen Was Fat, Balding and Bearded

By Meredith F. Small

There's a new gal in town and she's 3,500 years old.

Cold Case Closed: 'Iceman' Mummy Bled to Death

By Jeanna Bryner

Mummy scientists have determined the cause of death of the "Iceman."

See the Mysterious 'Bog People'

By Dan Nephin

Seven mummies on display in U.S. are nowhere near as famous as King Tut, but they are just as intriguing.