Art mummies: history, preservation, and cultural significance

Mummification as a Form of Art

It is mostly associated with religious rituals and tradition, but mummification is considered more than an accomplishment of ancient cultures of pre-historic peoples of human civilization. More than a symbol of ancient culture, mummification is also a form of art, wherein the process of mummification itself signifies knowledge of 'beautifying' the human form even after its death. The history of mummification and use of mummy as symbols of religious rituals started in the early 3400 B.C.

Perhaps the well-known country where mummification was first practiced is in Egypt, known as home to thousands of mummies belonging to the pharaohs or leaders of the Egyptians during ancient civilization. While Egyptian mummies have been popularly known in Egypt, there are also areas where mummification is prevalent, particularly in the Andes Mountain in South America (Microsoft Encarta 2002).

Mummification was developed because of the ancient civilization's belief that dead people's bodies should be preserved in preparation for the "new life" of these dead people. Thus, the need for a 'physical body' brought out the practice of mummification. Mummification is defined as the process where the human body is preserved by the natural environment or through special embalming techniques. The embalming techniques adapted by practitioners of mummification will be the focus of this paper, particularly on the process of mummification as a form of art.

Of particular interest are the mummification process and embalming techniques used by the Egyptians and the Inka tribe in Andes Mountain in South America.

The process of mummification is a carefully followed process that requires about 70 days to complete. This process is explained in detail in Dr. Abdel Ragab's (2004) article entitled, "Mummification Exhibit." In this article, Ragab enumerates the steps needed in order to properly "mummify" a dead person. The initial phase includes desiccating the dead person, that is, drying up the body in order to get rid of moisture, which contributes to the rapid decomposition of the body. The steps that will follow depicts mummification as a form of art, where the organs and skin of the dead body is substituted for other materials, like using weeds and sticks to "fill up" the body. Clays are also used to serve as the composition of the body, while the skin is kept intact. In cases where there are skin gaps, sea lion skin is used, as in the case of the Inka mummies in South America (Arriaza et. al. 1998).