Perfect for school and public libraries, this is the only reference book to combine pop culture with science to uncover the mystery behind mummies and the mummification phenomena. Mortality and death have always fascinated humankind. Civilizations from all over the world have practiced mummification as a means of preserving life after death—a ritual which captures the imagination of scientists, artists, and laypeople alike. This comprehensive encyclopedia focuses on all aspects of mummies: their ancient and modern history; their scientific study; their occurrence around the world; the religious and cultural beliefs surrounding them; and their roles in literary and cinematic entertainment. Author and horror guru Matt Cardin brings together 130 original articles written by an international roster of leading scientists and scholars to examine the art, science, and religious rituals of mummification throughout history. Through a combination of factual articles and topical essays, this book reviews cultural beliefs about death; the afterlife; and the interment, entombment, and cremation of human corpses in places like Egypt, Europe, Asia, and Central and South America. Additionally, the book covers the phenomenon of natural mummification where environmental conditions result in the spontaneous preservation of human and animal remains.

Introduces mummies, discussing natural and man-made processes of mummification, famous mummies that have been found, and animal mummies.

This title introduces you to one of the world's most popular legendary monsters. Your readers will learn about the real-life history surrounding mummies and see how the creatures are reflected in different cultures. Features include a table of contents, glossary, and index. Plus, an Xtreme Challenge page with content questions help readers process and build upon their mummy knowledge. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. A&D Xtreme is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.

Mummies, whether they're preserved by people or nature, are a fascinating way to examine different cultures around the world. While most people know about mummies from ancient Egypt, the first mummies were made more than 7,000 years ago in South America. Anthropologists can only guess why, most likely because of a belief in life after death. Readers will be awed as they discover how different cultures perfected their mummification process. Well-chosen photographs and illustrations will reveal the incredible preserving powers of peat. Gruesome discoveries and even modern mummies are all highlighted in this book, which includes 100 facts about magnificent mummies.

A readable and fascinating account of the story of mummification from around the world.

On 15-17 September, 1993, Innsbruck, Austria, search. Another remarkable case, that of the pre-Colum hosted the International Mummy Symposium. This bian miner from Restauradora Mine near Chuqincamata does not mean that beautiful North Tyrol was the setting in northern Chile, is the result of impregnation with for a gathering of the world's most prominent mummies copper salts, and the mummy became an attraction as themselves, but rather the exciting discovery of a Late "Copper Man" at various fairs around the country. As he Neolithic glacial mummy released from the ice of the was found with a complete set of miner's tools, the Otztal Alps provided the focus of attention for numerous mummy offers a unique insight into the life and working scholars from many different parts of the world to come conditions of an Indio miner of the first millennium AD. together to address various questions relating to mum Even so, the mummified remains comprise only the skel mified human remains. eton with a completely rigid covering of skin, whereas Normally researchers studying the remains of histori the other soft parts have not survived. calor prehistoric human bodies will at best have bony In contrast, mummification in ice, and especially in substance to work on. It is rarely the case that soft parts the permafrost, can produce much better results.

Discusses mummies found around the world, including Peru, Denmark, and the Italian Alps, and explains how studying them provides clues to past ways of life.