I WANT MY MUMMY! -

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A glimpse into the mummification process and how mummies were used in medical practices

by Linette Koh
edited by Ara Downey

They might be sitting in museums behind glass cases nowadays, but mummies were not always treated as historical artefacts. Early discoveries of mummies in pyramids saw them used for ‘medicinal properties’ – spoiler: cannibalism

Mummification Process

Remove internal organs
Allow internal organs to dry. Place the lungs, liver, intestines, and stomach into canopic jars
1. This process was reserved for wealthier individuals. Sometimes organs would be placed in boxes or wrapped and placed back in the body
Place the heart back into the body
Rinse the inside of the body with wine and spices
Cover the corpse with salt for 70 days
After 40 days, stuff the body with linen, sawdust, sand, or straw
After 70 days, wrap the body with bandages and place it in a sarcophagus
Canopic jars (either empty or filled) were placed in the tomb

How Did It Start?

Homeopathic/Spiritual Treatment

The easy answer would be that medicine simply was not that advanced at the time. People thought that human remains would fix human problems. In a time where the average English life expectancy was 36 years, they would be more inclined to try extreme solutions in an attempt to live longer.

Mistranslations and Misunderstandings

Some incorrectly believed that the embalming process involved bitumen, which was thought to have medicinal properties, when resin was actually used.

Mumia, a term used to describe medical products derived from mummies, was initially the name of a substance secreted from black-rock asphalt in a Persian mountainside. The original Mumia was used in the Arabic world for medical purposes. When Western Europeans translated Islamic texts in the 11^th and 12^th centuries, in combination with expeditions into Egypt, Mumia became a descriptor for substances exuded from preserved bodies in Egyptian tombs and subsequently linked to medicine.

Mummies in Medicine

Note: Early use of mummies in medicine came from Egyptian mummies. When Egyptian mummies became increasingly difficult to procure, ‘fresher’ bodies were used and grave robbing ensued. In this article, medical usage will focus on Egyptian mummies.

Mumia was commonly used to refer to the ground up bones and skulls of Egyptian mummies, applied to wounds or consumed. It was believed treat a myriad of medical issues, ranging from internal bleeding to the bubonic plague.

Reception to Mumia was mixed, with there being pushback to the idea of consuming human flesh, dating as far back as the 17^th century. But it did not stop the concept of medicinal cannibalism from gaining popularity, even going so far as to suggest that royalty should consume royalty — i.e. pharaohs should be saved for the elite. Throughout the 19^th century, mummies became a glorified commodity. European expeditions into Egypt would culminate in mummy unwrapping parties. Emerging into the 20^th century, fortunately, people gradually started to come to the realization that people should not be eaten, there were no medical benefits to it, and we should preserve historical artefacts instead of eating them. Nowadays, mummies can be found in museums, but are sought after on the black market, assumed to be kept as an artifact… but you never know.