They did not exist only in Egypt
Mummies are famous for their Egyptian representations, which were kept under pyramids and underwent a long ritual. The practice of preserving bodies for posterity, however, was present in other cultures, such as that of the Chilean Chinchorros, who lived 9,000 years ago.
Fake fingers found on mummies may have been the world’s first prosthetics
Jacky Finch of the University of Manchester in Britain found two replicas of fingers on mummies: one from approximately 600 years B.C. and another dating from a period between 950 B.C. and 710 B.C.
False fingers were made of linen and animal glue or of pieces of wood and leather. The scientists asked volunteers (who did not have their fingers) to test the objects. The result: they were considered great in mobility and comfort.
Mummies already had tattoos
Some of our ancestors had tattoos, such as Ötzi the Iceman, which is one of the oldest and best-preserved bodies in the world. The man has 61 tattoos that are formed by parallel lines and in the shape of a cross (no stars or symbols in infinity). See the drawings here.
And they also wore “sneakers”
The corpse of a woman was found in Mongolia wearing what looked like a pair of Adidas sneakers. However, after the restoration of the footwear, the researchers discovered that she wore a type of striped felt boot, with leather soles and decorative buckles. In addition, the mummy also carried a bag, a knife, a mirror, among other objects.
Egyptian mummies are related to the peoples of the Middle East
Researchers from the University of Tübingen and the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Germany analyzed the DNA of 90 Egyptian mummies and found that they are closely related to Middle Eastern peoples from places like Palestine, Mesopotamia and Saudi Arabia.
It was previously believed that most of the population of Ancient Egypt descended from black African peoples, but the analysis proves that the relationship with these populations only occurred later.
Some of the world’s oldest mummies are becoming boogers
Mummified bodies found in northern Chile are turning into a type of black gelatin, believed to be by bacteria. That is why the local people have asked that the bodies — at least 7,000 years old — be recognized by UNESCO as heritage.
Russia preserves Lenin’s mummy to this day
The Museum for the Conservation of Russian History revealed that it spends approximately R$ 690 thousand per year to conserve the mummy of Vladimir Lenin, former Soviet leader. The body is on display in the mausoleum in Moscow’s Red Square and is only disturbed every three years to have the clothes changed.
