8 Kinds of Mummies That Aren’t From Ancient Egypt

Mummies are practically synonymous with Ancient Egypt. The term conjures up images of an undead creature wrapped in bandages rising from its sarcophagus deep within a pyramid. But mummies aren’t Hollywood monsters; they’re the results of sacred (and sometimes accidental) processes dating back thousands of years.

The Egyptians had their own specialized techniques for preserving important figures. Decomposition was stopped by taking out the internal organs, washing the body with wine and spices, and then rubbing it with natron—a natural salt. Once the corpse was prepared, it was wrapped in strips of linen.

While this may be the most famous mummification method from history, it’s not the only way to prevent decomposition. Whether they were preserved as part of cultural practices or as an unintended consequence of their environment, these mummies from beyond Ancient Egypt are worth knowing.

Bog Bodies

To make leather, organic material is steeped in a liquid solution containing tannins (a.k.a. tanning). This basic process is fundamental to the creation of “bog bodies”—corpses that became naturally mummified in the peat bogs found in northern Europe. The water-logged peat creates an anoxic, or oxygen-free, environment. In chilly climates, this can lead to the preservation of human hair, clothing, and skin. You can identify a bog body by its color: Over time, the natural tannins in the bog turn the mummified skin a dark brown or black shade, similar to leather.

While the oldest fleshed bog body perished around 4000 years ago, the majority of them date back to the Iron Age around the 9th century BCE to the 1st century CE. In that era, bog burial was likely restricted to outcasts and criminals, as many of the recovered bodies reveal evidence of being stabbed, strangled, hanged, or beaten.

Chinchorro Mummies

The oldest known human-made mummies come from northern Chile. The Chinchorro people native to the area began mummifying their dead around 5000 BCE—2000 years earlier than the ancient Egyptians did. When a member of their community died, the Chinchorro stripped the flesh from the skeleton and dried the remains (possibly with hot ashes or coals) before reassembling them as a mummy. The body was stuffed with clay, reeds, and other filler materials.

Drying tissues preserves them because it removes moisture, preventing the growth of microorganisms that cause spoilage. Egyptian mummies were made in a similar fashion beginning around 2600 BCE.

Naturally Dried Mummies

Many natural mummies have been discovered in dry and cold geographical areas. On mountaintops in the Andes, mummies of sacrificed ancient Inca children froze before they dried out, leaving them with the appearance of simply being asleep in spite of having died more than 500 years ago. Europe’s oldest known natural mummy—Ötzi the Iceman—is also a product of freeze-drying. He was discovered by hikers in the Ötztal Alps in 1991, 5300 years after perishing.

The extremely dry climate in China’s Tarim Basin desert preserved hundreds of dead people—including their hair, tattooed skin, and clothing—between 2100 and 100 BCE. And in the early 1990s, eight people who had died 700 years prior were found in a cave in Lebanon. The low humidity and sandy soil had naturally preserved the so-called Maronite mummies.

Ice Mummies

By freezing food, it’s possible to slow the growth of bacteria that break down meat—so it’s no surprise that mummies are found in ice and snow. The 4th to 3rd century BCE Pazyryk burials in Siberia are well-known for their impressive tombs and the tattoos that decorated the bodies of both men and women. Archaeologists determined that the grave of the so-called Siberian Ice Maiden had flooded with rain and froze shortly after her burial, preserving her for millennia.

In western Greenland, eight mummies of people who died in the 15th century were discovered at a cliff site called Qilakitsoq in 1972. The most famous mummy is that of a 6-month-old boy; he and his family were found fully clothed, their bodies preserved by freezing temperatures.

Sealed Mummies

Through the combination of heat and an airtight seal, canning can prevent food spoilage. Similarly, sealing a dead body in an environment devoid of oxygen can create a mummy. 

Lead and iron coffins were popular in the 18th and 19th centuries in the U.S. Their perfect seals have led to the discoveries of numerous well-preserved bodies, including a teenage boy from the Civil War era, a Queens woman from an early free Black community, and the 18th-century American naval hero John Paul Jones. Dozens of sealed mummies have also been found in Korea dating to the 16th to 18th centuries. Known as the Joseon Dynasty mummies, the bodies appear to have been preserved thanks to the lime-based soil surrounding the tombs, which effectively created an airtight seal.

Salt Mummies

Salt draws moisture out of flesh and slows microbial growth, making it a simple tool for mummification. The six Saltmen of Iran appear to have been working in Chehrabad salt mines 1700 years ago when a mineshaft collapsed on them. One mummified miner had long hair and a beard, and his lower leg was found still encased in his leather boot.

Another famous salt mummy is that of Itigilov, a Tibetan Buddhist lama. Itigilov was exhumed three decades after his death in 1927, apparently well-preserved. He was reburied in a coffin full of salt, allegedly exhumed and reburied again in 1972, and then finally exhumed in 2002 and put on display.

A handful of mummies were found on islands like Ichaboe off the coast of Namibia at the height of the 19th century global trade in guano. The fertilizer had sealed the bodies in a salt-rich and oxygen-poor environment.

Toi Moko

In the 19th century, Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, created “shrunken heads” through a process that prevented decomposition. Known as toi moko, the heads were severed and then preserved through a combination of steaming, smoking, and drying. Toi moko were usually kept by families as a form of ancestor veneration, but many were stolen and traded with Westerners during the Musket Wars in the first half of the 19th century. As a result, numerous toi moko are held in museums today, and the Māori are calling for their return.

Modern Mummies

Today, the bodies of our deceased loved ones are often embalmed—a process that involves removing internal fluids and replacing them with chemicals such as formaldehyde. This doesn’t count as mummification, however, as the technique is usually viewed as short-term preservation rather than a way to preserve bodies for millennia.

But some contemporary mummies do exist. Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin, who died in 1924, is kept “fresh” by a team of scientists who re-embalm his corpse every other year. The English philosopher Jeremy Bentham’s “auto-icon” can be viewed at University College London today nearly 200 years after his death. It consists of Bentham’s own clothes and a wax model of his head on his preserved skeleton. (It originally included his actual mummified head, but that’s now kept in storage due to warping and discoloration.)

Read More About Death: