Why mummify a human body? How is it done? And what can we know about the lives of the people whose bodies were so carefully, so earnestly, so splendidly preserved?In The Mummy Congress, Heather Pringle takes us on a journey across five continents to explore 7,000 years of mummy history. Her story begins in the remote city of Arica, Chile, at a scientific meeting of 100 mummy experts--brilliant researchers who share recent discoveries, evolving theories, and amazing glimpses into their sometimes eccentric professional world. From Arica, where some of the earliest known mummies have been discovered--mummies of children, preserved because of their parents' grief--the story moves on to cover mummy veneration, mummy collectors, mummy diseases, bog mummies, political mummies (e.g., Lenin, Mao, and Eva Peron), mummy mummification services.
Capturing the essence of the latest research as well as the most ancient lore, The Mummy Congress is an utterly fascinating look at what mummies have to tell us about ourselves, our attitudes toward death and immorality, and the timeless, mystical desire to preserve the physical human body against the inexorable ravages of time.