Fascinating research: Archaeologists keep finding mummies during excavations.
The preserved bodies often offer remarkable clues to life thousands of years ago.
But how is a mummy actually made and what is the difference between mummification and mummification?
Mummies are corpses that are protected from decomposition by natural circumstances or artificial processes.
If an entire body has been mummified, it is called a mummy.
The term mummy comes from the Arabic word “mumiya” and the Persian term “mum” and means “wax”.
If a corpse does not go through the process of mummification, it will quickly decompose.
The reason: The human body consists of 70 percent water, in which bacteria spread after death.
For three months from the moment of death, the body putrefies.
The bacteria produce ammonia gas and hydrogen sulfide.
Then the decomposition process starts: organs, skin and flesh are decomposed by bacteria and fungi.
After about four years only the bone skeleton is usually left.
It is estimated that the decomposition of the bones in Germany takes 20 to 25 years.
The degree of acidity of the soil has a major influence on the duration.
This process is prevented by mummification or mummification.
Mummification is when a mummy is created through a naturally occurring process rather than as a result of human intervention.
So the difference between mummification and mummification is the artificial intervention of humans.
According to Egyptian belief, the soul of a dead person can only rest if the body is protected from decay.
So the soul should be able to live on in the afterlife.
For this reason, around 2700 BC, the Egyptians began to preserve human remains forever by mummifying them.
To do this, they removed the organs from the deceased, washed the dead body and dried it with salt.
The body was then wrapped in linen cloths and coated with resin.
In a natural mummification, nature takes care of the preservation of the corpses.
Extreme climate zones such as deserts or perpetual ice are ideal conditions for this.
Bog corpses that have been lying in the moor for thousands of years are also being discovered again and again in Germany.
A well-known natural mummy is “Ötzi”, who was found in 1991 in glacial ice in the Alps.
The man died in an icy cave over 5000 years ago.
Only global warming uncovered the freeze-dried mummy again.