Modern Mummies: The Preservation of the Human Body in the Twentieth CenturyFor many, a mummy is an Egyptian pharaoh, wrapped in cloth, found thousands of years later in a pyramid by archaeologists. But mummies need not be ancient. Modern-day mummies can be found under glass in special tombs built in their honor, in private collections where they have come to rest after decades on the carnival circuit, in dissecting rooms of medical schools, and in the basements of funeral homes waiting for decades to be claimed by the next of kin. Stories about the famous (Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, Ho Chi Minh, Eva Peron) and the not-so-famous (Leslie Hansell wanted her body mummified to bask in the sun rather than being buried in the cold ground) mummies are told here in great detail, along with a broader look at the history and process of mummification. The book includes a comprehensive study of the successful prolonged preservation of the human body, and delves into the law and science of modern mummification. |
Contents
Acknowledgments | 1 |
Lying in State | 27 |
Occupational Hazards | 59 |
Copyright | |
6 other sections not shown
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Common terms and phrases
According adipocere allowed appeared areas baby became become believed body Booth burial buried called carried casket cause cemetery chemicals claimed closed clothes collection Collins completely containing continued corpse covered cryonics dead death desiccation died director display Elmer embalming examination exhibit face Father feet fluid four frozen funeral home glass grave hair hand head human injected Italy John Johnson keep killed known later Lenin's living look March mausoleum method months mortuary moved mummified mummy museum natural never offer organs Photo photographs placed plans police prepared preservation reached remains removed reported result returned says served skin snow specimens stored taken temperature tion tissues took weeks wife writes York
References to this book
Bioarchaeology: The Contextual Analysis of Human Remains Jane E. Buikstra,Lane A. Beck No preview available - 2006 |