Access
To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right).
News and Views
Nature 413, 783-784 (25 October 2001) | doi:10.1038/35101673
Preserved for the afterlife
Sarah Wisseman
Top of page
Abstract
Ancient Egyptians used sophisticated combinations of natural substances to embalm the human body. Over time, they modified their recipes to balance quality of preservation with cost and availability of materials.
Over the years, scientific examinations of mummies have taught us a great deal about embalming practices, funerary rituals and burial economics in ancient Egypt. But that knowledge has often come at the cost of damaging the specimen.
To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right).