35 Mummies from Around the World

1. Chinchorro mummies

These mummies, found in modern-day Chile, are the oldest mummies in the world at 7,000 years old. That’s more than 2,000 years older than Ancient Egyptian mummies. The Chinchorro people would mummify their dead and put clay masks over their faces.

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5. Mummies of Ancient Egypt

The Ancient Egyptians mummified not only humans, but animals as well. This was thought to preserve the body for the afterlife.

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Mummified Ancient Egyptian baboon

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9. Bog bodies

Bog bodies are human corpses that have been naturally mummified in peat bogs. Bog bodies have been found that date from anywhere between 8,000 BC and the 1940s.

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14. Smoke Mummies of Papua New Guinea

Some remote tribes in Papua New Guinea use smoke to mummify the remains of their elders, essentially turning them into jerky. This was done as recently as the 1950s, though the practice has waned since then.

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17. Ötzi the Iceman

Ötzi the Iceman is a naturally mummified man from the Copper Age, found frozen in the Alps. He was preserved almost entirely, including clothing, equipment, and tattoos.

18. Tarim mummies

The Tarim mummies were discovered in what is now China, discovered wearing wool hats and leather booties. Their origins were initially a mystery until scientists found they were indigenous to the region.

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20. Pazyryk mummies

The Pazyryk mummies were a series of Iron Age mummies found in Siberia in tombs dug into permafrost. Many of them were found with incredibly well-preserved tattoos, including one mummy that was dubbed “the Siberian Ice Maiden.”

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The Siberian ice maiden

23. Lady Dai

A Chinese noblewoman named Xin Zhui, aka Lady Dai, who is remarkably well preserved despite her body being over 2000 years old. She is considered to be the best-preserved human mummy in history.

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25. Peruvian mummies

A wide range of human mummies from pre-Inca cultures discovered in Peru. Many of these mummies were stolen from their tombs and altered to resemble aliens by grave robbers.

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28. Saltman mummies

The Saltmen were mummies discovered in a salt mine in northern Iran. The salt from the mines preserved their bodies, allowing us to see details like a gold earring and leather boots.

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31. Greenland mummies

These mummies were discovered in an abandoned settlement in Greenland named Qilakitsoq. These mummies have given great insight into what Inuit culture was like 500 years ago.

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34. Capuchin mummies

Forty-five naturally preserved mummies were discovered in a tomb underneath a monastery in Sicily built by Capuchin monks. The monks built a larger catacomb connecting to the old burial chamber, and today the catacombs feature 1,100 mummified remains.

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