When a person dies, his body decays (腐烂). Skin and flesh disappear and as time goes on, only a skeleton is left. A mummy is the dead body of a person or an animal that has been preserved (保存) by wrapping cloth or other material around it.
Mummies have been found all over the world, most of them in Egypt. However, other cultures in South America and Asia also mummified their dead persons.
The oldest mummy ever found dates back to 6,000 years before Christ. The British Museum in London currently displays the oldest Egyptian mummy, dating back to 3,400 BC. The British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered the remains of Tutankhamun in 1922, probably the most famous mummy in the world.
Today scientists study mummies with special equipment and X-ray machines. They discover more about the bodies of ancient people and how they lived. They can also find clues to what they ate and what kind of disease they had.
Mummification also happens because of extreme weather. Mummies have been found in the cold regions of the world, including the Alps and the Himalaya mountains. Salt water also helps preserve bodies. Mummies have been found in deserts and in peat bogs (泥潭沼泽). The most famous natural mummy is tzi, the Iceman, found in a glacier on the Austrian-Italian border in 1991.
