Embalming is the artificial preservation of the body. In Egypt, the first examples date to Late Predynastic times (late fourth millennium BCE), when the tight wrapping of the corpse is first found at the site of Hierakonpolis. Prior to this, bodies were simply laid in graves in the desert, where in some cases the hot and dry conditions promoted the natural desiccation of the body, producing a wholly natural “mummy” (Fig. 1).
Naturally preserved mummy, now in the Egyptian Museum, Turin (Photo by author)
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Dodson, A.M. (2013). Embalming in Egypt. In: Selin, H. (eds) Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-3934-5_8562-2
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