More questions on Mummies

Questions:

In what parts of the world have mummies been found?

Mummies have been found in places like northern Chile, England, northern Europe, northwestern China, Egypt (This is where most people associate mummies with) , Australia, Alaska, Austrian-Italian border (A very well-known mummy named Otzi was found here) and Japan (Buddhist monks that starved themselves and were preserved by candles) .

In what types of places ( physical geography and climate) have mummies been found?

The types of physical geography that mummies have been found in includes mostly places that have good environments for preservation, often places that are cold or layer quite quickly or quite dry, or a place in which the culture believes in embalming and so forth.

<--- Giza Pyramids, Egypt

How did Ancient Egyptians preserve their dead?

When I person would die their brains, digestive organs and lungs were all removed and put in little storage jars named, Canopic Jars, so that they could all be preserved separately. Then salts were put in the body and along with the dry desert air of Egypt, the body was dried. After being washed the body was then rubbed down with a substance, which was pine tree resin and then wrapped in hundreds of yards of linen. This process took about 70 days in all. The mummy was then placed in a case which was brightly decorated by a various artist. The tomb that the mummy was placed in was also decorated with things that symbolized the mans life. Sometimes the mans prized possessions would also be placed in the tomb, this was all for the preparation for the afterlife of the being.

<-- Canopic Jars

Why do you think ancient Egyptians took such care to embalm their dead if the desert could do the job for them?

Ancient Egyptians did not just let the desert do the work for them because the actual process was less about the actual preserving and more about the religious belief. The wrapping of the mummy, placing him in a case and removing the organs, were all done to prepare the corpse for the afterlife. They believed that maybe the brighter and more splendidly decorated the mummy case was the more chance the person had of getting to the afterlife. Many cultures have this belief that preserving the body isn't simply just to preserve it but to also have this hope that they can bring this person peace to the soul.