The Mummy Congress: Science, Obsession, and the Everlasting Dead, by Heather Pringle. 2001. Hyperion Books, Theia Press, New York. ISBN 0-7868-6551-2. Hard back. 341 pp, 26 color plates; a bibliography and an index.
In 1998, journalist and science writer Heather Pringle went to one of the myriad tiny arcane conferences held each year in archaeology. The Third World Congress on Mummy Studies was held in Arica, Chile that year, and over 180 delegates from around the world gathered in the home region of the earliest known mummies yet, the Chinchorro (5000-3000 BC). What Pringle took away from the conference were the seeds of a book, a book which covers an enormous amount of material in a lucid and entertaining way.
After a brief introduction describing the conference, Pringle includes chapters on many of the issues surrounding the investigation of death and preservation of the dead, using the various kinds of mummies found the world over to explain and define her commentary. For example, in the first substantive chapter, called The Dissector's Knife, Pringle addresses the troublesome problem of what some have called the "desecration" of the dead, by describing the methodical work of mummy coroner Arthur Aufderheide. The reader is both fascinated and repelled by the process; but by the end of the chapter, all squeamishness gets set aside.
After a brief introduction describing the conference, Pringle includes chapters on many of the issues surrounding the investigation of death and preservation of the dead, using the various kinds of mummies found the world over to explain and define her commentary. For example, in the first substantive chapter, called The Dissector's Knife, Pringle addresses the troublesome problem of what some have called the "desecration" of the dead, by describing the methodical work of mummy coroner Arthur Aufderheide. The reader is both fascinated and repelled by the process; but by the end of the chapter, all squeamishness gets set aside.
Other issues and topics follow, such as how much the study of ancient diseases and parasites can assist the present; the use of mummy powder as an herbal remedy for "what ails ya" and as a medium for medieval painters; the evidence for human sacrifice seen in the bog bodies; the difficulty of conducting scientific research in the media glare. In addition to the Chinchorro mummies and bog bodies, Pringle brings her clean prose to Svetlana Balabanova's controversial discovery of nicotine and cocaine in Egyptian mummies; the methods used to preserve medieval saints' bodies, and those of Lenin and Stalin; and the modern techniques of preservation, from cosmetic surgery to cryogenics.
I found this book both informative and entertaining, containing current knowledge of the status of mummies around the world, and addressing the ethical and scientific issues in a clear concise way. Definitely geared for the general public, the book has plenty to engage the scientist as well.
