Natural Cases of Embalming

While most embalmed bodies were intentionally treated with chemicals, there are several cases of remains being discovered in which, where due to conditions such as aridity of their climate, the freezing temperatures or acid naturally available in their environment, that desiccates the bodies for them to be preserved.

To understand how bodies can be embalmed by mother nature herself, we must first understand the process of decomposition as embalming is merely a treatment that delays this degradation of the body. 

Decomposition

Decomposition occurs as a result of autolysis and putrefaction. In layman terms, it is the breakdown of tissue courtesy of your body’s internal chemicals and enzymes and by external bacteria respectively. This begins immediately after post-death.

Studies have shown that the main factors that aid in the decomposition of the body are primarily temperature, the presence of oxygen, and humidity (or the presence of wetness). This is because such factors enable enzyme and bacterial activity to take place, and for aerobic decomposition to occur. Therefore, to arrest the process of decomposition, we need to eliminate the factors that assist in it by focusing on inhibiting enzyme and bacterial activities. 

It might be noted that eliminating the presence of oxygen itself would therefore enable anaerobic decomposition, typically via putrefaction, to occur. This is what gives the decomposing bodies their distinctive rotting smell due to the release of sulfur from hydrogen sulfide and organic matter. Therefore, to control one factor alone is not enough to hinder decomposition. 

An enzyme attracts substrates to its active site, catalyzes the chemical reaction by which products are formed, and then allows the products to dissociate (separate from the enzyme surface). Within cells, substrates are in constant random motion. As temperature increases, the speed of this random molecular motion increases as well since molecules have more vibrational energy at higher temperatures. The more rapid motion increases the frequency of random collisions between molecules and enzymes, which is important for enzyme activity since enzymes depend on their substrate molecules colliding into them before a reaction can occur.

Hence, if both temperature and presence of oxygen and water are controlled, decomposition can therefore be arrested. Environments with extreme weather and aridity, therefore, are perfect conduits for natural cases of embalming.

Chile’s Atacama: Oldest Mummies in the World

The oldest mummies in the world— be it natural or artificially — are found in Chile. The Chinchorros were thought to have begun deliberately embalming their young after seeing how the corpses along the dessert were preserved by the natural environment.

The Chinchirro mummies that were purposefully preserved can be read at the previous instalment of this series. These artificial mummies were traced back to 5000BCE, but the natural ones precede that by two millennia, all the way back to 7020 BCE. 

Northern Chile is filled with nitrate-rich soil and has a climate of high aridity. This meant that the salt prevented the growth of bacteria while the high temperatures evaporated any liquid. With these two elements arrested, decay was therefore halted and thus the early cadaver of the Chinchirro people were thus naturally mummified.

Bog Bodies: Proof that Europe had Mummies too

Bogs are a sort of wetland that consists of partially decayed plant matter or vegetation called peat. This is typically found in northern Europe as their cooler climates create the necessary conditions to form a bog; developing in poorly drained lake basins created by glaciers during the most recent ice age, in a process spanning thousands of years. 

Bog bodies are remains that have naturally been preserved through being submerged in peat bogs. The mummification process was enabled by the unique physical and biochemical composition of the bogs. Low temperatures, highly acidic and anaerobic conditions lead to the preservation of materials such as skin, hair, nails and clothing that all contain keratin. Unlike other mummies, where the bones are typically the most durable and lasting remains, bog bodies typically have their skin intact. Calcium phosphate—which is what forms the bones— had disintegrated as a result of the high acidity of the peat. 

Their skin, while well preserved, has darkened considerably from the fairer Northern European complexion, setting them apart from other mummies.

Inca Ice Mummies; Revealed the Rituals of Child Sacrifice

Chile and Argentina share one of the world’s longest international borders, so much so that they also share the Atacama Desert. At its most serrated, this desert lies in Chile. Volcán Llullaillaco, which is situated within the Atacama Desert, however, is found in Argentina.

It is at this summit where the famous La Doncella, believed to have been roughly fifteen—and her less renowned younger counterparts— were found in 1999. They were naturally preserved due to the frigid conditions of the 6,739-metre summit. La Doncella, due to how she was found in a sitting position drew mass attention to herself. She merely looked like she was hugging herself in her sleep and not at all like she had been dead for over five centuries. 

Another mummy known as Juanita was found earlier in 1995 but in Mount Ampato, southern Peru by the same anthropologist Johan Reinhard. Juanita was comparatively worse for wear than La Doncella. Analysis of both, particularly the latter allowed researchers to paint a clearer picture of the lives under the Inca Empire.  

The secret was in their hair. Chemical analysis revealed the diets they had, which showed a drastic change in the months leading up to their deaths. In their final months, these children began consuming copious amounts of coca and alcohol, which researchers said signalled a preparation for ritualistic sacrifice. Further investigations into the environment in which they were found also thus revealed a probable reason the children was immolated: a volcanic eruption that devastated the village, leading the people to think that the gods required a tribute for life to return to normal.

Sokushinbutsu: Mummification While Alive…and also the Most Modern!

While the aforementioned cases of embalming are largely environmental and even accidental, this example was more deliberate. Yet, unlike the embalming methods we are used to, sokushinbutsu does use chemicals to treat the body. This Japan’s climate does not naturally create an environment that is favourable for mummification. None of the Buddhist countries that these mummies were found in was. However, that has not stopped countless monks from attempting— with few ever succeeding— all the while they are still alive.

Monks have an exemplary dedication and this had never been demonstrated as much as it is in sokushinbutsu. Each cycle last a thousand days, where these men would reduce their food intake. Over time, their appetites would shrink, requiring less and less sustenance. This process is called mokujikigyō, or literally ‘tree-eating training’. Monks would only eat things that could be foraged, including nuts, buds, berries, roots and even tree bark. 

After the first cycle, though monks typically complete two to three, food will completely be cut out from their diet. They would sustain themselves solely through salinised liquid. By starving themselves, their body mass would shrink allowing for the smallest possible “body surface” for decomposition. The salinised liquid also served to dehydrate the body, making it non-hospitable to bacteria, so as to arrest decay once the monk has passed. 

The devout would then have his body lowered into a pit in a pine box. A bamboo contraption would allow some air to flow in even after the disciples packed charcoal to bury their master alive. Periodically, the monk would ring a bell to signal that he was still breathing. If the bell were to stop, it would mean that the monk has passed and for the disciples to remove the bamboo contraption and seal the tomb.

Only a thousand days later will the corpse be disinterred to check for successful sokushinbutsu. Few ever succeed and this practice has been discontinued due to how barbaric it is.

Those interested in reading further about embalming may do so at our article here, which localises embalming within the local context, as well as delves into what being an embalmer, is like at Serenity.