Unravelling the mysteries of mummification
Although mummies are a cornerstone of archaeology, archaeologists know surprisingly little about pre-burial mummification. “The way human remains are treated before their final deposition is difficult to detect,” says Eline Schotsmans, a Marie Skłodowska-Curie research fellow at the University of Bordeaux in France. As Schotsmans explains, this is because after thousands of years, most preserved soft tissue disappears. “Because the archaeological record only shows the final deposition of human remains, mortuary practices are often not considered as a dynamic process that consists of several stages happening over a length of time,” she adds. While several methods are being used for detecting pre-burial mummification, none have been properly validated. But with the support of the EU-funded ArchFarm project, Schotsmans set out to change this. And to do so, she headed to a body farm in Australia.
Messages from beyond the grave
As one of only a few archaeologists working at a taphonomy facility, known to the general public as a ‘body farm’, and leveraging the fundamentals of forensic science, Schotsmans’ field work was a bit of a novelty within the world of archaeology. “Mortuary treatment of the dead provides insights into human behaviour, social organisation, and ideology of past societies, so it is important that we do a proper analysis of mortuary treatment if we want to understand a society,” remarks Schotsmans. Schotsmans’ experiments focused on Neolithic Near Eastern burials and mortuary sequences and were carried out at the Australian Facility for Taphonomic Experimental Research (AFTER). According to Schotsmans, this work resulted in better insights into the processes of natural mummification. For example, the researchers demonstrated that mummies, like all humans, go through the standard phases of decomposition, from bloating to heavy putrefaction and purging of decompositional fluids. “A person cannot go from flesh and blood to being a mummy without first losing moisture and fluids,” explains Schotsmans. “It is therefore a misunderstanding that putrefaction is stopped or does not take place in mummies.” Researchers also identified airflow and evaporation as being key factors in the mummification process. “People often think that one needs dry conditions, but daily rain with a lot of wind can also create mummies,” says Schotsmans. “We managed to achieve the best mummy during Australia’s rainy season, when there was daily rain but high temperatures and good air flow.”
The dead and the decaying
Schotsmans’ research clearly shows that a thorough archaeo-anthropological analysis cannot be done without studying the depositional environment and understanding the process of decomposition. “Many archaeo-anthropologists have never been confronted with a dead or decaying body,” she says. “But without understanding decomposition and factors that influence decay, it is extremely difficult to analyse skeletal remains and interpret mortuary practices.” While it may seem straightforward, Schotsmans says that the most important message from this project is not to apply methods too rigidly without critical reflection. “Hypotheses and interpretations should be treated with caution and validated,” she concludes. “Experimental approaches are a valuable complement to archaeological and anthropological research.” Schotsmans’ research is featured in a book on archaeothanatology, which she co-edited with researcher Christopher Knüsel. She will also continue her experiments in Australia, thanks to a grant from the Australian Research Council.
Keywords
ArchFarm, mummification, mortuary practices, archaeologists, body farm, mummies, archaeology, taphonomy, forensic science, mummy, archaeothanatology