Mummies usually happen naturally due to unusual conditions or when people mummify them to commemorate them by. The English word mummy' was derived from the Latin mumia', a borrowing of the Arabic word mumiyyah' which means bitumen. Bitumen is a black tar like form of petroleum. During that time, as the mummies had blackened skin, bitumen was thought to have been used in the ancient Egyptian embalming procedures. Thus, the name mummy was derived.

When we say mummies, we usually tend to think of Egyptian mummies or things to do with Egypt. But did you know? They're not the first people who started the practice of mummification. The Chinchorros may well have been the first people to practice mummification.

Their mummies were mainly found near the border of present Chile and Peru along the Pacific Coast. They began preserving their dead about 7000 years ago which were around 5000 BC! They reached their peak around only 3000 BC which was around the same time that the Egyptians started experimenting with mummification.According to Dr. Bernardo Arriaza, who is an associated professor of physical anthropology at University of Nevada in Las Vegas as well as an assistant researcher at Universidad de Tarapaca, in Arica, Chile, about 282 Chinchorro mummies have been found. A little more than half of them were mummified artificially. The rest were mummified accidentally in the dry coastal climate.

Chinchorro mummies are special. Many would of course be thinking what's so special about them. Well, they are the oldest human made mummies in the world so far. This alone makes it very special.

But it's not only because of this. From the two common methods, two types of mummies were made: black and red mummies. During the periods when these black and red mummies were made, everyone who died appeared to have been mummified, leading to the conclusion that mummification was not reserved for those of high status.

Also, their mummies were unique for their artistic craftsmanship. The bodies were changed into statue like figures with either bright red or shiny black colors.

Lastly, the fact that the Chinchorro's fascination for the dead lasted for so long, around 3000 years, is most surprising.

Through advanced modern techniques, we can infer that their main source of food was maritime subsistence. They also had high rates of infant mortality. They had ear irritations and infections most likely due to fishing in the cold waters. They suffered from parasitic infections due to poorly cooked fish. It was also found that many of them engaged in interpersonal fights. They had a lot of fractures and broken noses.

There are some differences between Chinchorro mummies and Egyptian mummies. Firstly, the Egyptians hid their dead. If you notice, their mummies are usually buried under the pyramids whereas, the Chinchorros embraced them. From one of the mummies found, the face seemed to have been painted a number of times leading to the conclusion that their mummies had been displayed for a long time. Also, it seemed that their mummies were made to feast with the living.

Secondly, the Egyptian mummification revolved around prestige, wealth and power. Most of their mummies found were either pharaohs or of high social status. In contrat, Chinchorro mummification spun around a democratic and humanitarian view of the dead as everyone was mummified, even the fetuses.

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