The Mummy Congress: Science, Obsession and the Everlasting Dead

(Paperback)

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From the dusty origins of mummification in the deserts of South America and Africa to the latest technology hyped on the Internet by Utah's Summum Corporation (which promises mummification for millennia for a mere $62,000), "The Mummy Congress" investigates the allure of mummies. In 1998, ather Pringle visited the remote Chilean port of Arica for The World Congress on Mummy Studies. This book introduces us to the eccentric world of the researchers and academics who investigate such phenomena as the child mummies of the Chinchorro, preserved over 7000 years ago, animal mummies from Ancient Eygpt, the 19th-century Buddhist tradition of self-mummification to ward off decay, and the political mummification of 20th-century demagogues like Lenin and Eva Peron. Pringle also looks at the uses of mummies for today's historians and scientists and how much they tell us about ancient cultures. This research is sometimes bizarre, but often reveals fundamental truths.

Reviews

'Guaranteed to fascinate and entertain.' Anthony Sattin, Sunday Times

'The Mummy Congress is wide ranging in every sense. Heather Pringle's lively prose takes us across the centuries, across the globe, and across scientific disciplines. Bringing to life the study of mummies, she introduces us to the scholars of desiccated flesh: the Egyptologists, pathologists and archaeologists who gather at the "world mummy congress" with which she begins and ends her enthralling book.' Jonathan Sale, Independent

'Heather Pringle takes care to tell you the icky things you really wanted to know, while eloquently touring the world of present-day mummy studies.' Francis Spufford, Evening Standard

'Highly entertaining. From Chile to China, The Mummy Congress zips around the world and is far more lively than a book about dead people has any right to be.' Doug Johnstone, Scotland on Sunday

Author Bio

Heather Pringle is a journalist and author who has written on archaeology and ancient cultures in numerous magazines including Discover, National Geographic Traveler, New Scientist, Science and Geo. In January 2002, she won the American Association for the Advancement of Science Award for Magazine Journalism. She is the author of three books, including The Mummy Congress. She lives in Vancouver, Canada.