Embalming
The Chinchorro culture in the Atacama desert of present-day Chile and Peru performed artificial mummification as early as 5000 to 6000 BCE. This practice predates Egyptian methods by thousands of years, yet remains largely unknown outside specialized archaeological circles. Evidence of embalming practices in Egypt dates back to at least 3500 BCE, evolving into a standardized ritual during the dynastic period. Ancient Egyptians believed that mummification enabled the soul to return to the preserved corpse after death. The process involved removing organs, ridding the body of moisture, and covering it with natron, a mixture of desiccating salts found naturally in the Wadi El Natrun west of the Nile Delta.
Other cultures known to have used embalming techniques include the Meroites, Guanches, Peruvians, Jivaro Indians, Aztecs, Toltecs, Mayans, and Tibetan and southern Nigerian tribes. In China, artificially preserved remains recovered from the Han dynasty (206 BCE, 220 CE) show extraordinary preservation quality, though the specific fluids and methods remain unknown. The earliest known evidence of artificial preservation in Europe was found in Osorno, Spain, where approximately 5000-year-old human bones were covered in cinnabar for preservation. Embalming remained unusual in Europe up to the time of the Roman Empire.
William Hunter, a Scottish surgeon, became the first to apply arterial injection methods to mortuary practice in the late 18th century. He wrote a widely read report on appropriate methods for arterial and cavity embalming to preserve bodies for burial. His brother John Hunter applied these methods and advertised his services to the general public from the mid-18th century. One of their more notorious clients was dentist Martin Van Butchell, who had his wife Mary embalmed after she died on the 14th of January 1775 as an attraction to draw customers.
Butchell injected the body with preservatives and color additives that gave a glow to the corpse's cheeks, replaced her eyes with glass eyes, and dressed her in fine lace. The body was embedded in plaster of Paris inside a glass-topped coffin and exhibited in his home window. Londoners came to see it, but Butchell drew criticism for the display. A rumor claimed his wife's marriage certificate specified he would control her estate only while her body remained unburied. Interest in embalming grew steadily through the 19th century for sentimental reasons, as families wished to bury loved ones at far-off locations made possible by railways.
Embalming became common in the United States during the American Civil War when servicemen often died far from home. Dr Thomas Holmes received a commission from the Army Medical Corps to embalm dead Union officers so they could be returned to their families. Military authorities permitted private embalmers to work in military-controlled areas. The passage of Abraham Lincoln's body home for burial was made possible by embalming, bringing wider public attention to its possibilities.
The period from about 1861 is sometimes known as the funeral period of embalming, marked by separation between undertakers' practices and anatomical wetting for medical purposes. Before this era, alternative methods like ice packing or cooling boards gradually lost ground to increasingly popular and effective techniques. By the mid-19th century, businessmen-undertakers began adopting embalming methods as standard practice. Until the early 20th century, fluids often contained arsenic until it was supplanted by more effective and less toxic chemicals. In 1855, Russian chemist Alexander Michailowitsch Butlerow discovered formaldehyde, which became the foundation for modern methods.
Modern embalming involves four distinct parts: arterial injection, cavity treatment, hypodermic injection, and surface application. Arterial embalming injects chemicals into blood vessels, usually via the right common carotid artery. Blood and interstitial fluids are displaced and expelled through the right jugular vein, collectively called drainage. The solution is injected with a centrifugal pump while the embalmer massages the body to break up circulatory clots. This process of raising vessels with injection and drainage from one location is known as single-point injection.
Cavity treatment refers to removing internal fluids using an aspirator and trocar. The embalmer makes a small incision just above the navel and pushes the trocar into abdominal and chest cavities. Hollow organs are punctured and their contents aspirated before filling them with concentrated chemicals containing formaldehyde. Hypodermic embalming supplements this by injecting chemicals directly into tissue where arterial fluid failed to distribute. Surface embalming preserves areas on the skin's surface or treats damage from accidents or decomposition. A typical procedure takes between two and four hours, though complex cases may require several days.
Most branches of Christianity allow embalming, though Eastern Orthodoxy sometimes bans it except when required by law. Members of the Bahá'í Faith are not embalmed; instead, bodies are washed and placed in cotton, linen, or silk shrouds. Traditional Jewish law forbids embalging entirely, requiring burial within 24 hours if possible. Embalming is not standard practice in Hinduism, where bodies are usually cremated quickly unless family members need time to travel.
In Islam, embalming is not practiced except for necessity like international transport. Muslims bury deceased without delay to allow the soul to transition to the afterlife as soon as possible. Buddhists generally do not favor embalming but it is not strictly prohibited in most traditions. Neopagans often discourage it, believing it unnatural to disrupt physical recycling to Earth. Zoroastrians hold sky burials in Towers of Silence where bodies are exposed to weathering and predation. The increasingly global nature of communities means embalming is frequently required either by law or common sense due to transportation delays.
Vladimir Lenin's body continues to draw crowds decades after his death in 1924, displayed in a Moscow mausoleum. Joseph Stalin was also embalmed and placed next to Lenin before being buried during de-Stalinization in 1961. Klement Gottwald of Czechoslovakia died five days after attending Stalin's funeral and was embalmed and displayed until removed in 1962. Bulgarian Georgi Dimitrov was embalmed and placed on display until his burial in 1990 following Communism's fall.
Abraham Lincoln was embalmed after his assassination in 1865. His eldest son Robert called for exhumation in 1901 to prevent theft, finding features still recognizable 36 years later. Rosalia Lombardo, who died at age one on the 6th of December 1920, remains perfectly intact in Palermo's Capuchin catacombs. Embalmed by Alfredo Salafia, she looks like a surreal doll in her glass case. Eva Perón was preserved by Dr Pedro Ara to appear sleep-like, showing no decomposition when interred years later. Diana, Princess of Wales, was embalmed shortly after her death in France in August 1997.
Common questions
When did the Chinchorro culture perform artificial mummification?
The Chinchorro culture performed artificial mummification as early as 5000 to 6000 BCE. This practice predates Egyptian methods by thousands of years and remains largely unknown outside specialized archaeological circles.
What fluids were used in ancient Egyptian embalming practices?
Ancient Egyptians covered bodies with natron, a mixture of desiccating salts found naturally in the Wadi El Natrun west of the Nile Delta. The process involved removing organs and ridding the body of moisture before applying these salts.
Who invented arterial injection methods for mortuary practice?
William Hunter became the first to apply arterial injection methods to mortuary practice in the late 18th century. He wrote a widely read report on appropriate methods for arterial and cavity embalming to preserve bodies for burial.
Why was embalming common during the American Civil War?
Embalming became common in the United States during the American Civil War when servicemen often died far from home. Dr Thomas Holmes received a commission from the Army Medical Corps to embalm dead Union officers so they could be returned to their families.
Which religious groups forbid or discourage embalming?
Traditional Jewish law forbids embalming entirely, requiring burial within 24 hours if possible. Members of the Bahá'í Faith are not embalmed, and Muslims bury deceased without delay to allow the soul to transition to the afterlife as soon as possible.