Most people believe mummies are from Egypt, wrapped in bandages and buried deep inside a
             pyramid. Egyptian mummies are the most familiar to the majority ,however, mummies have been
             found in many places around the world such as Greenland, China and the Andes Mountains and
             are not always deliberately mummified. Although there are many varieties, Egyptian and Peruvian
             mummies will be the topic of this paper.
             A mummy is a body of a person or animal that has been preserved after death. Normally when
             someone or something dies most of it decomposes leaving only a skeleton. Bacteria and water
             are needed for decomposition to occur. Mummification usually results when circumstances do
             not allow this process to begin and instead the body dries out quickly, usually preserving the body
             well enough that the features of the living being can almost be discernible.
             Mummies were formed naturally and by embalming. The Egyptians, believing that death was
             the beginning of a new life in another world, also believed a body was needed at that time.
             Therefore by purposeful preparation, (embalming) the body was preserved. The necessary steps
             involved in the preservation process begin with the internal organs being removed, mummified
             and put in canopic jars and kept with the mummy. Then the body was packed and covered with
             natron (a salty substance) and left for approximately fifty days and then filled with resin to restore
             the shape of the dead person and lastly it was tightly wrapped in many layers of linen and covered
             with good luck charms. After the wrapping was complete the body was put in a shroud. The
             Egypt, at one time, was one of the most advanced civilizations on Earth, having developed the
             technology needed to build pyramids that were set aside for the burials of the nobles, officials and
             occasionally , but rarely, common people who could afford the significant cost. The prominent
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