More than 6,500 years ago in what is now Peru, the short and fragile life of a tiny baby came to an end. The child, who was no older than 10 months, suffered from a severe heart defect and growth complications. Battling illness, the baby contracted pneumonia, which led to circulatory failure, ultimately causing its death. Wrapped carefully in linen and adorned with an amulet around its neck, the infant was laid to rest—a testament to ancient burial customs and the reverence for the dead.
This remarkably preserved mummy, known as the Detmold Child, is now set to be featured in the world’s largest exhibition of mummies. Mummies of the World, an extraordinary showcase of 45 mummies and 95 artifacts from 15 museums across seven countries, opens today at the California Science Center. The exhibition aims to shed light on both the science and the mystery surrounding mummies, offering a glimpse into the lives and deaths of people from vastly different cultures and time periods.
The Detmold Child, originating from Peru and dating back to between 4504 and 4457 BC, is among the most astonishing examples of natural mummification ever discovered. This ancient infant, whose tiny body has been preserved for millennia, is on loan from the Lippisches Landesmuseum in Detmold, Germany. Alongside this Peruvian child, the exhibition will showcase an array of other mummies, each with its own fascinating story to tell.
One of the most intriguing finds is the Orlovits family, a group of mummies discovered in 1994 in a long-forgotten church crypt in Vac, Hungary. The exceptionally preserved remains provide invaluable insight into 18th-century burial customs and the lives of Hungarian families during that period. Another striking exhibit features Baron von Holz, a nobleman from the 17th century who is believed to have perished during the Thirty Years’ War in Sommersdorf, Germany.
The collection includes mummies that were both naturally preserved and those intentionally mummified through ancient practices. Among them is a South American woman adorned with tattoos—one on each breast and another on her face—a rare discovery that raises intriguing questions about the role of body art in her culture. Also on display is a woman who had tuberculosis, a child afflicted with a congenital heart condition, and a young individual with a facial tumor.
Heather Gill-Frerking, an anthropologist and forensic archaeologist involved in the project, emphasizes that mummies often present as many questions as they do answers. The study of these preserved bodies provides a unique perspective on ancient diseases, health conditions, and burial customs, yet mysteries remain about their lives and deaths.
One particularly puzzling case is that of an Egyptian woman whose arms are crossed over her chest in a posture typically associated with royalty. What makes her case unique is that, through noninvasive tests, researchers discovered that each of her clenched fists contained a tiny child’s tooth. The reason behind this remains unclear. Another Egyptian mummy was found to have multiple teeth placed inside a head cavity, leading experts to theorize that in ancient Egyptian beliefs, one needed a complete body to enter the afterlife—perhaps these were his own teeth, intentionally returned to his remains.
The process of preparing the mummies for exhibition involved extensive scientific testing. Researchers conducted CT scans, X-rays, radiocarbon dating, MRI analyses, mass spectrometry, isotope studies, and DNA testing. These examinations have provided remarkable insights into the lives of individuals from diverse cultures and time periods, revealing medical conditions, causes of death, and even dietary habits.
One of the featured Egyptian mummies dates back to approximately 408 BC, providing an extraordinary window into ancient Egyptian life. Yet the exhibition extends beyond human remains—animal mummies are also on display, including a bog-preserved dog, a lizard, a fish, a rat, a hyena, a cat, a squirrel, a falcon, and even a howler monkey from Argentina. These specimens further illustrate the widespread and varied practice of mummification across different civilizations.
The Mummies of the World exhibit is based on research from the German Mummy Project, a team of experts from 15 European institutions led by the Reiss-Engelhorn Museums in Mannheim, Germany. The project’s work aims to deepen our understanding of mummification processes, both natural and artificial, and to uncover new insights into the daily lives of ancient people.
Curiosity and a fascination with history are expected to draw record-breaking crowds to the exhibition. Visitors will have the opportunity to explore multimedia displays that offer a hands-on experience—such as feeling what a mummy’s texture is like, examining a mummified tooth under a microscope, and viewing detailed 3D body scans.
As Gill-Frerking explains, people often ask unexpected questions when faced with ancient human remains. “Did children go to school 5,000 years ago? Maybe. Possibly. But not in the way we think about it today,” she says. The fascination with ancient lives remains strong, but many of the questions people ask—especially those concerning DNA testing—do not always yield clear-cut answers. “People expect DNA to solve every mystery, like it does on ‘CSI,’” she adds, “but with ancient mummies, it’s not that simple. The process can be destructive, and even when it works, it doesn’t always provide definitive answers.”
Despite advances in modern technology, some secrets will forever remain buried with the mummies. A striking example is the case of the South American woman with tattoos—her inked designs consist of ovals containing small circles, an unmistakable symbol with an unknown meaning. “It clearly had a purpose,” Gill-Frerking speculates, “but we may never truly understand what it meant.”
Following its debut in California, Mummies of the World is set to embark on a three-year tour across the United States, bringing the mystery and history of mummification to a wider audience. From an adult male mummy preserved in the arid sands of the Pre-Columbian Atacama Desert in Chile to an enigmatic 13th-century female mummy from Peru, the exhibition promises to captivate and educate visitors with its extraordinary collection.
In the end, these mummies serve as more than just relics of the past; they are silent witnesses to history, carrying with them stories of survival, disease, rituals, and beliefs that shaped civilizations long before our time. As we study them, we gain a deeper appreciation of humanity’s enduring quest to understand life—and death.
