The name alone invokes a senso of fear. But what is a mummy? When a human's soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional (anthropogenic) or accidental (spontaneous) exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, the recovered body does not decay further if kept in cool and dry conditions. Self-mummification was practiced until the late 1800s in Japan where monks whose bodies remain... see more