Mummy is an embalmed body that has been preserved for thousands of years. The ancient Egyptians believed that the dead lived on in the next world, and that their bodies had to be preserved forever as they were in life. They believed that the body would serve a person in the next world and therefore spent much effort in developing methods of embalming. Thousands of years later, archaeologists found the preserved bodies in tombs. Many museums have one or more Egyptian mummies. The most famous are probably those of Ramses II and Tutankhamen, who were pharaohs (rulers) of Egypt.

Scientists now know what materials and processes the Egyptians used to mummify bodies. The process was simple when mummifying began, and gradually became more elaborate. Wealthy persons could afford a more expensive treatment than the poor. Ancient texts state that a complete treatment required 70 days. Embalmers removed the brain through a nostril by using a hook. They removed the internal organs, except the heart and kidneys, through an incision such as a surgeon makes. They usually filled the empty abdomen with linen pads, and sometimes with sawdust. Then they placed the body in natron (sodium carbonate) until the tissues were dried out. Finally, they wrapped the body carefully in many layers of linen bandages and placed it in a coffin. Sometimes there were two or more coffins, one inside the other. The coffins were made of wood or stone, and were either rectangular or shaped like the wrapped mummy. The mummy in its coffin was then placed in a tomb, along with many objects of daily use. The ancient Egyptians believed that the dead would need this equipment in the next world.

The dry climate in some parts of the world, such as Peru, Mexico, and Egypt, preserves dead bodies almost as well as Egyptian embalming methods did. Such naturally preserved bodies are sometimes called mummies also. The word mummy comes from mumiya, an Arabic word for embalmed body.