Mummies are dead humans or animals whose skin and organs have been preserved by deliberate or unintentional exposure to chemicals, extremely cold humidity, extremely low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay again if stored under cold and dry condition. Some authorities restrict the use of the term for intentional deliberate intentions with chemicals, but the use of words to accidentally unintentionally turn back to at least 1615 AD.
Human mummies and other animals have been found on every continent, both as a result of natural preservation through extraordinary circumstances, and as cultural artifacts. More than a million mummies have been found in Egypt, mostly cats. Many Egyptian animal mummies are sacred ibis, and radiocarbon dates show the Egyptian Baby mummies that have been analyzed from time frames that fall between 450 and 250 BC.
In addition to the famous mummified Egyptian mummification, intentional mummification is a feature of some ancient cultures in the Americas and Asia regions with very dry climates. Mummy Cave Fallon, Nevada in North America has exactly dated over 9,400 years. Prior to this discovery, the oldest mummy known was a child, one of the Chinchorro mummies found in the Chilean Camarones Valley, which is about 5050 BC. The mysterious known dead man's body is the disconnected head of the 6000-year-old found in 1936 AD on the site called Inca Cueva No. 4 in South America.
