Human Decomposition: Its Stages and Progress Before or During the Mummification Process

Natural mummification is a process that stops or delays human decomposition, especially in a dry environ­ment as in Egypt. The factors that influence the rate of the decomposition are mostly the external ones. Anthro­pogenic mummification is a human–made effort to prepare the dead for an afterlife. Often things were going wrong and tissues were destroyed, accidentally or intentionally, before, during and after the mummification process. The ancient embalmers found some interesting ways to preserve the body and give a lifelike appea­rance to the dead. In this short review paper we discuss all this, with emphasis in the process of putrefaction.