Mummies of Guanajuato

Common card · No. 283761

The Mummies of Guanajuato are a collection of naturally mummified human remains from Guanajuato City, Mexico. Most were exhumed from the Pantheon of Santa Paula municipal cemetery between 1865 and 1958 after annual burial fees were not renewed. Their exceptional state of preservation led to the creation of the Museum of the Mummies of Guanajuato, where the collection has become a major tourist attraction and a subject of archaeological, forensic and conservation research. Although the bodies were long regarded as examples of natural mummification produced by the local burial environment, scientific studies have found evidence that some were at least partially embalmed. The museum, established in 1969 beside the cemetery, holds 111 mummies, including men, women, children and infants; as of 2007, 59 were on public display.

Read on Wikipedia · Image Russ Bowling, CC BY 2.0