User blog comment:PullingoffMasks/How to do your fucking research/@comment-9340689-20140127014502/@comment-11170851-20140127223942

'cause I can't figure out how the fuck to quote:

...The later trotting would probably happen as a result of the mummified corpses being exposed to moisture, and thus are no longer dehydrated (Ossmosis perhaps?) 

If a mummy becomes moist again, it is possible for it to start rotting....

This response is largely me being pedantic, given that decompostion/decay is my area of research (at a much higher level than primary/secondary school social studies).

First of all, mummy is a HUGE ass category that is not exclusive to the stereotypical Dynastic Egyptian song and dance routine. Incans used to practice a form of it (read this article for a brief explaination.), as did the Shingon priests (of a specific Japanese Buddhist sect) (read about it here.)

Yes, a decomposing Dynastic EGYPTIAN mummy was poorly prepared, but there is no way in HELL that an individual mummified by the Egyptian method would have had the features of life preserved.

You know why?

'Cause the moment you dessicate a human corpse is the moment you start losing 'life' features. You lose the eyes, which present a large portion of identification. You lose the shape of the lips, the cheeks, the nose.

Add to that the Eygptians removed most of the organs that provide shape to the abdominal cavity, and you're looking at an individual who is something like what they once were. But aren't at all.

Then add to that the fact that the bandages were further soaked in a preservative and practically glued to the body (including the face), meaning you're obscuring whatever little is left of that individual.

You're also forgetting that, prior to this whole rigmarole, pre-Dynastic Egyptians used to just bury their high status dead in sand tomb, thus letting the individuals naturally dessicate.

Osmosis ONLY occurs in living cells. Once the tissue is dead, it cannot engage in the process of passing disolved solids and water through the cell membrane.

I'll do some more research, but I believe breakdown of Dynastic Egyptian mummies once exposed is more to do with a suite of variables (moisture being one) than just exposure to excess moisture.

(As, well, UV is a damned powerful destroyer, as is the act of handling something without gloves on, etc.)