Mummies: Images of the Afterlife, The Field Museum’s newest special exhibition, uses modern technologies to take an unparalleled look at the remains of the ancient people within the wrappings.
Comprised entirely of objects from The Field’s own collection, the exhibition includes 14 mummies, exquisitely painted coffins, stone sarcophagus fragments, ceramics, mummified animals, and mummy masks. Using non-invasive CT scanning, DNA analysis, and other cutting-edge technologies, Field Museum scientists pare back thousands of years and reveal the people behind gilded coffins and carefully wrapped bundles. Scans of the intricately wrapped “Gilded Lady” mummy of ancient Egypt reveal small details that show us what she looked like.
Visitors will also be able to virtually explore the contents of never-opened Peruvian mummy bundles to discover the individuals within: children, mothers, and the objects their families lovingly buried with them. Each story uncovered paints a picture of people from a different time.
The exhibition will be available with the purchase of a Discovery or All-Access pass from March 16, 2018 through April 21, 2019.
