Mummification in Korea and China: Mawangdui, Song, Ming and Joseon Dynasty Mummies

Abstract

Over the decades, mummy studies have expanded to reconstruct a multifaceted knowledge about the ancient populations' living conditions, pathologies, and possible cause of death in different spatiotemporal contexts. Mainly due to linguistic barriers, however, the international knowledge of East Asian mummies has remained sketchy until recently. We thus analyse and summarize the outcomes of the studies so far performed in Korea and China in order to provide mummy experts with little-known data on East Asian mummies. In this report, similarities and differences in the mummification processes and funerary rituals in Korea and China are highlighted. Although the historical periods, the region of excavation, and the structures of the graves differ, the cultural aspects, the mechanisms of mummification, and biological evidence appear to be essentially similar to each other. Independently from the way they are called locally, the Korean and Chinese mummies belong to the same group with a shared cultural background.

Figure 1

Mummies of China and Korea in the historical frame. There are two peaks in the discovery of Chinese mummies. The first peak (shaded in blue) corresponds to the Warring States (402-221 BCE) and Western Han Periods (202-8 BCE); the second peak (shaded in brown) dates to the Song (960-1279 CE) and Ming Dynasties (1368-1644 CE). The box shaded in green indicates the South Korean mummies of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910 CE).

Figure 2

Perfectly preserved Korean mummies (Gangneung). (a) Skin and hair were intact. (b) Mummified intestines were perfectly preserved.

Figure 3

(a) and (b) An example of complete lime soil mixture (LSM) sealing around the coffin (Cf) of Joseon grave discovered at the Hadong archaeological site, South Korea. (c) Perfectly preserved coffin wood.

Figure 4

Clothing wrapped around the Korean mummy was found inside the Joseon grave (SN1-2).

Figure 5

Tomb structures: (a) Korean Hoegwakmyo of Joseon Dynasty [39]; (b) the sticky rice paste (or soup) sealed tomb of Song-and-Ming Dynasty, China [40]; (c) Mawangdui grave of Western Han Dynasty [41]. Kaolin clay in (c) possibly played the role of sealant performed by the lime soil mixtures in (a) and (b). The figures herewith were redrawn based on the previous reports about Hoegwakmyo [39], Song-and-Ming Dynasty tomb [40], and Mawangdui grave [41].