Photo: #Doctors set up tents to embalm the bodies of dead soldiers. This picture shows an embalming facility at Camp Letterman, Gettysburg, in 1863.
Photo: #This 19th century illustration depicts ancient Egyptians preserving a body through mummification. Egypt is credited with being the land where embalming began. Between 6000 B.C. and A.D. 600, approximately 400 million bodies were mummified.
Photo: #Anubis was an ancient Egyptian god who was said to protect the spirits of the dead. He was also known as the God of Embalming.
Photo: #Modern embalming got its start during the Civil War. The bodies of those killed in battle were preserved so they could be shipped home for proper family funerals.
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Modern embalming got its start during the Civil War. The bodies of those killed in battle were preserved so they could be shipped home for proper family funerals. (Library of Congress)
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Death Becomes Us

Throughout history, civilizations have developed ways to deal with and honor the dead. From embalming to cremation, funeral services to burial ceremonies, the rituals of death tell us a lot about the living. What do our customs say about our society? And how do our practices shape the way we view our final fate?

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Death Becomes Us

How embalming changed death

by Nikki Tundel, Minnesota Public Radio
May 21, 2007

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Embalming enables the deceased to look as good in death as they did in life. And that's completely altered the scope of the funeral industry.

St. Paul, Minn. — The Babylonians preserved their dead by putting them in jars of honey. The Egyptians perfected mummification. And the deceased British admiral Lord Nelson was placed in a cask of brandy.

Throughout history, societies have sought ways preserve the human body. Reporter Nikki Tundel takes a look at how embalming shaped the way we view death.

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