Why can't I buy a mummy.

I sent an email with this question but I don’t know if I will recieve and awnser or not so I’ll post it to y’all here too…
I was browsing past articles and found an article titled “Do Egyptians burn mummies as fuel?” (http://www.straightdope.com/columns/020222.html) In the article it was hinted at that there were massive numbers of mummies just laying around doing nothing, and remembering that in the past, during Victorian times, it was all the rage to have a “mummy unwrapping party,” I’ve decided that I would like to obtain a mummy and unwrap it for my own edification. After some extensive searching online I’ve discovered that it is almost impossible to obtain a mummy with two exceptions; you run a museum and you buy one for the purpose of exhibiting it, or secondly, (which I can’t verify is even still done)
you win one at an art auction. After emailing several Egyptian importers I received one reply telling me basically that it was in some way illegal to buy sell or import human remains. The email didn’t specify if this was Egyptian law or U.S. law. So my questions are this. Why can’t I buy a mummy? Is it illegal to traffic in human remains, or has the Egyptian government established a law prohibiting the trade of mummies? Oh, and one other question of little importance; What constitutes human remains, are fossilized bones of homo sapiens still human remains?

In “some way illegal”? In every possible way illegal. The Egyptian government has imposed extremely strong antiquities laws, very much because they feel that so much of their heritage was looted by Europeans in the 19th and early 20th centuries. U.S. law reciprocates this on the importing end. I’m pretty sure that every country in the world today has very similar laws on the books. Same goes for ordinary human remains.

I’m not sure if there is a site in Egypt that contains fossilized human remains, but no matter where they are found even stronger and more stringent laws apply to them.

OK, then how about making your own? Is there some law against mummifying someone in this country(assuming they are dead and have given prior consent)?

Each state has different laws concerning disposition of dead bodies. kiokigeisha is welcome to do the research.

I’m not interested in making my own mummy so I think I’ll pass on doing that research.
I hope my question doesn’t strike anyone as ghoulish or morbid that’s not my intent. I guess because of my personal belief system I don’t understand the reverence for human remains. I’m sure a lot of people would say something to the effect of, “Would you want someone buying your dead body and playing with it?” I can honestly say that no, I wouldn’t mind, infact I plan on having my remains donated to science because I believe that what’s left of my mortal self after I die is not me.
I’m not looking for relics or treasure of any sort, and I agree with the laws pertaining to the selling and trading of these items. I guess it would seem callus, to some, if I say that I consider human remains in the same way some consider leather or furs. I just didn’t expect that my thinking on the subject was singular. So I guess the answer to my question is that the Egyptian and American authorities consider the mummified remains of ancient Egyptians it be relics of some sort and it is illegal to buy sell or import them. Thanks for answering my question and rest assured that I am not going to do anything illegal, even if I don’t agree.

There are lots of other mummies that don’t contain human remains. For instance there are millions of cat and falcon mummies. I don’t know if you can IMPORT those either.

You could probably more easily buy a mummy that is already legally in your country rather than import one from Egypt. But I would bet that there are a lot fewer restrictions on buying non-human mummies.
Does that help?

kiokigeisha, you’re confusing two different issues. There certainly is intense reverence for human remains in almost every belief system.

But there is also the issue of antiquities being taken out of their original countries. These antiquities don’t have to be human remains. they can be sculpture, or vases, or rings, or clothing, or anything at all. Most countries were so looted by Europeans of the past that they don’t want anything old ever leaving their control again. Especially given the irreverant way they were handled in the past. In fact, they are trying to get back as much as possible even from museums.

You’ve stepped into one of the sorest subjects on the planet with both feet.

Check out some of the websites concerning this controversy. This one on the return of the Elgin Marbles to Greece is a good place to start for a measure of the feelings that have been stirred.

it would bring new meaning to: I have me mum’s eyes. :eek:

He didn’t say that there wasn’t. He simply stated that his belief system was not aligned with those systems.

Although you are probably correct about antiquities, as far as I know there are no particular restrictions on the purchase or possession of ordinary human remains as anatomical specimens, which are for example available for purchase here.