Discovery Channel - Mummies Around the World (2003)

Mortality and death have always fascinated humankind. Civilizations from all over the world have practiced mummification as a means of preserving life after death–a ritual which captures the imagination of scientists, artists, and public alike. For nearly everyone the words "pyramids" and "mummies" evoke images of ancient Egypt. Yet those intriguing cultural artifacts are by no means unique to the Land of the Pharoahs. As this collection vividly demonstrates, they are found around the world, including the Americas. Indeed, the oldest mummies in the world, and some of the most sophisticated anywhere, come not from the Nile Valley but from the Atacama Desert in Chile. Mummies have always been with us, and today we turn to them with ever more advanced and refined methods and learning their deep secrets.

Part 1: Mystery of the Black Mummy
Five thousand four hundred years ago, a two-year-old black boy had been buried under a rock shelter. His body was carefully eviscerated and prepared for mummification, then lovingly wrapped in antelope skin. He was the oldest mummy ever found in Africa and until he was unearthed, everyone thought the Egyptians had invented mummification in Africa. After discovering the oldest mummy ever found in Africa, a group of archaeologists set out quest that spanned almost 50 years. They searched throughout the continent for clues about who could have buried it–and why it was found 1,000 miles away from Egypt, the civilization previously thought to be the first to mummify their dead. Their trail lead them to a long lost African culture that had influenced the development of ancient Egypt in ways which no one had ever thought possible.

Part 2: Desert Mummies of Peru
A team of archaeogists led by Dr. Sonia Guillen excavates the first unlooted burial site ever found belonging to the Chiribaya, a Peruvian people who thrived from 950-1350AD, just before the rise of the Inca. The team hopes to unearth up to three tombs a day and a total of 60-70 over the course of digging season. The mummies of the Chiribaya are every bit a spectacular as the ones Johann Reinhardt regularly uncover from the high Andes, and they have never before been filmed for television. The excavators expect to find gold jewelry and artifacts, fine textiles with patterns worthy of Picasso, and the mummies of dogs and llamas. The Chiribaya bred a kind of llama that produced wool of finer quality than any found in South America today. In addition, scientists will try to determine why this breed of llama no longer exists.

Part 3: Mummies that Made Themselves
Travel to the remote mountains of Northern Japan to learn how Shingon Buddhist monks mummified their own bodies.
Hidden in the mountains of Japan are unique holy relics; the mummified remains of Buddhist monks who died over 200 years ago. These are no ordinary mummies, but the bodies of monks who underwent a process of self-mummification while still alive. How exactly such total mummification was achieved has remained a mystery, but now a team of Japanese scientists believe they may have the answer. Using a series of scientific investigations, Mummies That Made Themselves sets out to discover just how this startling process was possible, and attempts to unravel the mysteries behind the monks' perfect mummification.

Part 4: Oasis of the Golden Mummies
A spectacular discovery in 1999 unearthed one hundred and five sumptuously decorated mummies at the Bahariya Oasis in Western Egypt. Dr. Zahi Hawass and team of Egyptian archaeologists excavated four beautifully gilded tombs, which contained an astonishing collection of Roman mummies. These exciting finds are re-writing the history of Egypt, centuries after Alexander the Great was Pharaoh, Romans and Egyptians were still embroiled in a battle for power. This year Discovery Channel follows Dr. Hawass as he returns to unveil the tombs he believes have been untouched since antiquity. Were corrupt Roman entrepreneurs hijacking the religious practice of Egyptian mummification? Now it is time to enter the greatest tomb of the Bahariya Oasis and uncover the secrets of the Golden Mummies.