Egyptian mummification, the preservation of the dead body for the afterlife, developed over three thousand years from simple natural desiccation to a sophisticated chemical and surgical procedure whose results are still examined by modern forensic scientists with detailed imaging technology.

The Old Kingdom period saw the emergence of deliberate mummification as a royal prerogative, gradually extended to the elite. The New Kingdom period (1550–1070 BC) represents the peak of mummification technique: removal of internal organs (preserved separately in canopic jars), removal of the brain through the nasal passage, treatment of the body with natron (a naturally occurring salt) to dehydrate it, and wrapping with hundreds of meters of linen bandages with amulets placed between the layers.

The religious rationale was based on the concept of multiple souls or aspects of personhood. The ka (life force or double) needed the body to return to it; the ba (individual personality, depicted as a human-headed bird) could fly between the living world and the tomb. The preservation of the body was therefore the preservation of the person's ability to experience the afterlife.

CT scanning of Egyptian mummies has revealed an extraordinary range of individual information: age at death, diseases suffered, injuries sustained, diet, dental health, presence of internal parasites, and evidence of surgical intervention. The mummies of Egyptian royalty — Ramesses II, Tutankhamun, and others — have been examined in extraordinary detail, with identifications of specific causes of death and health conditions that would be unremarkable in a modern medical context.