Scientists have extracted and analyzed DNA from mummies that are thousands

of years old, and they have found

that the ancient Egyptians are actually more genetically similar to people living today in the Near East — countries

like Israel, Lebanon, and Syria — than modern-day Egyptians.

–Angela Chen

Street Vendor Selling Mummies

in Egypt, 1865

During the Victorian era of 1800’s, Napoleon conquered Egypt. This made Egypt’s history accessible for the Europeans. At that time, mummies were not given the respect that they deserved from the European elites and in fact, mummies could be purchased from street vendors to be used as the main event for parties and social gatherings that took place in the 18th century. The elites would often hold “Mummy Unwrapping Parties”, which, as the name suggests, had the main theme in which a Mummy would be unwrapped in front of an energetic audience, cheering and applauding at the same time.