Earthly Remains: The History and Science of Preserved Human Bodies

The preserved remains of other human beings hold a special fascination for the living. Earthly Remains explores the history and science behind such phenomena as: the bodies of Abraham Lincoln, Lenin, Eva Peron and other famous politicians, embalmed and displayed for political ends; bog bodies, including the famous Lindow Man - how and why did they meet their fate?; mummies from ancient Egypt and even earlier examples from South America; frozen corpses, such as the 5,000-year-old Tyrolean Ice Man; bodies preserved in outline form, including those of Pompeii and Sutton Hoo; and cryonics, embalming and other modern preservation techniques.
Illustrated with the images of many of the cases discussed, Earthly Remains is a book that will appeal to everyone's sense of mystery in the history and origins of our ancestors.

Michael Parker Pearson is Reader in Archaeology at the University of Sheffield and a specialist in funerary archaeology.