SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - The world's largest display of mummies is in Utah. They were discovered in five different continents and loaned to Utah from 21 world-renowned museums.
Each mummy has a story to tell about the human family as it once existed hundreds or even thousands of years ago.
"We have one child mummy that was very ill for most of his life and I can only imagine about how difficult that was for his parents," said Director of Science and Education Development, Heather Gill-Frerking.
The South American lived where modern day Peru now stands. The child died about 850 years ago. It had a growth on its head, which could have been easily treated with modern day surgery.
The oldest mummy in the exhibition lived and died 6,500-years-ago. The Detmold child is one of the most remarkable mummies in the world. It's skin and hair is preserved. A CT scan reveals this little boy or girl died from a heart and lung condition.
The mummies in this display come from South America, Europe, Asia, Oceania and Egypt. Each display comes with its own stories, but also with its own mysteries.
"We can learn so much though modern science and technology," said Bryton Sampson who works at the Leonardo Museum.
A CT scan reveals preserved flesh inside a fully wrapped mummy and also the bone structure.
Scientists can even take hair samples to determine the mummies diet as it would have been thousands of years ago unlocking clues into these once very real men and women and children.
The Mummies of the World exhibition begins at the Leonardo February 16, 2013 and will continue through May 27, 2013.
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