European perspectives on the study of human remains, particularly mummified individuals with associated material culture, highlight the multidisciplinary research potential of these rare discoveries. The diverse evidence associated with mummified remains offers unique potential to consider how the deceased was experienced over time. Scientific analyses reveal the complex taphonomic processes leading to the selective survival of tissue and cultural items. Medical approaches to mummies have been long established, but historical examples can combine cultural and historical sources with the palaeopathological to develop more nuanced understandings of disease and lifestyle, identifying both individual biographies and wider cultural trends in mortuary practice. Study of mummies raises ethical considerations similar to those for skeletonized remains, but given the greater recognition of their humanity, further social and religious considerations are relevant. Investigation needs to be set against the local legislation and the feelings of the mummies’ gatekeepers and, in some cases, their descendant communities.

欧洲对人类遗体，特别是具有相关物质文化的木乃伊个体的研究观点，突显了这些罕见发现的多学科研究潜力。与木乃伊化的遗体有关的各种证据为考虑死者的经历提供了独特的潜力。科学分析揭示了导致组织和文化物品选择性存活的复杂的序列过程。对木乃伊的医学治疗方法已经建立了很长的历史，但历史实例可以将文化和历史资源与古病理学结合起来，以发展对疾病和生活方式的细微差别的理解，从而确定个人传记和房实践中更广泛的文化趋势。对木乃伊的研究提出了与骨架遗骸相似的道德考量，但是，由于人们对它们的人性有了更多的认识，因此需要进一步考虑社会和宗教因素。必须根据当地法律和木乃伊的守门人，有时甚至是其后代社区的感受来进行调查。