A Revelation: The Accidental Mummies of Guanajuato, page 1

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ATS Members have flagged this thread 23 times

Topic started on 26-1-2013 @ 02:58 PM by smyleegrl

Greetings, ATS!

Two weeks ago, I experienced something beyond incredible…the Accidental Mummies of Guanajuato .

The mummies were on display at my local museum. Being fascinated with all things dead, I had to go.

It was a truly remarkable experience.

The mummies were displayed in glass boxes. Some mummies bore names; most did not. Some were arrayed in their funeral attire, some wore nothing. There were little placards explaining the likely cause of death and age of the mummy, along with theories about the person’s occupation in life.

You might think a room full of dead people would be disturbing. And in a certain way, it was exactly that. But there was a dignity about the mummies and the way they were displayed; indeed, they seemed noble in their death.

They stared at me with sightless, empty eyes as I stared at them. For that brief moment in time, we connected. And they all had the same message: my turn today, yours tomorrow.

Sic transit gloria. Thus passes the glory of the world.

Theirs is a message of mortality; that the grave await us all. But there was also hope….these people had achieved a certain immortality. As long as people marveled at them, wondered about their lives, and pondered their existence….then they are not dead, but very much alive.

This thought has brought me much peace these past few weeks.
So I thought I’d share my experience with you, ATS.

It is my honor to present to you……the Accidental Mummies of Guajuanto.

YouTube Link

For more info, please visit this link

reply posted on 26-1-2013 @ 03:59 PM by Awen24

I'd like to take a second to award you fifty quadzillion bonus points for pure awesomeness.
What a great thread!

Thanks so much for sharing, this is really interesting

reply posted on 26-1-2013 @ 04:38 PM by nanny

Very Interesting thread, It does make you wonder what experiences they had during their lifetime. I am very interested in my family ancestry and have been researching for about 15 or so years, each time I go through the names in my tree I try to picture what they looked like and how they lived. I also like to think I'm keeping their memory alive, especially the ones who died in childhood or as young soldiers during war that wouldn't have had children of their own to remember them.

reply posted on 26-1-2013 @ 04:44 PM by Cinrad

Originally posted by smyleegrl

Theirs is a message of mortality; that the grave await us all. But there was also hope….these people had achieved a certain immortality. As long as people marveled at them, wondered about their lives, and pondered their existence….then they are not dead, but very much alive.

I just want to point out that they really are dead and it is you who are alive.

reply posted on 26-1-2013 @ 05:17 PM by smyleegrl

reply to post by Cinrad

Yes, I'm alive.

And now, I have "met" others who were once alive, too. While their physical bodies are dead, indeed....they still live on. They live in my memory, you see.

I know, sounds insane and like I need a shrink. But all my life I've felt a connection with the dead. I don't see ghosts, nothing like that. But I love wandering through old cemeteries and reading the epitaphs. I think about the person who once was, but now is not. And I try to reconcile myself to the idea that I really am mortal.

No death wishes, I love life and enjoy it tremendously. Just something I think about, from time to time.

reply posted on 26-1-2013 @ 06:07 PM by LeLeu

Thanks Smyleegrl this is great

Although this bit from the wiki page kinda freaks me out.

Many of the bodies were buried immediately to control the spread of the disease; in some cases, the dying were buried alive by accident. As a result, some of the mummies have horrific expressions attesting to their death in the tombs, though most expressions became fixed postmortem. One of the mummies who was buried alive was Ignacia Aguilar. She suffered from a strange sickness that made her heart appear to stop for one day on several occasions. During one of these incidents, her heart appeared to stop for more than the usual time. Thinking she had died, her relatives decided to bury her. When her body was disinterred, it was noticed that she was facing down, biting her arm, and that there was a lot of blood in her mouth.

reply posted on 26-1-2013 @ 06:23 PM by smyleegrl

reply to post by LeLeu

Ugh. I didn't read anything about this at the exhibit, probably for obvious reasons. Nor was it mentioned in the museum exhibit guide I bought.

Whole new perspective....buried alive or dying in a fire are my two biggest fears.

reply posted on 26-1-2013 @ 09:56 PM by Gibborium

reply to post by smyleegrl

I greatly appreciate your sharing not only the pictures and links, but also your reaction to the event. I know exactly how you felt because I too find a connection with things of the past. I love to go to antique shops, auctions, and the like and explore the antiques and especially look at the old photographs.

My wife teases me about how much time I spend just looking at old photographs. I wonder what these people were like when they had their pictures taken? Where did they live? What were their dreams? What did they aspire to do with their lives? Why did they go to the expense and effort to have their portraits taken.

A star and flag for you!

Gib

reply posted on 27-1-2013 @ 12:45 AM by Cinrad

reply to post by smyleegrl

I am glad there are other people out there that acknowledge thier imortality, most people in Australia dont, they dont even like talking about death, preferring to ignore it. I think this is sad as they do not spend enough time preparing for the inevitable and are not ready to die when the time comes.

I dont want to put a downer on any peace you have found, but I cant see what the point is of them living in our memory if they are not aware of thier "living". As far as for them, the world has moved on and they are not part of it. Sooner or later they are forgotten. There is something in the human make up that makes us believe that unless something has permanent influence then it is pointless. However eventually everyone will be forgotten, even the pyramids will one day be just sand, and after many revolutions and apocalypses, they will be forgotten. Heck, we dont know the names of the guys buried in most of those pyramids. Most people cannot cope with that, and they choose to ignore it.

Some have chosen to forget the past and the future and just enjoy the here and now, live for the moment, that sounds good to me as long as the here and now is something that is going to keep on going, if there is a chance that the here and now will one day end, I am back where I started.

reply posted on 27-1-2013 @ 02:51 AM by nanny

reply to post by Cinrad

I think as a Human Race, it's because we forget our past, instead of learning from it! we could end up destroying our future! I also think history will teach us this is very much the case!
As a parent you try to teach your children right from wrong, as your parents tried to teach you and their parents before them, you hope they will have a more comfortable life!
We live with past inventions and use them to our advantage good or bad!
Millions & millions of people are killed in wars over a piece of land! oil! money! greed! This is our past! and "I think" this was our past thousands of years ago also, we do this over and over again, because we chose to forget our past! we are like the donkey following the carrot.

reply posted on 27-1-2013 @ 02:42 PM by Billie828

reply to post by smyleegrl

The little baby kinda broke my heart. I hope it wasn't buried alive