Child mummies in Guanajuato, Mexico
About this photograph
- Creator
- Margery H. Freeman
- Date created
- December 1981
- Location
- Guanajuato, Mexico
- License
- This photograph copyright ©2007. Terms of use
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Learn more
- Search LEARN NC for cemeteries, Day of the Dead, Guanajuato, and Mexico.
In the classroom
- See our collection of articles on visual literacy for ideas on using photographs meaningfully in the classroom.
Two mummified corpses of young children are on display. The one on the left is attired in a wool sweater, while the one of the right is wearing a silk dress.
These corpses are on display at the Guanajuato panteón, or mausoleum. The composition of the soil in Guanajuato promotes natural mummification of the corpses interred in the panteón. The city charges a fee for internment. When families are unable to afford the fee, their deceased relatives are exhumed and placed on display in a museum on the panteón’s grounds. The panteón then uses the mummies to earn revenue from tourists.
Funeral rites in Mexico are often very elaborate. Many people decorate gravestones of their relatives and create very festive remembrances of their dearly departed. The Day of the Dead (November 1) is an annual day-long celebration of death, replete with parades, parties, and visits to cemeteries.
