Secrets of what ancient mummies look like under their wrappings are finally being revealed

The Field Museum

CT scanning and subsequent 3D imaging of a wooden coffin poignantly revealed an ancient Egyptian teenage boy who was mummified and placed into a coffin that was too large for him.

If you'd like to be mummified when you die, you can contact an organization in Salt Lake City, Utah, to arrange the procedure for around $70,000. Pets are cheaper, around $4,000 for an animal under 15 pounds.

It's expensive partially because mummification is pretty rare these days. But for thousands of years, people preserved the remains of their dead as mummies. This was especially true in places with hot and dry climates, like parts of ancient Peru and Egypt.

Now, a special exhibit that's on display at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York allows people to see 18 of those mummies in person, some of which have not been seen since Chicago's World Fair over 100 years ago.

In the exhibit, on tour from the collections of Chicago's Field Museum, technology like computerized tomography (CT) scans allows visitors to see what the insides of these mummies are like for the first time. This technology allows visitors to see "who they were, what their lives were like, and even what they may have looked like," Ellen Futter, President of AMNH, told reporters at a preview event.

The images below show some of what visitors will be able to see at the exhibit. Much of exhibit, including mummified bodies, bundles containing mummies, and body parts that were unwrapped by tomb pillagers, cannot be photographed, and will have to be seen in person.