Although Egypt is known for its mummies, many other cultures around the world practiced mummified their dead. Unlike a fossil or a skeleton, a mummy is a body which retains soft tissue such as skin and muscle. Although the word “mummy” is most commonly associated with the Ancient Egyptians, other mummies have been found worldwide, some deliberately embalmed, others mummified accidentally by nature. Unlike the Ancient Egyptians, whose mummification practices centered on wealth and status, the Chinchorro embalmed everyone in their small communities including infants and fetuses. After the skin and organs of the deceased were carefully removed, the body would be reinforced with twigs, reeds, and sticks, then painted and wigged. Bodies were mummified in an upright sitting position, allowing gravity to drain away body fluids. This form of mummification evolved until it was adopted by other South American cultures such as the Nazca and Chiribaya. Later the Incas also mummified their dead, however much of their mummies were destroyed by Spanish Conquistadors in 1532. There are even mummies which were natural mummified. There are natural causes such as low temperature or very dry weather.