Fellow travelers

The Tattooed Woman is seated for eternity in a loosely fetal posture, her head tilted to the right. Locks of her long black hair curl about her cheek and past her mouth, below which is a small, tattooed oval with a dot inside - a mystery.

We know she is from Chile, where before 1550 A.D. her burial posture was typical. In the desert air, her body naturally dried and mummified. The fabric that once tightly wrapped her has left impressions on her chin and cheeks.

As part of the latest blockbuster exhibition to visit the Franklin Institute, the Tattooed Woman is sure to prove as alluring as she was in Los Angeles and Milwaukee. "Mummies of the World," which runs from Saturday through Oct. 23, is the largest exhibition of mummies - 45 - and related artifacts ever assembled, including naturally and artificially preserved remains of humans and animals from South America, Europe, Asia, Oceania, and, yes, Egypt.

But while Egypt is well represented - the 2,650-year-old mummy and sarcophagus of an Egyptian priest are prominent, and the mummy and sarcophagus of an Egyptian cat are equally fascinating - the focus of "Mummies" is on the rich variety of geography, environment, materials, and people who long ago produced what is seen here.

A sense of veneration suffuses the exhibition space, and that's no accident. James A. Delay of American Exhibitions Inc., which assembled the traveling show, says, "I always wanted people to kind of feel like they were entering a church, with that reverence. But I didn't want to tell them to do that, because it's still good to have kids running around."

And kids will have plenty to do. Within reach, they'll find on a wall samples of replica skin and bone that simulate the feel of various types of mummification. Five interactive touch-screen kiosks provide a wealth of animations and explanations of topics that range from radiocarbon dating to studying mummies for insight into tuberculosis.

Animals abound: The Howler Monkey, naturally preserved in Argentina, stands wearing a feather skirt and a fluffy feather ruff around its head and throat. Less flashy are a mummified rat, weasel, squirrel, falcon, lizard, mountain snow hare, hyena, dog, and some cats.