Mummy Feet, originally uploaded by Shirley Two Feathers.

Here, the feet of the mummy thought to be Rameses I. Toes were pampered in high-end mummifications—wrapped individually and sometimes even capped by gold sheaths to ensure they wouldn't break off.

Foot binding was a custom practiced on young females for approximately one thousand years in China, beginning in the 10th century and ending in the early 20th century.

In Chinese foot binding, young girls’ feet, usually at age 6 but often earlier, were wrapped in tight bandages so that they could not grow and develop normally; they would, instead, break and become highly deformed, not growing past 4-6 inches. As the girl reached adulthood, her feet would remain small and dysfunctional, prone to infection, paralysis, and muscular atrophy.

When I read about it in books, it sounds strange and unkind... when I see it in person, I am shocked and appalled!