Egyptian Mummification
Originally the Egyptians did not mummify
their dead at all. In early Egyptian times, the dead were simply buried in
reed caskets in the sand. The searing hot sand caused the remains to dry quickly
preventing decomposition. But when they began constructing tombs, and wood
caskets for the dead, the sand could not get to the bodies. The bodies then
started decomposing, so the Egyptians developed an elaborate mummification
process.
The first step in the mummification
process, was the embalming of the body. The dead body was embalmed with
several preserving fluids. Then the major organs were removed, with the
exception of the heart. The organs were placed in for Canopic jars. One held
the intestines, another the stomach, another the lungs, and the last one held
the liver. Surprisingly, the Egyptians did not keep the brain at all. The
heart was the most important organ of all, and was said to house the person's Ba
or soul. It was left in.
After the organs were removed, the body
was stuffed with cotton and linen, and sewed back up. Next the eyes were
removed, and replaced with either cotton, or fake eyeballs. After the body was
finished, it was wrapped with strips of linen that had been soaked in
embalming fluid. Finally it was covered with linen cloth, and bound carefully.
The Mummified body was then placed in its
coffin, along with several amulets to ward off bad spirits, and grave robbers.
In death the Egyptian still needed his body, so it was vitally important that
the body was well preserved, so the Egyptian didn't have any problem in the
afterlife. -- Written by: Michael
D. Peach.
Research Links
An Egyptian
Mummification
... elderly man from Baltimore who died from heart failure. The ancient Egyptian
mummification
process took 70 days. After that this elderly Baltimore man would be ...
Ancient
Egyptian Culture Mummification Process
Ancient Egyptian Culture Mummification Process.
12/07/1999. Click here to start. ...
Ancient
Egyptian Mummification
... talk about mummies, how they were made, and ancient Egyptian religion. The
process
of mummification, which was practiced by the ancient Egyptians, changed over ...
mummification
... death. Mummification is a process of making a mummy, which is a dead human
body
or animal embalmed according to the ancient Egyptian methods for burial. The ...
SuccessLink-Great
Ideas
... of history: Students are able to describe the process of mummification and
describe
how it relates to ancient Egyptian burial practices, during 3100-30 BC. ...
mummymake
... group of students can bury objects. For additional background on the
Egyptian mummification
process, refer to the Mummy book. Choose the objects that you will ...
Untitled
... In this lesson, students will be challenged to explore the Egyptian
mummification
process, Egyptian views of the afterlife, mummy curses and legends, and ...
Jennifer
Nobile
... New York: Harper & Row. This is a beautiful picture book that explains
the Egyptian
mummification process and beliefs behind it. A wonderful handy resource. ...
Smithsonian
FAQs: Egyptian Mummies
... scientists, and the mummies themselves all help us better understand the
Egyptian
mummification process and the culture in which it existed. Much of what we ...
MoS |
Learn More | Science Kits Rentals
... group of students can bury objects. For additional background on the
Egyptian mummification
process, refer to the Mummy book. Choose the objects that you will ...
Creating
an Egypt ABC book
... For a DEFINITION of "mummy" see page 4. To learn about the Ancient
Egyptian MUMMIFICATION
PROCESS, see pages 6-13. To learn about EMBALMING, see page 5. To ...
Ancient Egypt
... Questions: 1. Is Egyptian mummification the origin of our embalming process?
2.
Why did Ancient Egyptians mummify their dead? 3. Is there still mummification
...
Facts
of Mummifying
... the pH that creates a hostile environment for bacteria. The Egyptian climate
lent
it self well to the mummification process, being both very hot and dry. ...
