Essay On Mummification

Mummification is the form of embalming practiced by the ancient Egyptians. The mummification process changed over time from the Old Kingdom, when only kings could be mummified to the New Kingdom, in which everyone could be mummified. The entire process of mummification to be completed took 70 days. After a body was delivered to the per nefer, which is where the embalmers conducted their tasks. The first thing that was done was put the deceased on a slanted table.

One of the key elements in the Egyptian culture and religion was the preservation of the body. The body was the most important aspect because it was like a portal through which an individual could continue to live after death (Taylor, 2001:46). The Egyptians began building tombs for these bodies to keep them from decaying. The elements that will be focused on are the multiple functions of the tomb and rituals, specifically the mummification of bodies. Ancient Egyptian tombs had many functions; the main function being to hold the bodies of the dead.

Before they can do anything, the embalmers have to remove every organ inside the person's body except the heart. They left the heart in the body because they believed that the heart was full of intelligence and emotion. Once the organs were removed from the body, the embalmers also mummified it and put in the jars. They placed the jars beside the tomb at the time of the burial. To the Egyptians, they believed that the brain was useless.

A natural mummy is a person or animal that has had its moisture sucked out of its skin and organs when done by nature. When done by man the organs would be taken out and put into decorated jars. Then the body would be rubbed down with blake salt then the body would be wrapped in miles of white cloth with thousands of charms i’m not exaggerating.The Ancient Egyptians did this to preserve the body for the afterlife. The physical word “mummy” comes from a mixture of different words the Latin word mumia, the Arabic word mumiya and last but not least a Persian word mum which means wax.The definition for mummy is “a medical preparation of the substance of the b... ... middle of paper ... ...grow because without them we wouldn't know as much as we do now. Works Cited An Overview of Mummification in Ancient Egypt.

The ancient Egyptian burial practices are fundamental to the beliefs of ancient Egyptians. There are many different forms of burial practices; however the main form of practice of ancient Egyptians was the mummification process as seen in source B. Through the use of source B along with other sources, the following response will analyse the ancient Egyptian burial practices. The most common ancient Egyptian burial practice is the mummification process as depicted in source B. Mummification is a ritual that embalmers performed when a pharaoh died. Source B is a photograph of the canoptic jars which are a main component of the mummification process.

The pharaohs, who were believed to become gods when they died, had the most magnificent burials of all. In the case of a royal or noble burial, the embalmers set up workshops near the tomb of the mummy. The art of Egyptian mummification consisted of many steps. First, the body was washed and ritually purified. The next step was to remove the deceased person's inner organs.

This necessitated embalming the body when wrapping it in fine strips of linen. Interesting fact, it would cost on average about $67,000 to me mummified in ancient Egypt. The mummification process took about 70 days and involved these steps: The body is washed. A cut was made on the left side of the abdomen and the internal organs- intestines, liver, lungs, stomach were removed. The heart, which the Egyptians believed to be the centre of emotion, and intelligence, was left in the body for use in the next life.

In addition they left amulets in their tombs to help with the afterlife. That then after the dead person was mummified so that they can keep their spirit the opportunity to reunite with their bodies, just ready for the flawless eternal life. However, before mummifying they would take all their organs out and put them in ceremonial jaws. Near the end of the Old Kingdom the book of the dead was mainly for pharaohs and high social elites. The magic spells were sketched on papyrus for pyramids and in tombs, of the dead.

This group of hierarchy were laid to rest in rectangular, flat-topped mastabas of mud and brick. These mastabas were about 12 feet high and were easy targets for tomb robbers. The first pyramid built was the Step Pyramid of Saqqara; it stands in the open desert south of Cairo. The Step Pyramid was built for King Djoser. The people of Egypt willingly labored to build these monuments for their rulers, believing that, as gods, the pharaohs had to be properly provided for in their afterlife.

Tourism has been brisk in the valley for millenniums: graffiti scrawled on tomb walls proves that Greek and Roman travelers stopped here to gaze at the wall paintings and hieroglyphics that were already old long before the birth of Christ. Archaeologists have been coming for centuries too. Napoleon brought his own team of excavators when he invaded in 1798, and a series of expeditions in 19th and early 20th centuries uncovered one tomb after another. A total of 61 burial spots had been found by the time the British explorer Howard Carter opened the treasure-laden tomb of King Tutankhamun in 1922. Britain's James Burton had burrowed into the site of Tomb 5 in 1820, and decided that there was nothing inside.