Ancient Egyptians were very religious people with various beliefs and gods. Ancient Egypt consisted of the Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom, and the New Kingdom. Not only is Ancient Egypt known for their outstanding architecture in pyramids, but also, their astonishing understanding of the human body. Mummification began around c.3500 BCE and by the Old Kingdom it had become a standard practice. Everything Egyptians did, including mummification had to do with their religious beliefs. They followed rituals to please the gods and therefore received something in exchange. Moreover, they believed that mummifying a body was preparing a person for their afterlife. The process of mummification changed depending on the person’s socioeconomic status. …show more content…
Egyptians first attempt of artificial mummification was during the Archaic Period (3050-2663 BC). Early mummification techniques began in the Old Kingdom (2663- 2195). By the Middle Kingdom embalmers started placing masks over corpses, the most famous was the mask of King Tutankhamun. Not only did King Tutankhamun have the most famous mask, but also he had the most famous tomb. His coffin was found in 1923 in Thebes, Egypt. Inside the tomb laid many statues, weapons and jewelry. At first people had this belief that only Pharaohs could attain immortality, but later on, anyone was able to. Egyptians saw Pharaohs as gods, so when they passed away, they assumed the Pharaoh would become a God in his or her afterlife. Eventually, during the period of the New Kingdom (2628-1638 BC), Pharaohs were buried in tombs in the Valley of the Kings at Thebes, Egypt. In the Old and Middle Kingdoms Pharaohs were buried in pyramids. As of now, there are about fifty royal pyramids that have survived from thieves. In these royal pyramids, the tomb walls were completely filled with paintings that illustrated scenes of the deceased personal life. Pyramids of ancient Egypt are the most famous tombs up to this day. The most famous are three pyramids built for the Pharaohs; Khufu, Khafre, and Mehkuare. The best one is the Great Pyramid of Giza built for Khufu which is also one of the seven …show more content…
The most expensive service is said to be the best and usually used by royal families. The body was first laid down on a table and washed. Embalmers started from the head and begin by removing the brain through the nostrils. They used a long metallic hook to remove the brain, often damaging the nose. Although they tried not to change the body’s form because it had to remain as intact as possible. The brain was removed because they believed it was irrelevant to a person’s afterlife. “Once they had removed the brain they would either pack the skull with linen sheets, mud, sand, or resin. The second step was to make an incision on the left side of the abdomen to remove the organs. The whole cavity was washed once the abdomen organs are removed.” The only organs not removed were; the heart, the kidneys, and the vessels for a faster putrefaction. The heart was also left inside because they believed it was what made the person’s identity. The heart was considered the center of emotion and intelligence. After, the cavity was filled with aromatic substances such as cassia and myrrh. Later, the body was dehydrated with an ingredient that occurred naturally in the saline lake beds in Egypt called Natron, also known as “divine salt.” Natron is a compound of sodium salts and was the key ingredient in the process of mummification. Once the body was dehydrated, it was filled to assimilate the body of the one that once
The Egyptians during this period took ample time and detail on the mummification process to ensure a successful transition from the netherworld to rebirth. The Coffin of Tentkhonsu, 1025-980 B.C., it’s a depiction of how the Egyptians valued and honored their elite members of society, as well as their gods. The Coffin of Tentkhonsu, itself dates back to the III intermediate period in Egyptian culture. The Egyptian believe was to join Osiris, whom was believed to have ascended to Netherworld and accomplished eternal life.
Perhaps the most notorious of burial practices originating in Egypt is that of mummification. Why such an extraordinary attempt was made to preserve cadavers may seem
The history and tradition of Egypt is one of the most greatly studied and admired of all past world civilizations. The lure of the pyramids and the specter of the sphinx have led many archeologists to dedicate his/her life to unraveling the mysteries of ancient Egyptian culture. Arguably, the most captivating aspect of Egypt’s past is that of mummification. Why did the Egyptians mummify their dead? What beliefs did the Egyptians have regarding the after life? What portion of the Egyptian civilization was mummified? What was the Book of the Dead? This is a mere sampling of the questions that come to my mind when I think of ancient Egyptian culture. I hope to lay forth answers to these questions and many more in the following pages dedicated to the history and purpose behind Egyptian mummification.
The time period for Egyptian mummification is from their Predynastic Period (4650-3050 BC) until after the New Kingdom (1069 BC-395 AD). The Egyptians believed in Polytheism, which the religion of worshiping more than one god. Since they believed in more than one god, they believed in Osiris, the earthbound god of the dead, and Re, the sun god. These two gods were critical to the Egyptians, because they counted on those two gods to lead people into the afterlife. In order to achieve the afterlife, a proper burial had to take place for the dead. The Table of Sinuhe, a twelfth dynasty text, described the preparation for a funeral for someone who is elite in Egypt, which included: constructing the grave on an elite location, with both a public chapel and a private burial chamber. The Egyptians did this to preserve the name of the deceased, and their objects that were given to the deceased to help guide them to the afterlife. The family of the deceased then needed to choose which of the three embalming processes was right for them. There were three types of mummification processes: there was the most expensive and most elaborate process; the second way contained some of the steps from the first way to embalm a person, but was very limited; and the last way would be the cheapest and least elaborate way to embalm someone. The embalmer was astute man, who was respected and had the same privileges as the priests did. Nevertheless, this belief in life after death affected the population of Egypt and their art, architecture, technology, and their legal practices, which would be that no one could do any damage to a dead body. Historians find all this information from two writers, who wrote different pieces of text on mummification.
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. Tombs were typically built during a person’s lifetime and were ready by their time of death (Olson, 2009). Before bodies were put in the tombs, they underwent a process called mummification to help preserve the body and keep it intact. The tomb was also a place where family members could come and visit the deceased. In the early years, tomb structures were very simple; they consisted only of one chamber (Grajetzki, 2003: 3-4). Later on, façade tombs were built— which consisted of two parts; an “underground chamber for the dead and the superstructure built above the ground, over the shaft and the burial chamber” (Grajetzki, 2003: 8). Next, the Egyptian tombs and ...
The omnipotent Egyptians ruled all of there empire with total absolute control, ruled by an absolute monarch, the Pharaoh. The pharaoh decided the right procedure to follow for just about everything that happened in ancient Egypt. From the Encyclopedia Britannica Egyptian religion, “The task of the king as the protagonist of human society was to retain the benevolence of the gods in maintaining order against disorder” (Britannica). The burial practices for the average Egyptian citizen was very different than for a Pharaoh. The average citizen would be buried in the desert, wrapped in cloth and with some food and treasured possessions, not much need for protection. The Pharaoh planned his whole life for exactly how the burial ritual would be remembered and how Pharaoh could protect his legacy for all eternity. The largest protector the world has ever seen is the Great Sphinx statue from the Giza funerary complex.
Interestingly, X-rays reveal that the mummy case of Paankhenamun does in fact contain a mummy inside dating back to the years of c. 945 – 715 B.C. The practice of mummification was the Egyptian people’s way of preserving the spirits of the Gods/Goddesses and royalty. The idea was that when these beings came back to life, they would be preserved and well prepared for their next lives. By the time of the New Kingdom, the Egyptians already had developed techniques of mummification, which were done under a priest’s supervision (Stokstad 114), and since Paankhenamun was the priest of Amun, he was most likely was in charge of these procedures.
This is how a mummy is made. Step one, wash the body with water from the Nile river. After the body has been washed make a cut in the side of the tummy. Take all the organs out of the body and put a hook inside the nose to take out the brain be careful not to leave any part of the brain inside the body. They took out the brain because they thought the brain was not that important and that they would not need the brain in the after life. Step two, clean the lungs, intestine, stomach, and the liver. Put them in four different canopic jars. Leave the heart inside the body. They left the heart inside the body because they thought the heart was the
The embalming process started out in a tent known as an “ibu”. “There the embalmers wash [the] body with good-smelling palm wine and rinse it with water from the Nile” (“Mummification”). Once the body was washed, the internal organs were removed through an incision made on the left side of the body. The only thing left in the body was the heart because they believed it was the center of intelligence that the person would need it in the afterlife. (“Mummification”)
The brain was the first to be removed from the body and was pulled through the nose so as to not make any incisions on the head. The head cavity was then filled with linen and resin. Then an incision was made to remove all important organs minus the heart. The organs were placed in four different jars that represented the four sons of Horus. These jars, called Canopic jars, held a drying agent to better preserve the organ. The jars were then placed back into the body or would accompany the body back to the tomb. The body was then washed and dried, a process that took approximately forty days. After the body was dried, it was then stuffed with linen to make the body appear plump. The incision was sewn together and sealed with wax. The eye sockets were also filled with linen, or a fake eyeball was placed in the cavity. Finally, the entire body was wrapped in linen and transported to the
The discovery of Tutankhamun’s mummy gave great insight into the Ancient Egyptian process of mummification. The extensive process is no longer the mystery that it once was. Since Egypt is known for its dry, humid climate, the earliest mummies were buried in shallow pits of sand, the organs placed in special pottery jars. Often, pottery coffins were used, but at times, bodies were placed in the sand. Around 2,000 B.C., when mummification practices became more widespread, bodies underwent an elaborate process and descended into the afterlife. Many Egyptians enjoyed and lived life to the fullest extent possible. Since Egyptians believed that an afterlife existed, they wanted to ensure that the dead could experience a “New Life.” For this reason,
Thus, the art and architecture of Ancient Egypt stemmed directly from their religion. Egyptian theology, with its deified pharaohs and strange animal-headed gods, was complicated, but the most important belief was that survival after death depended upon the preservation of the body. This belief would influence the architectural design of the tomb, where the corpse was ultimately sealed (Silverman:142, 1997). Immortality was only for privileged royal and priestly beings (Stierlin:54, 1983).This implies that their tombs would be somewhat prestigious and not just and ordinary burial site. At the day of resurrection the Ka or soul would re-enter the dead body; this meant that it must be there, intact, ready for that moment. It followed logically, that 'once the corpse was embalmed or mummified, it must be preserved in an impregnable tomb.
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 first step in the mummification process is the removal and preservation of most of the internal organs, such as the lungs, the stomach, the liver and intestines. These organs are then separately embalmed and placed into canoptic jars as source B reveals. These jars were often decorated with one of the four animal-headed sons of the god Horus. Each head is believed to be the protector of each organ within the jar and is dedicated to a specific deity. The preservation of the organs is significant as they allowed the dead person to breathe and eat in the afterlife. The internal organs were then wrapped and put into either the body or put in boxes instead of sitting in jars. Canoptic jars were still placed in the tomb but they were solid or empty and provided a symbolic purpose. In Tutankhamun’s tomb the canoptic jars were discovered in a shrine that was found in the treasury room of the tomb. Source B is useful is when understanding the mummification process.
... learning about ancient medical practices in Egypt, therefore I have decided to continue research and expand my paper into a twenty page research paper for my final research paper at the end of the semester. In my next portion of my ten page paper I will explore the other topics stated in my thesis. My final paper will merely be a continuation of the topics that I have written about in this paper. I will explore and go into depth with the topics of human embalmment and its significance to the work of modern medicine today. I would also like to compare modern day embalmment for funerals with embalmment rituals used in Ancient Egypt. Another primary focus for the next installment of this paper will be a detailed argument of why it would be a wonderful and scientifically beneficial idea to fund and continue research of medical practices in Ancient Egypt.
Dating back to the period of 300 A.D. the Roman Empire ruled, and then about two hundred years later Egypt was split into half until 640 A.D., the invasion of the Arab army. Arab reinforcements and the Byzantine armies met on the plains of Heliopolis. As a result, the Byzantine army fled and the Egyptians put up no resistance to the conquering Islam army. In the late 600's A.D., Egyptians converted from Christianity to Islam over the years their religion became diverse. Some stayed Jewish and others remained Christians, but since 700 A.D., Egyptians remained to worship the Islamic faith. Egypt's religion was one of many gods (polytheistic) with about 700 different gods and goddesses. Egyptians performed mummification is to preserve the body to allow the "spirit" to dwell in the afterlife. ...