What Was the Purpose of Mummification?

584 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essay on ancient egypt mummification

Mummies are not the kind that you go to when you get hurt . The ones that have been around for thousands or millions of years, but , what is a mummy and why did ancient ancestors do this to their dead? What do mummies tell us about the ancient past? What do we do with mummies in modern day ? The answers may surprise you and shock you a bit , but , all of what you see will be true.
A mummy is a body that has lasted for centuries. How is that possible you may ask? Well in Ancient Egypt you can find many mummies buried in the sand. That is if the archaeologist haven’t gotten to them first.It will look like human jerky. The hot desert sand draws all of the moisture out of the body and preserve it(An Overview of Mummification in Ancient Egypt 2013). The Ancient Egyptians discovered this and decided to do it themselves. They got a salt like substance that oozes out of the “Mummy Mountain” in Persia.“Thought to have medicinal properties and eagerly sought as a cure for many ailments” said Wikimedia Foundation("Mummy." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 11 July 2013. Web. 08 Nov. 2013).

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. Rep. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2013.

"Mummy." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 11 July 2013. Web. 08 Nov. 2013.

The Afterlife in Ancient Egypt." Weblog post. PBS. PBS, 09 Jan. 0000. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.

"Treatment of the Dead - Animals and Belief – Ancient Egypt." Treatment of the Dead -

"Why Ancient Egyptians Believed Mummifying Their Dead Necessary? - Curiosity." Thesis. N.d. Curiosity. Web. 08 Nov. 2013.
"Treatment of the Dead - Animals and Belief – Ancient Egypt." Treatment of the Dead - Animals and Belief – Ancient Egypt. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.

The Afterlife in Ancient Egypt." Weblog post. PBS. PBS, 09 Jan. 0000. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.

Show More
Related

  • What Was the Purpose of Mummification?

    671 Words  | 2 Pages

    that you would see going trick-or-treating on Halloween night. Or a good topic for a scary story at a sleepover. But have you ever wondered what the history is behind them? What was mummifying? How did they mummify people? Why did they mummify people? What was the purpose of mummification? Let’s go back to Ancient Egypt to see what mummification really was. Imagine walking through the “red land” in Egypt. Desert as far as the can see, surrounded by the hot, dry, humid air. Sand piled higher than

    Read More

  • Essay On Mummification

    994 Words  | 2 Pages

    religion, mummification was a significant and important step in the burial traditions as they believed that the only way to get to the afterlife was to have a preserved body and many treasures. However, it was not until the 4th and 5th centuries that Egyptians started intentionally mummifying the dead. Before there were dynasties in Egypt, the bodies of the dead were dried out in the sun before being buried in the ground but the practice evolved to the commonly known form of mummification in the New

    Read More

  • Ancient Egyptian Mummification

    979 Words  | 2 Pages

    Egypt. More specifically, the detailed description of the Egyptian mummification process. Now you are wondering what relationship it has with religion and medicine. Although Egyptian mummification has a weak relationship with medicine, it has a strong relationship with religion as demonstrated by the purpose of the organs of the mummy, the ceremony of “Opening of the Mouth,” the importance of achieving an afterlife, and the soul

    Read More

  • Mummy In Ancient Egypt

    1029 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Mummification In Egypt

    1339 Words  | 3 Pages

    Egyptians believed they had to be mummified. The mummification process is a long, extensive process; however, the spiritual aspect can be thought of as the most significant element. The history and process of mummification are both quite extensive. Mummification can be defined as “the process that preserves a dead body by treating it with oils and wrapping it in strips of cloth” (Mummify). Mummification first came about during the Old Kingdom period, which was from approximately 2750-2250

    Read More

  • Egyptian Mummification: It’s History, Purpose, and Process

    2250 Words  | 5 Pages

    Egyptian Mummification: It’s History, Purpose, and Process 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

    Read More

  • Essay On Egyptian Burial Practices

    717 Words  | 2 Pages

    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 first step in the mummification process

    Read More

  • Essay On Fabrics

    606 Words  | 2 Pages

    Review of Literature Fabrics Fabrics can be made of natural and synthetic materials. Natural fabrics, like cotton (NY Fashion Center) for example, are found here on earth while synthetic fabrics are manmade (MV Styles). There are many distinguish ways to determine if a fabric is natural or synthetic. Each fabric is different in its own way due to it reaction to heat, its odor, residue and chemicals (MV Styles). Fabrics are seen and used every day and in every way. Synthetic material has been pushed

    Read More

  • Medicine And Ancient Egyptian Medicine

    832 Words  | 2 Pages

    century B.C. Egyptian medical practice was known for being highly advanced for its time, including surgery, dentistry, the famous mummification, and all around general practices. There is still so much undiscovered about what the Egyptians really knew and how they knew it, but there is a lot to learn about the ways of their medicine and just how they worked. Ancient Egypt Ancient Egyptian medicine was very different from what we are used to. The Egyptians had to

    Read More

  • Mortuary Science

    1709 Words  | 4 Pages

    accident and someone has died. You arrive at the hospital and are directed to a small room where the body of the deceased is being held. There’s blood all over the sheets as the doctor and coronary assistant zip up the body bag and inform you the body was badly mangled in a car accident, which is going to make reconstructing the deceased very difficult. Your assistant puts the body on the stretcher and loads it into the hearse while you talk to the wife of the deceased man. She tells you they plan to

    Read More

  • Ancient Egyptian Religion Research Paper

    553 Words  | 2 Pages

    The ancient Egyptian religion was an elaborate system of polytheistic beliefs. It had a huge impact on the Egyptian society. These ways came to be because the Egyptians believed there was more than just dying. They believed there was life after death. They believed there was five parts of the human soul. The Ren, the Ba, the Ka, the Sheut, and the Jb. They are different from today’s beliefs because of the different shifts they had in power and every leader there was a different religion. This played

    Read More

  • The Mummy Research Paper

    1084 Words  | 3 Pages

    While watching the movie ‘The Mummy’ as a kid I never really thought about the historical information the movie held, and even if I did I didn’t really understand it. Of course we all hear stories of beautiful Egypt, but is what we hear a myth is the true question. ‘The Mummy’ was released in 1999 and is seen as a great action packed movie, but it also has the great ruins of Egypt thrown throughout the movie. Unfortunately, Hollywood doesn't seem to care much for doing background research before writing

    Read More

  • Tomb Of Pairy Analysis

    691 Words  | 2 Pages

    This conveys a sense of order and cohesion that flows throughout the time of the Egyptians. I was fascinated by the continuity. Unlike the artists of today, Egyptian artists did not rebel against the conventions of their day. If the surviving art is any indication, they were content to follow the artistic practices of their time. During the New Kingdom, a painting called "Funeral Procession, Tomb of Pairy" was created. It is a depiction of a portion of the process of laying Pairy to rest. Harold Hays

    Read More

  • Religion In Ancient Egyptian Art

    1063 Words  | 3 Pages

    Life for Ancient Egyptians was very repetitive; drought and flood, abundance of food and starvation, riches and poverty. The Egyptians credited this static rhythm to their Gods and how well they worshipped them and their pharaoh. This unchanging lifestyle is reflected in their art. The main purpose of Ancient Egyptian artwork was religion; therefore the artists were very conservative when creating their paintings and sculptures. This is the reason that the style of the Ancient Egyptian’s artwork

    Read More

  • Death And Afterlife In The Epic Of Gilgamesh

    862 Words  | 2 Pages

    Practicing a religion and having an idea of death and an afterlife back in ancient times laid a foundation on how religion is seen and practiced today. Mesopotamians, Egyptians and Hindu’s created the concept of death and life after death through what they believed and practiced in ancient times. In Mesopotamian originations of the afterlife, life did not end after bodily passing

    Read More

More about What Was the Purpose of Mummification?

Open Document