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Paragraph on egyptian burial rites
Essay on embalming and mumification
The science behind the mummification process in ancient Egypt
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When you think of a mummy what comes to mind? Most of us usually picture an Egyptian mummy wrapped in bandages and buried deep inside a pyramid. While the Egyptian ones are the most famous, mummies have been found in many places throughout the world, from Greenland to China to the Andes Mountains of South America.
A mummy is the body of a person (or an animal) that has been preserved after death. Normally when we die, bacteria and other germs eat away at the soft tissues (such as skin and muscles) leaving only the bones behind. Since bacteria need water in order to grow, mummification usually happens if the body dries out quickly after death. The body may then be so well preserved that we can even tell how the dead person may have looked in life.
Mummies are made naturally or by embalming, which is any process that people use to help preserve a dead body. Mummies can be dried out by extreme cold, by the sun, by smoke, or using chemicals such as natron. Some bodies become mummies because there were favorable natural conditions when they died. Others were preserved and buried with great care.
The ancient Egyptians believed that mummifying a person's body after death was essential to ensure a safe passage to the afterlife.
Last updated February 4, 1997 by CHICO
WHAT IS A MUMMY
Mummification in ancient Egypt was a very long and expensive process. From start to finish, it took about seventy days to embalm a body. Since the Egyptians believed that mummification was essential for passage to the afterlife, people were mummified and buried as well as they could possibly afford. High-ranking officials, priests and other nobles who had served the pharaoh and his queen had fairly elaborate burials. 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. A slit was cut into the left side of the body so that the embalmers could remove the intestines, the liver, the stomach and the lungs. Each of these organs was embalmed using natron, which served to dry out the organs and discourage bacteria from decaying the tissues.
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.
Ancient Egyptian culture was largely focused on the afterlife. One of their most important deities, Osiris, became the ruler of the Underworld through death. The pharaoh and elite class prepared for their impending deaths throughout their lives. Much of what survives from ancient Egypt today was found in tombs and temples of the dead. When one of the elite died, the process of laying him or her to rest was extensive. Harold Hays explains that “the ritualized process of embalming and mummification is usually stated as lasting seventy days” (Hays 5). "Funeral Procession, Tomb of Pairy" shows two of the processes that Hays details. The first depicted is the procession to the tomb. Pairy’s body would have already been through several processions, mummification, and embalming. This particular procession’s goal is to lead not just the body, but also the spirit into the afterlife. People of both high and low classes attended this procession, carrying with them the tomb goods (Hays 6-7). The second depicted
...Persian mūm meaning ‘wax’. In ancient Egypt, at the earliest stage, the people buried the dead in pits in the desert. The dryness and heat from the desert dehydrated the body, creating a lifelike natural ‘mummy’. The ancient Egyptians believed that part of the human spirit was permanently linked to the viability of the body.
illogical to some, the reasons for embalming the dead made perfect sense to the Egyptians. Mummification kept corpses in a desiccate, pristine condition; the body must be suitable for the owner’s spirit to return for a rendezvous, as per Egyptian belief (Evans, 20)....
Mummification is required in the kemetic religion because of the belief in the afterlife. They felt the need to preserve the body by mummifying the dead to keep the body in tact and the spirit safe until the afterlife. Kemites thought that after the person died, their spirit would return to the body come judgment day and the afterlife so the body had to be in great condition so they could use the body again.
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.
Dried onions were stuffed into the ears of the mummies and along the bandages although the significance of this is still unknown. The modern examination of mummies has enabled us to ascertain various facts about everyday Egyptian life. The mummy of Maat-ka-re is a virgin. priestess had for thousands of years been thought to have been mummified. with a child in mind.
The art of polishing nails has been around for centuries for both men and women. Nail polish or nail stain, as it was known for many years ago, started out being natural in formula. However, as the years have progressed, nail polish formulas have become more intricate including chemicals. As the years have passed, the color and purpose of polishing nails has expanded to not only nobles or those of high rank/station, but also everyday people. There are many different ingredients in today’s nail polishes. It is important to know which ingredient correlates with the four primary qualities of nail polish, specifically the ingredient that is responsible for the drying-time. Red has become one of the most popular colors to paint nails. Essie,
were 10 doors and at end there was a statue of Osiris, the god of the
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.
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.
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 ...
... 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.
...e. They believed the physical body had to be preserved to allow a place for their spirit to dwell in the afterlife. Because of this, mummification was performed to preserve the body.
It didn’t work. But instantly a plan went into my head. I told my dad if I just follow the map to GameStop and I‘ll wait for him up there. He hesitantly said yes. I ran with joy to the escalator. He watched as I went up the escalator to get to GameStop.