Why egyptian mummification

The ba , portrayed as a human-headed bird, could leave the tomb during the day but needed to return to the body at night. Without the mummy, the ba and ka could not survive.

To assure their continued existence in the afterlife, the ancient Egyptians worked hard to find the perfect method of preserving the body. Egyptian Mummification. Home Rituals: Why Mummification?

Rituals Why Mummification? You shall possess your body; you shall not become corrupt, you shall not have worms, you shall not stink, you shall not become putrid, you shall not become worms. I am Khepri; I will possess my body forever. Present-day archaeologists and other specialists are adding to this knowledge. The development of x-rays now makes it possible to x-ray mummies without destroying the elaborate outer wrappings.

By studying the x-rays or performing autopsies on unwrapped bodies, experts are learning more about diseases suffered by the Egyptians and their medical treatment.

A better idea of average height and life span comes from studying the bones. By learning their age at death, the order and dates of the Egyptian kings becomes a little clearer. Even ties of kinship in the royal line can be suggested by the striking similarities or dissimilarities in the skulls of pharaohs that followed one another. Dead now for thousands of years, the mummy continues to speak to us.

Ancient Egypt Egyptian Mummies. Process The mummification process took seventy days. Who Was Mummified After death, the pharaohs of Egypt usually were mummified and buried in elaborate tombs. The Study of Mummies Today Ancient writers, modern scientists, and the mummies themselves all help us better understand the Egyptian mummification process and the culture in which it existed. Mummy Mask. Mummy Of Cat.

Smithsonian American Art Museum Mask. Fragment Of Mummy Coffin Cartonnage. Mummy Coffin Model Of Wood. Wood Mummy Mask. Piece Of Mummy Cartonnage. Shabti, Mummy Model Of Alabaster. Of Mummy Mask. Head Of Mummified Cat. Mummy Of Cat, Wrapped Linen. Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Inlay of mummy figure with human head. The prayers in the Book of the Dead were intended to help the deceased make a successful transition to the afterlife.

T he art of mummification was perfected in the Third Intermediate Period B. Late Period , the Greek historian Herodotus documented the process:. Next, the flank is slit open. The cavity is then thoroughly cleansed and washed out. Then it is filled with pure crushed myrrh, cassia, and all other aromatic substances, except frankincense.

When this period. N atron, a disinfectant and desiccating agent, was the main ingredient used in the mummification process. A compound of sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate salt and baking soda , natron essentially dried out the corpse. Obtained from dried-up river beds, it was packed around and inside the body in linen bags, and left for 35 to 40 days to draw moisture out of the tissues.

By removing the organs and packing the internal cavity with dry natron, the body tissues were preserved. The body was filled with Nile mud, sawdust, lichen and cloth scraps to make it more flexible. Small cooking onions or linen pads were sometimes used to replace the eyes. Beginning in the third dynasty, the internal organs lungs, stomach, liver and intestines were removed, washed with palm wine and spices, and stored in four separate canopic jars made of limestone, calcite or clay.

Prior to this, the abdominal contents were removed, wrapped and buried in the floor of the tomb. However, the heart was left in the body because it was considered the centre of intelligence. Mummies are also created by unintentional or accidental processes, which is known as "natural" mummification.

This can happen when a dead body is exposed to extreme cold, very dry conditions, or some other environmental factor that mitigates against decay. The oldest mummy on record in North America, found at Spirit Cave, outside of Fallon, Nevada, is an example of natural mummification. Wrapped in a Tule mat, it was found in a shallow grave and preserved by the dry atmosphere and rarefied air of the cave.

Discovered in , and originally believed to be between 1, and 2, years old, the individual was subsequently radiocarbon dated in the s and determined to be over 10, years old, Live Science previously reported. In contrast, the oldest known Egyptian mummy that was naturally preserved dates to just over 5, years ago, Live Science reported.

That mummy was of a young woman whose body was wrapped in linen and fur after she died. The oldest deliberately interred mummies were unearthed in the Camarones Valley of Chile. This valley is in the far north of the country, in a region called the Atacama Desert.

A narrow strip of land between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes Mountains, this desert receives little rainfall and is considered one of the driest places on Earth. The mummies belong to what Uhle called the Chinchorro culture 9, to 3, years ago , who lived in what is now southern Peru and northern Chile. Chinchorro people settled in coastal villages and relied on fishing as their primary means of subsistence, using fishing hooks made out of shellfish.

They also hunted animals on land and gathered edible plants from the surrounding area. Related: Desert dryness inspired mummy diversity. The Chinchorro practice of mummification began around 7, years ago, some two millennia before the first known Egyptian mummies, according to the same CNN report.

Although the practice became more sophisticated over time, the basic process remained the same. It involved the removal of soft tissue, organs and brains. The hollow body was then dried out and reassembled.