MUMMIFICATION IN ANCIENT EGYPT 2400 BC 395 AD

MUMMIFICATION IN ANCIENT EGYPT 2400 BC – ~395 AD

WHAT IS MUMMIFICATION? • The process of preserving a dead body, known as a mummy • Ancient Egyptians were the most famous practitioners of mummification, though it has existed in many other cultures throughout history Howard Carter and King Tutankhamen

MUMMIFICATION OVERVIEW • Ancient Egyptians believed in an afterlife • Mummification helped someone reach the afterlife since, in order to have an afterlife, the dead person would have to repossess his or her body. • Egyptians believed that the only way to do this was if the body was recognisable.

WHY DID PEOPLE GET MUMMIFIED? • Ancient Egyptians understood humans as composed of 7 elements: 1. The Name 5. The Ka, or life force 2. The Heart 6. The Ba, or strength 3. The Shadow 7. 4. The Body or Corpse The Akh*, a blessed soul which had been judged worthy by Osiris after the person’s death, and could now return to Earth

WHY DID PEOPLE GET MUMMIFIED? • Egyptians believed that when a person died, he or she had their soul weighed against the goddess of Truth, Justice and Balance, Maat, who took the form of an Ostrich feather • If the person had lived a good life their soul was judged to be “Maat Kheru”, or lighter than Maat, and awarded an Akh • At this point the Ka, Ba, and Akh would reunite within the body of the deceased and could proceed to the afterlife • The Egyptians preserved bodies so that upon returning to them the Ka, Ba, and Akh would be able to recognize it

HOW WAS MUMMIFICATION DONE?

ANUBIS

REMOVAL OF THE BRAIN

CANOPIC JARS Intestines Liver Stomach Lungs

AMULETS

SHABTIS

HOW SUCCESSFUL WAS MUMMIFICATION? • Within any one period the quality of the mummification varied, depending on the price paid for it. • Overall, process was so successful that today we can view the mummified body of an Egyptian and have a good idea of what he/she looked like in life, 3000 years ago

MUMMIES UNWRAPPED Close your eyes for the next few slides if you are easily grossed out!

MUMMIES (1070 -945 BC) NESITANEBETASHRUA (PRIESTESS) DJEDPTAHIUANKH (ROYAL)

SETI I (PHARAOH) C. 1319 -1196 BC “LADY RAI” 18 TH DYNASTY

STEPS TO MUMMIFICATION 1. Remove the organs. 2. Clean the body. 3. Dry the body. 4. Reshape the body. 5. Wrap the body. 6. Ceremony and burial.

SOURCES • http: //myweb. usf. edu/~liottan/theegyptiansoul. html • http: //www. mylearning. org/ancient-egypt-death-and-the-afterlife/p 2890/ • http: //www. mylearning. org/a-step-by-step-guide-to-egyptianmummification/p-1677/ • http: //www. si. edu/Encyclopedia_SI/nmnh/mummies. htm