Download Why was the body not preserved? - 6th-d

Ancient Egyptian mummification developed over time.
The first burials in the hot desert sands led to
natural mummification of the whole body.
Later, placing the body in a coffin
meant that only the skeleton
survived.
Then the Egyptians learned how to artificially
mummify the body before putting it in the coffin.
Early mummification was a natural process.
The desert sand was hot and dry.
Bodies placed in the hot sand dehydrated
because the hot sand absorbed the water
in the body.
Dehydration (drying out) preserved the whole body.
The result is a natural sand-dried mummy.
preserved skin
burial in sand
grave goods
But bodies buried in the desert sands were at risk
from wild animals.
Munch munch…
If animals attacked the bodies they would not be preserved and would not reach the
afterlife intact.
How could the ancient Egyptians protect the bodies of the dead?
So the Egyptians started to place the body
in a coffin.
Will this work?
• This is a skeleton (not a mummy).
• The soft tissue has rotted away.
• The whole body needed to be preserved
for the afterlife.
Why was the body not preserved?
• The hot dry sand could not reach
the body to dry it out…
• ..so the soft tissue rotted away.
To live forever, it was absolutely necessary to prevent the dead
body from decaying, since the parts of the soul still had a need
for it. Three of the more well-known forms of the spirit were
the ba, the ka, and the akh. It was believed that the ramheaded creator god Khnum sculpted babies and all the parts of
their souls from clay.
The ba was the personality. It was shown as a bird with a
human head- in particular, the head of the person to which it
belonged. The ka was the life force, like our modern definition
of a soul, and it looked exactly like its person. Sometimes a
statue modeled after the deceased would be placed in the tomb
with the mummy. These "ka statues" were something of an
emergency back-up, to make sure the ka had a substitute body
to belong to in case something should happen to the mummy.
In addition to a recognizable body, the ka also needed food to
survive. When Egyptians left food and water at the tomb, they
were leaving it for the ka. The akh was represented by a type
of bird called a crested ibis. At death, the akh flew to the stars
to spend eternity in the heavens.
Oldest Mummy
• 'Ginger' is believed to be the
earliest known ancient
Egyptian "mummified" body,
being Late Predynastic and
dating to approximately 3300
BC. The body, which lies in a
fetal position and is
nicknamed 'Ginger' because
of its red hair, is not
internationally renowned
despite being older than
other more famous
mummies, such as those of
Rameses II or Seti I.
Mummification – Step 1
• Purification of the
body
• Ceremonial washing on
the west bank of the
Nile
Mummification –Step 2
• A priest dressed in the jackal
head costume representing
Annubis chants over the body
before the rippers remove the
internal organs
• The organs would be saved in
canopic jars!
Canopic Jars
The Brain
• The Brain was removed with a
knitting needle like hook
inserted through the left nostril.
• It was pulled out and discarded
since the Egyptians felt the
center of life was the Heart.
Mummification tools:
Brain hooks
Oil jar
Funnel
(replica)
Embalmer's knife
(Royal Ontario Museum)
Step 3 – Packing and Salting
• After the removal of the
internal organs, every drop of
moisture was removed from the
body.
• The chest cavity was packed
and the body covered in natron
a natural salt.
Natron: Sodium carbonate and Sodium bicarbonate
• For forty days of the 70
day mummification
process efforts were
made to make sure all
water was out of the
body to prevent molds,
fungus, and bacteria
from growing.
• After 40 days the body
was ready for the final
processing
Plumping and Painting – Step 5
• The shriveled blackened
corpse was plumped up
like a pillow after a nights
sleep.
• The body was than
covered with resin and
painted.
• Red ochre for Men
• Yellow ochre for Women
Wrapping – Step 6
• After being plumped and
painted, the mummy was
wrapped in the sacred linens of
Osiris just as Isis had done.
• As much as 3850 sq. feet of
wrap was used.
Wrapping took 15+ Days!
• Beginning with the head the
body was wrapped in layers.
• Each layer was covered with
resins to seal it.
Portrait Mask – Step 7
• A red shroud is placed over the
head and painted on it is a
portrait of the dead person.
• In the New Kingdom, finely
detailed wax masks and beautiful
sarcophaguses were used.
Amulets of the New Kingdom
• Gold sheathing might
cover the toes as it did on
King Tut.
• Jewelry and Sacred
amulets would be added
at this time.
• Teeth would reattached or
added
• Name tags would be place
on the mummy
Burial – Step 8
In the final step, the priest
dressed as Annubis opens the
mummies mouth. This
awakens the senses and
allows the soul to return to
the body.
• After the 70 Day
preparation process,
actual burial would
take place.
• A procession with
professional
mourners, food,
family and priests
went to the tomb.
The coffins
• Once wrapped up you will need a
good wooden coffin.
• The coffins should have pictures
of Gods on them and lots of
hieroglyphics.
• A nest of coffins will be placed in
your tomb, inside a stone coffin
called a sacrcophagus.
What a mummy needs for a blissful afterlife….
• Have the wall of your tomb painted
with pictures of you.
• Stock your tomb with food, clothes.
Weapons, furniture and tools.
• It is the duty of your relatives to bring
you gifts of food, so you don’t go
hungry