Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Mummification existed in three different processes, ranging from most expensive, moderately expensive, and most simplistic, or least expensive. [21] The most classic, common, and most expensive method of mummification dates back to the eighteenth dynasty. The first step was to remove the internal organs and liquid so that the body would not decay.
Mummification was an integral part of the rituals for the dead beginning as early as the 2nd dynasty (about 2800 BC). [20] Egyptians saw the preservation of the body after death as an important step to living well in the afterlife. As Egypt gained more prosperity, burial practices became a status symbol for the wealthy as well.
The act of mummification described was to be done while prayers and incantations were performed ritualistically. [6]Persons necessarily present and participating within a performance of the ritual were a master of secrets or stolist (both refer to the same person), a lector, and a divine chancellor or seal-bearer (hetemu-netjer).
Scans of mummies at Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History uncovered new details about how they were prepared for the afterlife and helped solve a baffling mystery.
Mummification was a practice that the ancient Egyptians adopted because they believed that the body needed to be preserved in order for the dead to be reborn in the afterlife. [15] Initially, Egyptians thought that like Ra, their physical bodies, or Khat, would reawaken after they completed their journey through the underworld. [16]
Purifying the body was an important step before the ceremony could take place. This was done using natron, a type of salt used to preserve the body in the mummification process. Afterwards perfumes and oils were placed in their mouth and on other regions of their body.
The failure to remove internal organs, the study noted, was unusual because the classic method of mummification from that period included the removal of all such organs except the heart.
Mummification served to preserve and transform the physical body into sah, an idealized form with divine aspects; [29] the Book of the Dead contained spells aimed at preserving the body of the deceased, which may have been recited during the process of mummification. [30]