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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 ]
In addition to these components of the soul, there was the human body (called the ḥꜥ, occasionally a plural ḥꜥw, meaning approximately "sum of bodily parts"). According to ancient Egyptian creation myths , the god Atum created the world out of chaos, utilizing his own magic ( ḥkꜣ ). [ 1 ]
Although no writing survived from the Predynastic period in Egypt (c. 6000 – 3150 BCE), scholars believe the importance of the physical body and its preservation originated during that time. This likely explains why people of that time did not follow the common practice of cremation among neighboring cultures, but rather buried the dead.
Djer is stated to have been the first to have made a written work on the study of anatomy, entitled Practical Medicine and Anatomical Book, which is known of, but not extant, although this attribution may represent an honorific observance indicating the book was written within the reign of the pharaoh, within which the book is known to have ...
Ka statues were usually carved from wood or stone and sometimes painted in the likeness of the owner to reinforce the spiritual connection and preserve the person's memory for eternity. Many ka statues were placed in a purpose-built mortuary chapel, or niche, which could be covered with appropriate inscriptions. [ 2 ]
Dozens of well-preserved beer jars and several well-made and red-lined vessels, seal impressions, including seals of the pharaohs who ruled during the fifth and sixth dynasties were also uncovered. One of the earliest seals might belonged to pharaoh Shepseskare, who ruled Egypt before Nyuserre. [110]
In the opinion of James E. Harris and Kent Weeks, who undertook the forensic examination at the time the X-rays were taken, his mummy is the worst preserved of all the royal mummies held at the Egyptian Museum, and they noted that a "foul, oily smell filled the room the moment the case in which his body was exhibited was opened," which is ...
The body is usually cremated as soon as possible, preferably within 24 hours, except when the offspring of the deceased need time to get to the location (in which case the body is refrigerated). In Islam, embalming of the dead is not practiced, except in cases of necessity, such as when a body is being transported internationally and the law ...