Ancient Egypt Mummification - Case Study Example

Ancient Egypt mummification - the process of mummification whereby Egyptians attempted to preserve their identities after death Egyptian civilizationis one of the ancient civilizations. Magnificent pyramids, mysterious mummies, pharaohs and hieroglyphs inscriptions on papyrus rolls showcase its glory and splendor to the world. The ancient Egyptians believed in life after death. The belief was that when a person died the soul left the body but returned to unite with the body after it was buried. Hence, they preserved the body of the dead person after the person’s death. According to Erman, Egyptians believed that the human is made of body, soul and the ghost- the Ka. (307; vol.2). They believed that all humans had Ka conceived in them, which grew up with them from childhood. The Ka, left the body after death but remains existed in the form of spirit. The Ka would enter the body whenever it desired. It had to find and recognize the body for its possession over it. Hence the Egyptians tried to preserve the body and its features to enable Ka to recognize its body. It was believed that the Ka lived in the tomb with his favorite things, food and drink. In ancient Egypt, due to the limited availability of cultivating land, the corpse was placed in a shallow desert sand pit with all the dead person’s favorite possessions. Sand was thrown on top of the body to preserve it. The climate and the environment of the deserts provided the conditions necessary for natural preservation of the dead bodies. It was an accidental mummification. The dry sand and the sun’s heat aided the process and produced well preserved bodies which retained some skin tissue, hair and the face which was similar to the dead person when he or she was alive. This process was carried on for a long time and all Egyptians irrespective of whether they were rich or poor were mummified in the desert sand. Later, a sophisticated mummification process was arrived which was lengthy and expensive. So the wealthy underwent this lengthy process while the poor continued the practice of burying the dead in the deserts. The process of mummification improved through experimentation through several centuries. The experiments on mummification might have begun as early as the 2nd dynasty. An Egyptologist, J.E. Quibell, got evidence on use of natron or other preservative agents on the skin of the mummy during the 2nd dynasty “….perhaps evidences an attempt to use natron or another agent as a preservative by applying it to the surface of the skin”. (Monet) The proper procedure of mummification was a complicated one with various stages involved in the process. The process aimed to avoid decomposition of the body through evisceration and dehydration. The internal organs were called viscera. They were first removed from the thoracic and abdominal cavities. The viscera were dehydrated using natron and were placed in the canopic jars. The canopic jars were jars made of stone or wood with stoppers alike the face of the four gods. The four gods protected the internal organs. They were the four sons of Horus. The human-headed god Imsety protected the liver. Hapy, the god with baboon head took care of the lungs. The jackal headed god Duamutef, protected the stomach and Qebehsenuef, the falcon-headed god guarded the intestines. In few cases, the viscera were again put in the body through cavities or kept on the legs of the mummy in a large packet. Even then, the canopic jars were buried along with the mummy to protect the internal organs. The Egyptians believed that heart was the center of intelligence and life and hence retained it in its place in the body. The heart also played a crucial role in the dead’s entry to afterlife. The heart was retained to determine the moral righteousness of the person in the underworld. The god of the dead was Osris and Anubis, the protector of the dead. After death, the soul was believed to go to the Kingdom of dead, which was ruled by Osris. The dead would be rewarded to live under Osris, if they had a sin-free heart. The deceased were brought to the Hall of Two Truths to appear before a judging panel who would judge the dead for his deeds during his life time. According to Erman, in the hall of two truths, there were forty-two daemonic forms with heads of snakes, hawks, vultures etc. The jackal headed God, Anubis, weighed the heart of the dead against the feather of Ma’at. Ma’at was the goddess of truth and justice. Anubis held the key of life called ankh in his hand. If the heart was heavy, it meant that the dead had done evil deeds during his life. Then, Ammut, the god with crocodile head and hippopotamus legs would eat the heart and the dead could not enter the kingdom of Osris. If the heart was lighter than the feather, it meant the dead person had led a moral life. The result of morality was recorded by Thoth, the ibis-headed god of wisdom. Then Horus presented the dead to Osris and the Ka was entitled to afterlife, to join Osris in his underworld. The brain was removed through a procedure called excerebration. The brain was then thrown away as it did not have any significance in the afterlife of the dead. A metal hook was inserted into the cranial cavity through the nostril and the ethmoid bone. Then the brain was crushed into small pieces and removed with a tool which looked like a spatula. At times, incision was made through the base of the skull or an eye socket to get access to the brain tissues. After the removal, the cranial cavity was packed either with resin soaked linen strips or by molten resin, which was poured into the skull. After the evisceration, came the technique of embalming. In this, the cavities were initially washed with palm wine and filled with a mixture of dry natron, gum resin and vegetable matter. Then the body was kept in natron for further dehydration. Even though the process of dehydration finishes in forty days, the body was kept in the natron bath for nearly seventy days. After this period, the temporary stuffing was removed and was replaced by permanent stuffing and in few cases dehydrated viscera was again inserted back in the cavities. To recreate the appearance of the body and to retain the original body shape, the embalmers used a subcutaneous packing under the skin of the mummy through incisions in legs, neck and arms. In this procedure the body cavities were packed with sawdust, butter, linen and mud and four packages of viscera were also inserted. After this, all the cavities in the body were closed and plugged with resin or wax. Then to slow the decomposition, insect attack and odors, various oils and gum resins were smeared on the body. It was then the duty of the embalmers to cover the mummy in various layers of linen bandages. The priest read spells while the mummy was bandaged. The spells were read to help the dead confront evil spirits and to help in the journey to the afterlife. Spells from the Book of the Dead in a papyrus scroll was placed between the wrapped hands. The Egyptians funerary texts are in the Book of the Dead. It was on the belief that to get to the afterlife the dead had to pass through the underworld. According to Egyptians, the underworld was a dangerous place with scary monsters and dangerous animals guarding the gate of the ‘Hall of two truths’. The book consists of various spells and magical verses for the dead to direct them and to prepare them face the danger of the underworld. Egyptians belief in afterlife led them to symbolize their beliefs in artistic ways. Often, the tombs were covered with hieroglyphs and paintings which would tell and depict the beliefs of Egyptians and in particular, depict the funeral of the dead person. There were paintings which would relate the dead with Osris, for their godly virtues which they would attain after rebirth. In their depictions, Egyptians combined the religious concept of the afterlife and represented the dead in their earthly life and afterlife. They believed that these depictions helped them in their eternity. The Egyptians believed that the amulets would guard the dead from the evils and dangers facing them in the underworld. There were various amulets such as Isis knot amulet, which would protect the body and Plummet amulet which would keep the dead balanced in their life after death. Hence they inserted protected amulets in between the layers of linen bandages. Finally, a large cloth was wrapped which was then wound by strips of linen from top to bottom of the mummy and around its middle. The shrouds were depicted with scenes relating to the rejuvenation of the dead. The women were depicted with long curly hair and wigs for they revealed her beauty, desirability and their ability to reproduce. Long hair was also associated with the Goddess in Egypt. Therefore, a dead woman was depicted in long hair and hence was associated with the goddess and afterlife. The afterlife attributes like broad shoulders, partial nudity and long hair along with the contemporary attributions like eyebrows, jewelry etc. were added to strike a balance in picture between afterlife and earthly life. (Riggs, 103) Masks also played an important role in funeral art. The mask was placed to strengthen the spirit of the mummy. In addition to providing a face in afterlife, the masks helped the spirit to recognize the body. Masks were also believed to protect the head of the body in case of a physical damage. The masks had big, embellished eyes and puzzling half smiles and were decorated with wigs and headband. The bib of the mask was extended till chest and was painted with broad collars and floral motif necklaces. The face of the mask was painted with red for males and pale yellow for females. The masks were made of either cartonnage or plaster. The jewels were sometimes adorned on the masks. The main reason behind the funerary arts such as masks, tomb paintings, and small figurines were to provide the dead with the necessities of the afterlife, to portray the burial rites and to provide them with their favorite possessions from their earth life. These customs and practices were done for making the Ka live in its tomb peacefully. The anthropoid was painted with scenes related to mummification process with jackal headed god Anubis, performing the ritual of embalming. Goddess Ma’at and Osris were depicted in the linen cartonnages. A painted wood board was positioned atop before the mummy was kept into the coffin. This coffin was put in another coffin. Finally, mummy and the coffin were covered with a liquid or a semi-liquid resinous substance. The anthropoid was painted with scenes related to mummification process with jackal headed god Anubis, performing the ritual of embalming. Goddess Ma’at and Osris were depicted in the linen cartonnages. After this, the mummy and coffin were returned to the family. After this, a ceremony called ‘opening of the mouth’ was performed to feed the dead with food and drink. The ceremony was done with the help of a magical knife “because of the importance of rebirth in Egyptian religion, a stylized knife with magical property became part of the equipment.” (Harer 1053-5). This was performed in front of the tomb. The last procedure was to keep the coffins inside a large stone in the tomb. Along with the coffin, shabits were also buried. Shabits were small figures which would come alive and work instead of the dead master. The deceased had to work for Osris for the protection provided in the afterlife. It was believed that the Shabits would take care of the work to be done in the afterlife. The favorite belongings of the dead, a model boat for the dead to travel in the underworld, large amount of food and drink were kept in the tomb. This was done for the comfortable living of the Ka in the tomb. The mummification of the body, depiction of funerals in hieroglyphics and in drawings in the tomb and in coffin, offering food and provision of favorite belongings were done to aid the dead for their rebirth or for their life after death. The tombs, hieroglyphs, mummies and the supplies in the tomb depict the stages of mummification, and provide information about the ancient Egypt. “However, the earliest known accounts of mummification that are relatively complete occur in the writings of two specific Greek historians (Herodotus from the fifth century BC and Diodorus Siculus from the first century BC)”. (Monet) Works Cited Erman, Adolf. “Life in Ancient Egypt, Volume 2”. London: Macmillan, 1894.Web Harer WB Jr. “Peseshkef: the first special purpose surgical instrument”. National Center of Biotechnology information: U.S National Library of Medicine 83(6), (1994):1053-5. Web. 19 November 2010.< http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8190422> Monet, Jefferson."An Overview of mummification in ancient Egypt." n.d. Touregypt. 19 November 2010 . Riggs, Christina. “The beautiful burial in Roman Egypt: art, identity and funerary religion”. United States: Oxford University Press Inc., 2005.Web Bibliography “Ancient Egypt”. n.d. ancientegypt.co.uk.19 November 2010. “Egyptian Afterlife Ceremonies, Sarcophage, Burial Masks”. n.d. Crystallinks.com. 19 November 2010. Erman, Adolf. “Life in Ancient Egypt, Volume 2”. London: Macmillan, 1894.Web Monet, Jefferson."An Overview of mummification in ancient Egypt." n.d. Touregypt. 19 November 2010 . Riggs, Christina. “The beautiful burial in Roman Egypt: art, identity and funerary religion”. United States: Oxford University Press Inc., 2005.Web Read More