According to Ancient Egypt's cultural and religious beliefs, it was vital that one had an intact body in order to live eternally after death. Early Egyptians of the Naqada Period (c.4000-3000 BCE) were allegedly the first to observe the phenomenom of natural preservation of bodies, noting that the ones buried in shallow graves in the hot and dry desert sand would take longer to decompose, thus being able to house its owner again in the afterlife. During this period, the Egyptians trialed burial techniques and some burials from Upper Egypt already had signs of their hands and necks wrapped in resin-soaked linen bandages. At this early stage, bodily preservation was rudimentary, but it laid the foundation for thousands of years of experimentation to perfect the art of embalming.
About 2600 B.C., during the Fourth and Fifth Dynasties, Egyptians likely began to mummify the dead intentionally. The practice continued and developed for well over 2,000 years, into the Roman Period, c. 30 B.C.– A.D. 364. Within any period, the quality of the mummification varied, depending on the price paid for it. The best prepared and preserved mummies are from the Eighteenth through the Twentieth Dynasties of the New Kingdom, from about. 1570–1075 B.C. It took 70 days to complete. Several embalmers conducted the task in the special embalming shop or per nefer. The chief embalmer was known as the hery sheshta. He wore a jackal mask to represent Anubis, the god of mummification.
After the body had been shaved and washed with wine and spices, all of the parts that might decay were removed. The embalmers first removed the brain through the nose using a long hook. It was carefully inserted up through the nostrils in order to pull out bits of brain tissue. It was a delicate operation. The embalmers then removed the organs of the abdomen and chest through a cut usually made on the left side of the abdomen. They left only the heart in place, believing it to be the center of a person's being and intelligence. The other organs were preserved separately, with the stomach, liver, lungs, and intestines placed in special boxes or jars today called canopic jars. These were buried with the mummy. In later mummies, the organs were treated, wrapped, and replaced within the body.
The embalmers next removed all moisture from the body. This they did by covering the body with natron, a type of salt. Sunken areas of the body were filled out with linen and other materials and false eyes were added. Next the wrapping began. Each mummy needed hundreds of yards of linen.The wrapping was known as the 'linen of yesterday' because, initially, people would give their old clothing to the embalmers to wrap the corpse in. This practice eventually led to linen cloth used in embalming.The body was then returned to the relatives who placed it in a wooden coffin.
It was believed that eternal life was only possible if one's body remained intact. A person's name, their identity, represented their immortal soul, and this identity was linked to one's physical form.
External Links[]
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https://www.egy-king.com/2020/07/ancient-egyptian-mummies.html
https://www.egy-king.com/2020/05/the-mummification-process.html
https://www.egy-king.com/2020/07/ancient-egyptian-mummies.html
https://www.egy-king.com/2020/11/new-mummy-coffins-found-in-egypt-2020.html
https://www.si.edu/spotlight/ancient-egypt/mummies
https://www.worldhistory.org/article/44/mummification-in-ancient-egypt/