For my research paper I decided to revisit an exhibit that I first heard of while having the most exhilarating spring break of doing tourist things with my parents here in DC. The particular exhibit I chose was called, “Eternal Life in Ancient Egypt” located on the second floor of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. I actually had the hardest time finding this exhibit as it was very small (in comparison to the two bordering exhibits about insects and dinosaurs) which I thought was a bit unfair since I feel like there is more to the ancient Egyptian civilization. Nonetheless, I finally found this small exhibit in a corner of the museum. Growing up being one of those kids who had to watch the History Channel instead …show more content…
Everything they did almost made it seem like they lived to die. I think that this was an enormous part of the Egyptian culture and it is good to have seen an exhibit dedicated entirely to it. The way they mummified bodies in order for them to be preserved felt like they planned for the future. Which, as explained by the exhibit, is pretty close to the truth, their religion was based mostly on the fact that there is a life after the life spent on earth for all living things. The better they were preserved the better off they would be in the afterlife. However, in order to have enteral life the deceased’s ba, or spirit, needed to be able to find their rightful bodies. This was achieved by making masks to be placed on the corpse so that even if the head was missing or damaged there would still be a guaranteed reunion. Judging from the name of the exhibit “Eternal Life in Ancient Egypt” and although the exhibit was rather small, they did an excellent job in including things that were relevant to the topic. As far as things left out, I thought that when you take into account what the exhibit was meant to display and teach people about, it did its job perfectly. Things like embalming methods, what the inscriptions on different sides of coffins symbolized, and what the hieroglyphics on the walls of the tombs meant presented museum goers with information that …show more content…
Apart from the small bullet points of interesting information like dates and locations on the plates below and inside the glass cases, the exhibit include full articles that where broken up into smaller easy to read pieces. I found it neat that these particular archeologists utilized the X-Ray quite a bit in order to see what was inside the layers of stucco-drenched linen with out having to destroy all of the ancient Egyptian’s hard work. This might be common practice in the archeological world, but me being the muggle that I am would have cut the cloth off because using X-Rays would have never come to mind. This exhibit was also had another modern aspect to it that showed how the sciences work together. A CT image was taken and use to make a 3D printed image of a child’s head. You could tell that the makers of the exhibit were also extremely proud to be able to display this new technology because r underneath it there was a string of images that detailed the progression. I found it useful to be able to see this process because, like many other museums do, it made the exhibit more
Carved from alabaster the over-life-sized statue shows a idealized depiction of ruler Khafre sitting eloquently in his throne. Riddled with indicative symbols and motifs the written language of the ancient Egyptians allows for historian to interoperate the meanings and purpose of the sculpture, and decipher the statements of divinity and the king power left behind by this ancient people. This funerary statue represents Khafre’s eternity a well as utilizing the expensive material as a testament of his importance and
What appears to be tentkhonsu, is depicted much larger than the rest of the drawings, which could hint that she was granted salvation and eventual rebirth. It is truly marvelous the dedication that was granted to the dead in the mummification process during this
Was it a gift or a curse? The Nile is the world's longest river at 4,160 miles. Of that total, approximately 660 to 700 miles of the Nile are actually in Egypt. It is one of the four most important river civilizations in the world. Land in Egypt was called Black Land (representing life) and Red Land (representing danger). For Egyptians, the Nile meant the difference between life and death. Today, we know that the Nile influenced ancient Egypt in many areas of life such as providing food, shelter and faith to the people. Specific areas dealing with settlement location, agricultural cycle, jobs, trade, transportation and spiritual beliefs will prove the case.
People go to see artifacts in museums for experience. What could be a better experience than going to the place they are from? Yes, the trip could cost a little more, but you cannot replicate the historical value an object holds in its origin country. The price is nothing compared to the true understanding of the history we gain from going out and visiting the place they should be. The place they should be is their home, where they were found and formed, their origin country.
The elements that will be focused on are the multiple functions of the tomb and rituals, specifically the mummification of bodies. Ancient Egyptian tombs had many functions; the main function being to hold the bodies of the dead. Tombs were typically built during a person’s lifetime and were ready by their time of death (Olson, 2009). Before bodies were put in the tombs, they underwent a process called mummification to help preserve the body and keep it intact. The tomb was also a place where family members could come and visit the deceased. In the early years, tomb structures were very simple; they consisted only of one chamber (Grajetzki, 2003: 3-4). Later on, façade tombs were built— which consisted of two parts; an “underground chamber for the dead and the superstructure built above the ground, over the shaft and the burial chamber” (Grajetzki, 2003: 8). Next, the Egyptian tombs and ...
The way the Etruscans perspective the afterlife and death was unique compared to the others culture at the time. For example in their tombs, where death should be focused, the Etruscans focused more on life instead on death. In the history of the Etruscans art the notion of death is rarely shown or mention. There was no depiction of actually death or scenes of a spiritual journey to the afterlife. What the Etruscans did was creating a home for the dead, focusing on connecting the life of the body with the life of the spirit.
Perhaps the most notorious of burial practices originating in Egypt is that of mummification. Why such an extraordinary attempt was made to preserve cadavers may seem
Thesis statement: In this research, I will investigate the basic concepts of the Egyptian mythology and its gods.
The overall point of this investigation is to determine the influence of feminine stature in the Egyptian culture. I explored in deeper into this topic because the Egyptian culture had a lot of facets in their own culture that had disappeared for some time, only to be assimilated into modern day culture. Their culture was before their time. The period of the Egyptians was from 3500 - 525 B.C., where in 525 B.C. the Persians conquered the Egyptians (more on that later). The method that I am using that determine the feminine importance is through various articles that are displaying the role of the women in the daily society, articles about the role of goddesses in the Egyptian people’s lives, and the crusade that the Egyptian people lost
The Book was originally intended as a set of spells and incantations meant to insure safe passage for the soul of a deceased person into the Underworld. Some of the ending chapters include instructions on not dying a second time, meaning how not to die in the underworld and thus having no chance of being reborn or living a full afterlife. The original text--at least, the bits and pieces that modern scholars possess--consists of a set of hymns, beginning with the Hymn to Osiris. This hymn is meant to call up the king of the underworld and make him aware of the presence of the soul. After summoning Osiris, the presiding priest would begin a series of ceremonies designed to give the spirit all the faculties it possessed in life, such as speech, movement of the limbs, internal organ functions, and sight. After these rites were completed, the corpse was removed to the tomb where prophetic portions of the Book were read.
I. MAIN POINT: Thanks to the Ancient Egyptians, Egypt’s revenue increase by $13 billion every year due to the thousands of people who come and visit this historic monument.
Ancient Egyptian burial rituals and customs have evolved over time as source C depicts. Source C is relief illustrating the evol...
The Egyptian culture is vastly different from American culture. While there are similarities between business practices in both the United States and Egypt, understanding the key differences in how to conduct oneself when negotiating business can be the difference between closing a sale and leaving empty-handed. With this report, the sales and marketing teams of Chevrolet will better understand how to negotiate with Egyptian executives in order get more automobiles into Egyptian dealerships. The report focuses on: (a) how meetings are conducted in Egypt; (b) meeting times; (c) proper Egyptian greetings; (d) group behavior in a meeting; (e) common business hierarchy; (f) proper business attire; and (g) important business communication tips.
The ancient period had been of a great interest to today’s scientists, mathematicians, and even archaeologists. What we use or see now: the formulas in sciences and mathematics, some structures such as the pyramids, and even the calendar may be the products of the olden time. To find the birth of these, let us trace back time starting from 3000 BC:
In the south-western section of the area known as the Fertile Crescent, a civilization arose around 3500 BC. Known by most for their enormous works of construction, the pyramids, this civilization called the Egyptians, contributed largely to ancient society and the general development of the human race. Centralized around the Nile River, this civilization rose and fell, experience triumphs and catastrophes, and gradually created a legacy for themselves which we still remember and study today. The history of the ancient Egyptian civilization consists of five eras: the Pre-Dynastic period, the Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom, the Hyksos Era, and the New Kingdom.