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Burial customs essay egypt
Ancient Egyptian cultures
Burial practices in ancient Egypt
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The discovery of Tutankhamun’s mummy gave great insight into the Ancient Egyptian process of mummification. The extensive process is no longer the mystery that it once was. Since Egypt is known for its dry, humid climate, the earliest mummies were buried in shallow pits of sand, the organs placed in special pottery jars. Often, pottery coffins were used, but at times, bodies were placed in the sand. Around 2,000 B.C., when mummification practices became more widespread, bodies underwent an elaborate process and descended into the afterlife. Many Egyptians enjoyed and lived life to the fullest extent possible. Since Egyptians believed that an afterlife existed, they wanted to ensure that the dead could experience a “New Life.” For this reason, …show more content…
First, the corpse underwent a natron bath—a mixture of sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, and sodium chloride (regular salt.) Known for its drying properties, natron was used extensively in the mummification process. On the outside of the corpse, natron would be applied throughout, and inside the cavities once occupied by life-sustaining organs, had packets of natron wrapped in linen to rid the body of excess moisture. After 40 days had passed, the natron was discarded, and the body was given a sort of cleansing bath with different wine and spices. Once the bath had been completed, the arduous task of wrapping began. As difficult as using hundreds of yards of linen sounds, this was the case with mummification. What’s intriguing, however, is that most of the linen used was recycled—namely from a previous owner’s home. Between each layer, priests applied resin to act as a bonding agent. Individual fingers and toes would be given discrete and special attention and wrapped …show more content…
A priest would touch the mummies’ mouth with a special instrument enabling him or her to gain the ability to move, talk, and eat. Then, the tomb was sealed up, and the Canopic Jars and other artifacts were placed beside the mummy. Often, elaborate coffins were made—3 in one. One outer coffin, which was carved to resemble a mummy contained the mummy, and the other two were placed inside the outermost layer. Another name for the coffins is called a sarcophagus. Before the soul could be transported to the afterlife, he or she had to confer with forty-two spiritual assessors. Then, the heart was weighed against a feather to determine a moral life worth living. Annibus, the God who presided over embalming did the weighing, and Thoth a religious scribe, recorded the result on a
Interestingly, X-rays reveal that the mummy case of Paankhenamun does in fact contain a mummy inside dating back to the years of c. 945 – 715 B.C. The practice of mummification was the Egyptian people’s way of preserving the spirits of the Gods/Goddesses and royalty. The idea was that when these beings came back to life, they would be preserved and well prepared for their next lives. By the time of the New Kingdom, the Egyptians already had developed techniques of mummification, which were done under a priest’s supervision (Stokstad 114), and since Paankhenamun was the priest of Amun, he was most likely was in charge of these procedures.
Ancient Egyptian culture was largely focused on the afterlife. One of their most important deities, Osiris, became the ruler of the Underworld through death. The pharaoh and elite class prepared for their impending deaths throughout their lives. Much of what survives from ancient Egypt today was found in tombs and temples of the dead. When one of the elite died, the process of laying him or her to rest was extensive. Harold Hays explains that “the ritualized process of embalming and mummification is usually stated as lasting seventy days” (Hays 5). "Funeral Procession, Tomb of Pairy" shows two of the processes that Hays details. The first depicted is the procession to the tomb. Pairy’s body would have already been through several processions, mummification, and embalming. This particular procession’s goal is to lead not just the body, but also the spirit into the afterlife. People of both high and low classes attended this procession, carrying with them the tomb goods (Hays 6-7). The second depicted
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
In Ancient Egypt there were over 29 Kings and Pharaohs and over 5 Queens. Some of the most famous kings and queens were: Ramses II, Ramses III, King Tut, Cleopatra, and Nefertiti.
... other paintings of London, Derain uses brighter colors, whereas his color usage is more restrained in Regent Street, London.
The Use of Techniques in The Mummy In the extract from ‘The Mummy’, a wide range of techniques are employed in order to convey certain aspects to the audience. The ways in which the camera is used have great effect on the impression given; for example the minimal movement, including slow pans, in order to not detract from the impressive nature of the exotic location – a staple for films of the action/adventure genre. The vastness of the desert is also emphasized by the use of wide shots, in which the screen is filled by the sandstorm and the heroes’ plane appears greatly vulnerable; this also makes use of another genre convention – the powerful odds which must be overcome. Another use of the wide shot is to provide a backdrop for the film’s spectacular special effects. Medium close-ups and close-ups (CUs) are used to focus on the expressions of the actors, such as when the female lead kisses the Mummy, and on the building psychological tension, for example the female lead’s concern for the occupants of the damaged aeroplane.
The excavation and discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb was as a result of the efforts of the Archaeologist Howard Carter and his team. Carter’s discovery of the tomb came by finding steps to the burial near the entrance to the tomb Ramses VI. The subsequent excavated of the site by Carter and his team revealed the greatest ever treasure found from an Egyptian tomb and showed the existence of Tutankhamun. Carter’s methodology for the excavation was that of maintaining records for each artefact and that every artefact that was brought out of the tomb was preserved appropriately. The discovery and excavation of the tomb was a long and complex process but with it revealed much about Tutankhamun.
When one hears the word mummies the first thing that comes to mind are the Egyptian mummies inside expensive-looking detailed tombs. But 2,000 years before the Egyptians embraced this art, a South American Culture—the Chinchorro—had already started preserving its dead in a similar way. This Culture composed of fishermen, hunters and gatherers from southern Peru and northern Chile used a number of different mummification processes. But since there was no discrimination to choose who was mummified archaeologists have not yet found the reason why the Chinchorro chose to practice mummification. However, there is plenty of information on other aspects of the Chinchorro culture that makes it far more interesting than other cultures that practiced
The most expensive service is said to be the best and usually used by royal families. The body was first laid down on a table and washed. Embalmers started from the head and begin by removing the brain through the nostrils. They used a long metallic hook to remove the brain, often damaging the nose. Although they tried not to change the body’s form because it had to remain as intact as possible. The brain was removed because they believed it was irrelevant to a person’s afterlife. “Once they had removed the brain they would either pack the skull with linen sheets, mud, sand, or resin. The second step was to make an incision on the left side of the abdomen to remove the organs. The whole cavity was washed once the abdomen organs are removed.” The only organs not removed were; the heart, the kidneys, and the vessels for a faster putrefaction. The heart was also left inside because they believed it was what made the person’s identity. The heart was considered the center of emotion and intelligence. After, the cavity was filled with aromatic substances such as cassia and myrrh. Later, the body was dehydrated with an ingredient that occurred naturally in the saline lake beds in Egypt called Natron, also known as “divine salt.” Natron is a compound of sodium salts and was the key ingredient in the process of mummification. Once the body was dehydrated, it was filled to assimilate the body of the one that once
were 10 doors and at end there was a statue of Osiris, the god of the
The Egyptians during this period took ample time and detail on the mummification process to ensure a successful transition from the netherworld to rebirth. The Coffin of Tentkhonsu, 1025-980 B.C., it’s a depiction of how the Egyptians valued and honored their elite members of society, as well as their gods. The Coffin of Tentkhonsu, itself dates back to the III intermediate period in Egyptian culture. The Egyptian believe was to join Osiris, whom was believed to have ascended to Netherworld and accomplished eternal life.
Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.e 40Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. 41At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. 42Because it was the Jewish day
This is how a mummy is made. Step one, wash the body with water from the Nile river. After the body has been washed make a cut in the side of the tummy. Take all the organs out of the body and put a hook inside the nose to take out the brain be careful not to leave any part of the brain inside the body. They took out the brain because they thought the brain was not that important and that they would not need the brain in the after life. Step two, clean the lungs, intestine, stomach, and the liver. Put them in four different canopic jars. Leave the heart inside the body. They left the heart inside the body because they thought the heart was the
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 ...
were filled with linen, natron pouches, herbs, sawdust, sand or chopped straw. The skin and first few layers of linen bandages were then covered with a resinous coating. The rest of the body was then wrapped, often with the inclusion of amulets and with a mask placed overhead of the mummy.