Many peoples, including the Incas of Peru, have preserved their dead as mummies. The ancient Egyptians, however, excelled at the practice. As part of their religion, they believed in life after death. For a person to live in the next world, they thought, the body must remain intact. This belief led the Egyptians to preserve their dead as mummies, or embalmed bodies. They thought that as long as the body was preserved, the soul could live. Because moisture causes bodies to decay, the early Egyptians buried their dead in the desert sand. The heat dried the bodies but kept their form and features, creating naturally preserved mummies. Later the Egyptians began burying their dead in coffins. To keep the bodies from decaying, they started the practice of ritual mummification. The Egyptians mummified their kings and nobles for some 3,000 years. The practice declined after the early 1st millennium BC. It was too costly ever to be available to most Egyptians. The mummification processThe embalming process varied from age to age in Egypt. The most elaborate method was at first reserved for royalty. The brain, intestines, and other vital organs were removed and washed in palm wine. They were then placed in vases, known as canopic jars, filled with herbs. The only organ left inside the body was the heart. The body cavities were filled with spices and resins. Then the body was dried by immersion in a solution of natron, a type of salt. After 70 days, the body was washed and wrapped in linen bandages. Often the bandages had prayers written on them. The shrouded mummy was put into a wooden coffin, often beautifully painted and carved in the shape of a person. A molded mask of the dead or a portrait on linen or wood sometimes decorated the head end of the case. Generally the mummy was placed inside a second coffin of wood and sometimes also inside a stone coffin called a sarcophagus. The bodies of the poor were merely dried with salt and wrapped in coarse cloths. The Egyptians also embalmed sacred animals, particularly cats. During the Middle Ages apothecary shops sold a powder that was made by pounding ancient mummies. At that time the substance was said to have medicinal value. King Tut's TombThousands of mummies have been discovered in the sands and tombs of Egypt. The most famous is that of King Tutankhamen, who ruled Egypt during the 14th century BC. His tomb was uncovered in 1922. The king's mummy was enclosed in a series of three coffins—the innermost of solid gold. This, along with a vast treasure in the vault, made the find one of the most extraordinary in the history of archaeology. |