Ancient Egyptian Mummification Process by Joshua Zaragoza

Have you ever wondered why the Egyptians would mummify or what was the process? The mummification process consents of 7 steps. They would mummify people because they thought there was an after life. There would be special people that would mummify other people. So in this paper it will focus on why they would mummify people, and the process they had to go through.

Who would do the mummifying?

Do you know the name of the people who would mummify, or what they did? The name of the people that would mummify are called, Embalmers they would spent most of there time on Egyptian royalty or other upper class members, some times but not all the times they would work on lower class but it is no often for people in the lower class to get mummified by the Embalmers, but when they did, they wouldn’t do it with care like they would to the upper class. They wouldn’t care in what they did, they gust wanted to get money when they mummify the lower class. The lower class would get mummified good or bad it all depends on the amount of money they would have. That is one reason why only rich would get mummified, and the poor would not often get mummified, in there time it would cost a lot to just get a coffin or a priest. So that is the job of an Embalmer in Ancient Egypt.

 Why do they mummify?

Do you know why mummifying was part of there religion? The Egyptians would, however excelled at the practice of their religion they would believed in an after life. For a person to end up in the after life. They thought the body would have to remain intact. This belief led to the Egyptians to preserve their bodies so the soul can remain alive in the next world. Your trip starts when you get mummified, then when you get to Anubis he would put your heart on a scale with the feather of truth because that was the only part of your inner organs. Then your trip continues to the after life. They have that trip because they think that it is a gate way to heaven, like in most religions. To sum it all up, the religion of mummification was important to them because they had to go to the after life, because they have to take there trip to the after life.

Mummification process 

Step 1: Announcement of Death

This first step was to let the people know that someone had died. A messenger was sent out to the streets to announce the death. This allowed people to get themselves ready for mourning period and ceremony.

Step 2: Embalming the Body

The second step was taking the body to be embalmed. The embalmers were located in special tents or buildings. These buildings were called embalming workshops, and were maintained by teams of priests. Oftentimes during the embalming, the priests would have to step outside to get away from the horrible smell.

Step 3: Removal of Brain

The first part of the body to be removed was the brain. Egyptians did not know the purpose of the brain, so they thought it was a waste of space. To extract the brain, a hook was inserted through the nose. The embalmers pulled out as much as they could, then put it in water to dissolve. Some people think the water was then thrown out, but others think it was taken with the mummy to the burial chamber.

Step 4: Removal of Internal Organ

Next to be removed were the internal organs: the liver, the lungs, the stomach, and the intestines. A small slit was made on the left side of the abdomen, then the embalmers reached in and pulled out the organs. Each of the organs was individually mummified, then stored in little coffins called canopic jars. There were four canopic jars, one for each of the organs. These jars were protected by the four sons of Horus. Once the internal organs were removed, the inside of the body was washed out with palm oil, lotions, and preserving fluids. Next the body was stuffed with linen, straw, or other packing material to keep the general shape of the person. Sometimes the embalmers were careless and either stuffed too much or too little. This caused the mummy to look puffy or disfigured.

Step 5: Drying Out Process

The body was placed on a slab and covered with either nacron or natron salt. The slab was tilted so that the water would run off into a basin. This removed moisture and prevented rotting. The body was taken outside and let dry for about forty days. After the body was completley dried out, the wrapping of the body began.

Step 6: Wrapping of the Body

Wrapping the body was a painstaking process. The body was anointed with oils, and a gold peice with the Eye of Horus was placed over the slit in the abdomen. Hundreds of yards of linen were used to wrap the body, and each toe and finger was wrapped separatley. Charms, amulets, and inscribed pieces of papyrus were placed between each layer of bandage. Egyptians believed that these charms had magical properties that would protect and bring luck to the body. The Eye of Horus, the symbol of protection, was used often. The wrapping process would be stopped every once in a while so that the priests could say certain prayers and write on the linen. A final shroud was placed on the mummy to keep all the wrappings together. Mummia was added to the shroud to "glue" it all together. (That's where the word "mummy" comes from.) Sometimes false eyes were inserted and make-up applied. Then a painted portrait mask was placed over the mummy's head so that dead person's soul (Ka) could recognize its owner. The mummy was then placed into a painted, decorated coffin.

To sum it all up, the importance of the mummification process is that people now don’t mummify, they are just looking for the way that the ancient Egyptians would mummify, or what they would use to preserve the bodies for a very long time. That is just another mystery for the world to be uncovered.