Mummification Research Paper

This paper discusses the process of mummification, the coffin, and tomb that the mummy would spend the remainder of its physical state in. The true desire of ancient Egyptians was to prolong their existence as long as possible. For this reason mummification was an important and prominent part of their culture. The conclusion that I made from this research is that archeologists’ disregard of ancient Egyptian beliefs about the afterlife is problematic and the disruption of graves should be discontinued.
The ancient Egyptians were true believers in the afterlife and the underworld. They’re lives were of a peaceful sort due to their geographic location, and because of this lack of strife they had a great desire to continue on their peaceful lives …show more content…
There were four prominent parts of mummification, the embalming, the coffin, and the tomb. The embalming was a type of religious ritual, and each step of the embalmment coincided with ceremonies made by priests (Martin, 6). The embalming itself focused largely on absorbing all of the moisture left over in the body. In order to rid the body of it, the embalmer needed to the remove organs from the body that would cause decay. An incision was made on the abdomen, and from it all of the organs were carefully removed. In the end the organs that were removed were the liver, intestines, stomach, and lungs. These were then preserved and placed in Canopic jars and each had a different head a different god known as ‘the four sons of Horus’ (Canopic Jars). The Egyptians believed that in the same way Isis was able to put Osiris’ body back into its original state when he was in the afterlife, the organs that were taken out and preserved would be reunited with the body in the afterlife. There have been instances were more than simply these organs have been removed, but the grand majority of mummies which have been discovered only removed and embalmed the four listed. The heart differed from these organs, as it was dried out and then later placed back into the body. The heart was viewed similarly to the way that the brain is viewed today. It was the center all of all life and intelligence and without it a person wouldn’t be …show more content…
The book of dead, as mentioned before, was placed in every burial chamber as a guide to journey through the afterlife. Other books were included, as well, such as spells to see daylight, or even maps of the underworld. The paintings inside the tombs, called tomb scenes, were colored the same way the coffin was. A plaster-like material was placed on the wall and the artists drew on that instead of the wall itself. Everything that was a part of the tomb was important for guiding the deceased to a prosperous afterlife. Things such as amulets were placed for protection against evil spirits, and sometimes servants and animals were mummified along with the deceased in order to help guide and to protect (Andrews and Hamilton-Paterson,