Mummification In Ancient Egypt

Mummification has always been a big part of Egyptian history. Egyptians have been preserving the bodies of the deceased before written times. Mummification has always fascinated the modern age. When I visited the Museum of Fine Arts, the art of the ancient world had been put on display near the front entrance. Some artifacts were new to me others I have seen a thousand times. While walking through the Egyptian gallery something caught my eye. Protected by glass were pots, not just any pots but canopic jars. Canopic jars were commonly used during the Old Kingdom (2750 – 2250 B.C). These jars were filled with organs that were deemed important.
Mummification took time and money which is why this ritual was only reserved for the pharaoh during the Old Kingdom. During the prehistoric age there has been thousands of mummifications done but most of these has been accidental. The mummification process did not have any meaning to it until around 2600 BC (Writer873).
The mummification process was an extravagant method in keeping the body of the pharaoh alive. Once the pharaoh has …show more content…
Since most of the mummification done in the Old Kingdom was only meant for the Kings and Queens the priest would spend a lot of time praying to ensure the body and its spirit were prepared properly for the afterlife (Writer873). The Egyptians believed the afterlife had three major components, the body, the ka, and the ba. The ka is the force of life. When the person dies it was believed the life force was separated from the body and returned to the creator. In life the ka is preserved by food and drinks which is why ancient Egyptians offered food to the deceased. The ba is everything that makes the person an individual. This is similar to personality, dislikes, and likes. It is said every night the ba returns to the mummy and receive the power of rebirth. This is when the ka and the ba reunite and become an akh, a living human being