Why egyptians mummify

The belly was filled with pure myrrh , cassia and other spices and then sewn together again. The body was washed and rolled up in fine linen and covered over with gum. Finally, the mummified corpse was returned to family members.

Syringes were filled with oil from the cedar tree and injected into the abdomen, dissolving the bowels and interior organs.

The body was covered with a natron treatment for 70 days, after which the cedar oil was cleaned out and the body was left as skin and bones. The body was covered with a natron treatment for 70 days before being returned to loved ones.

Egyptian mummification became a lost art around the 4th century A. But because Egyptians were masters at preserving the dead, mummies have provided us with a glimpse into the rich culture and traditions of this ancient civilization. But that's not to say corpse preservation is, well, dead.

Mummification wasn't limited to Eqypt, and, in some ways, the tradition also has transcended time. Modern-day people in Papua New Guinea still mummify the deceased. Beyond that, funeral homes in the West often embalm dead bodies to slow decomposition and allow time for ceremonies to take place.

Preservation of these organs was important as they allowed the dead person to breathe and eat in the afterlife. However, usually only the wealthy could afford to have their organs embalmed and stored in this way. After about BCE the practice changed. The internal organs were then generally wrapped and put back into the body or bound with it, or put in boxes rather than being placed in jars. Canopic jars were still placed in the person's tomb but they were solid or empty and served a symbolic purpose.

View the Canopic Jar on Pedestal3D for full screen and additional functions. The heart, representing the centre of all knowledge and emotions, was usually left untouched inside the body while the brain was often thrown away.

The body was then treated with natron a carbonate salt collected from the edges of desert lakes which acted as a drying agent, absorbing water from the body so as to prevent further decay. Egyptians paid vast amounts of money to have their bodies properly preserved.

Egyptians who were poor were buried in the sand whilst the rich ones were buried in a tomb. It took a very long time, from start to finish, it took about 70 days to embalm a body. The priest in charge would wear the mask of a jackal representing the god Anubis.

The body was washed and purified. Organs were removed. Only the heart remained. The body was filled with stuffing. This substance absorbed all the moisture from the body. After 40 - 50 days the stuffing was removed and replaced with linen or sawdust.

The body was wrapped in strands of linen and covered in a sheet called a shroud. The body was placed in a stone coffin called a sarcophagus. Natron is a natural salt, composed of sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate with traces of sodium chloride and sodium sulfate. It was used by the ancient egyptians to dry out the bodies.

Who was the god of mummification? Anubis was the god of mummification. He had a human body and the head of a jackal. His job was to prepare the bodies of the dead to be received by Osiris. Ancient Egyptians were buried with their belongings and the tomb walls were painted with scenes from the dead persons life. The objects included furniture, games and even food was placed in the tombs for the long After Life journey!

Discovered in , and originally believed to be between 1, and 2, years old, the individual was subsequently radiocarbon dated in the s and determined to be over 10, years old, Live Science previously reported. In contrast, the oldest known Egyptian mummy that was naturally preserved dates to just over 5, years ago, Live Science reported.

That mummy was of a young woman whose body was wrapped in linen and fur after she died. The oldest deliberately interred mummies were unearthed in the Camarones Valley of Chile. This valley is in the far north of the country, in a region called the Atacama Desert. A narrow strip of land between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes Mountains, this desert receives little rainfall and is considered one of the driest places on Earth.

The mummies belong to what Uhle called the Chinchorro culture 9, to 3, years ago , who lived in what is now southern Peru and northern Chile. Chinchorro people settled in coastal villages and relied on fishing as their primary means of subsistence, using fishing hooks made out of shellfish.

They also hunted animals on land and gathered edible plants from the surrounding area. Related: Desert dryness inspired mummy diversity. The Chinchorro practice of mummification began around 7, years ago, some two millennia before the first known Egyptian mummies, according to the same CNN report.

Although the practice became more sophisticated over time, the basic process remained the same. It involved the removal of soft tissue, organs and brains. The hollow body was then dried out and reassembled.

The skin was stuffed with reeds, dried plants or other vegetal matter. Sticks were inserted into the arms and legs. Clay masks were placed on the corpses' faces and wigs were often attached. The finished mummy was then painted.