The Art of Mummification Essay - 1362 Words

In this occupation certain persons employ themselves regularly and inherit this as a craft. (Herodotus) Just as Herodotus recorded, mummification dates back to early 3rd millennium B.C. It may date back many years, but was not perfected till many years later to what we officially call mummification. (Dunand 27) We call it mummification and the bodies mummies because of the Persian word for bitumen, which is mummia. The reason for this name is because of the dark skin of mummies, which people mistook for bitumen. Bitumen is a mineral formed for a tar like substance. (Becket 31) One of the main reasons to prepare the body, making it look like bitumen, was for the afterlife. After being prepared, they are still being found this day,†¦show more content†¦The most important people in the mummification process were the controller of mysteries, Lector priest, and God’s seal bearer. They were responsible for the religious preceding of the body. (Dunand 38) Many different things were mummified to be put into the elaborate tombs. Soon the process of being mummified became well known to the royals. The royals, when they were buried, had themselves put into elaborate tombs. (David 60) The royals thought that this idea would prevent grave robbers from disturbing their body. Not only were the royals buried in elaborate tombs, but at times members of nobility and officials had elaborate tombs. Common people could have elaborate tombs, but it depended on how much money they had to spend. Along with being buried in elaborate tombs to ward off grave robbers, they would be buried with animals to ward off spirits. The cultures of many people believed that the bull, baboon, cat, bird, and crocodiles were sacred. (Encyclopedia 2) They would specially have the animals mummified to resemble the gods in their religion. (Grace 24) Many cultures mummified there dead, but Egyptians were the most popular. Egyptians dates back all the way to six thousand years ago. They believed that death was the doorway to the next life and that the body needed to be intact to be accepted into the next life. (Becket 30) At first the Egyptians did not want to bury their dead in the rich agriculture, so they buried the dead on theShow MoreRelatedProcedures And The Afterlife, Ancient Egypt1686 Words   |  7 Pagesthe mummification of the royalty and the priest. I believe that understanding this material will allow us to better understand the motivations of the people who lived through this time. It will allow us to understand what motivated these people to achieve so much in their time. It is through this study into humanities that the ancient Egyptians go from being a mysterious culture that amazes us to humans who shared many of our struggles and fears. 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