Ancient Egyptian discourse mostly revolves around the fascination with mummies and tombs. Children’s books on Ancient Egypt tend to focus on the ritual of mummification as well as the various treasures found within the tomb of that individual. Due to this mindset becoming so engrained in our knowledge early on, we have developed a very basic and shallow understanding of Ancient Egypt and the culture it has developed over thousands of years. However, looking at Ancient Egyptian mortuary practices, although trivial and drawn-out, can unravel the embalmed wrappings of an ancient civilization and give society a better picture of the beliefs and thought processes of a people so widely studied. Studying the complete process and the meaning of mummification allows one to understand the Egyptian belief in the afterlife and why burial of the dead is highly critical in Egyptian culture. Tomb art, grave goods, even the tomb itself, enables one to understand the broader picture of Egyptian mortuary practices as a whole. For this research assignment I will be analyzing the concepts of death and the afterlife in Ancient Egypt. Thus I will look specifically at the various stages of mummification and their significance, the message of mortuary art, the need for grave goods, and the general concept of the afterlife as mentioned in the Egyptian funerary text- The Book of the Dead.
The mummification process was considered essential because it allowed the body to function in the afterlife. There are various rituals used in this time-consuming process performed by priests to secure the person’s transition from their past life to the afterlife. One of the first steps was to remove the parts of the body that would decay the quickest, meaning the internal organs (stomach, lungs, liver, intestines), and place them into 4 separate jars. Since these organs were a part of the individual, they are buried in the tomb with the mummy. The brain, considered one of these quick-decaying organs, is removed through the nose. The heart was left in the body because it was believed to be where a person’s intellect and self originated-not the brain. This is just an example of some of the steps covered during this ritual and it is crucial not to look at the process of mummification but the meaning behind it as well. Without the body being preserved, the person’s spirit could be lost and their akh would be unable to travel through the underworld, receive judgement, and pass on to the afterlife. The mummification process is one thing, but there are many other items involved (grave goods, mortuary art, and rituals) that help the deceased move beyond-which is what I will touch on in my paper.
I will draw on a number of sources for this paper and they can all be found either online or as a hard copy at the MSU Library:
- Ikram, Salima. Death and Burial in Ancient Egypt. American Univ. Pr., 2015. This book focuses on the mummification process as well as all aspects of Egyptian death and burial.
- Baines, John, and Peter Lacovara. “Burial and the Dead in Ancient Egyptian Society.” Journal of Social Archaeology, vol. 2, no. 1, 2002, pp. 5–36., doi:10.1177/1469605302002001595. This journal discusses “contrast between ideals of respectful care for the dead, on the one hand, and realities of medium- and long-term neglect, destruction and reuse on the other.”
- “Egyptian Mummies.” Smithsonian Institution, www.si.edu/spotlight/ancient-egypt/mummies. This Smithsonian post offers a simple explanation of mummification.
- Taylor, John H. Death and the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001. Print. This book covers rituals in terms of the dead and the afterlife.
- Forman, Werner, and Stephen Quirke. Hieroglyphs and the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt. London: British Museum Press, 1996. Print. This book discusses three mortuary texts the: Pyramid Texts, Coffin Texts, Book of the Dead
Your topic is very interesting. I don’t think that I have ever seen a children’s book that talks about Egypt, but I completely agree that we have a very shallow understanding of the culture of Ancient Egypt. When most people think of Egypt they think of pyramids and mummies, and not in the historical sense. I think you are right that studying the mummification process can teach us more about the Egyptian mortuary practices and beliefs surrounding death and the afterlife. The book of the dead is a great source for your research. You should also consider using the pyramid texts and the coffin texts in your research. I am fairly sure they also talk about the processes that the Egyptians used on a body after a person had died. Although most of what they include is just what the Egyptians thought were magic spells that would help the deceased on their journey through the duat.
The mummification process is very interesting and fairly in-depth. Like many things, it makes me wonder how on earth people came up with it and how it became so widespread throughout the region to the point of it becoming synonymous with their culture. Maybe you could talk about the similarities between Egyptian mortuary beliefs and practices and those from other cultures. You could also talk about how the Egyptian mortuary practices died out in favor of other ways to treat the dead since they obviously do not still do things the same way that they did a couple of thousand years ago.