From the 20^thDynasty during the New Kingdom into the 21th Dynasty during the 3^rdIntermediate Period of Egypt, there has been numerous fragmentations of kingdoms with newly imbedded traditions including redeveloped religious practices and cultural traditions within the Egyptian society. John H. Taylor, author of Changes in the Afterlife,acknowledged how Egyptologists historically had only focused on the basic cultural approach of Egyptian traditions of the New Kingdom’s religion and kingship. Taylor expressed the importance of examining the vast development during the 3^rdIntermediate period of Egypt from earlier eras. There is a clear distinction of redeveloped cultural traditions Taylor focuses on. Those areas of change include royal burials, mortuary landscapes, the treatment of the corpse, and the provision of cult and grave findings.

There is a clear distinction between the era of the New Kingdom and the 21^stDynasty of Egypt in their investment of their beliefs of the afterlife. From the Old to the New Kingdom period, royal burials were known to uphold the pharaoh as the highest ranking of royalty. There was a clear separation between the pharaoh and his subjects. The pharaoh was basically untouchable to his subjects. During the New Kingdom, the pharaohs were buried separately in the Valley of the Kings. The boundary between ruler and subject was maintained where only the king had a connection of unity to the afterlife. During the New Kingdom, the body of each pharaoh was buried separately in a royal tomb with religious texts and images showing their status in the world. Queens and royal children were buried in less elaborate tombs along with elite members of society, where their tombs were shafts with chapels held above. During these times, the physical body played a fundamental role in the Egyptian religious belief of the afterlife. The preparation and mummification of the body emphasized the importance of the divine nature of the individual and how the preservation of the body finely wrapped, and form would in return transfer over to the afterlife.

The Third Intermediate Period has shown a new style of royal burials, structure, and craftsmanship level since the New Kingdom. Tombs that have been excavated have held remains of several pharaohs from the 21^stand 22^nd Dynasties have shown the distinction between the ruler and his subjects diminishing. Comparing to the New Kingdom, tombs, including the royal tombs, were found in groups. The burial placements were united compared to the pyramids and the separation of royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings during the 20^thDynasty. The materials used for landscape, the geography, and placements of the tombs were united. For example, the king’s burial of Psusennes I at Tanis were not reserved to himself but held within chambers connecting and accompanied by other tombs of high royal statuses. There were also no signs of texts correlating to the New Kingdoms previous burials where it has shown a clear distinction of the king from his subjects. The fundamental role in the Egyptian religious belief of the afterlife were very similar from the New Kingdom to the Third Intermediate Period. The difference between the preparation of the Egyptian afterlife is the levels of expenditure on resources. During this era, the quality and quantity of the grave goods had varied. Evidence has shown that they were recycled pieces of resources and were reused from earlier burials. Overall, the conserved treatment of the body for the afterlife was much simpler during this period. There have been traces of mummification and these preserved bodies had shown no signs of elaborate treatments compared to the New Kingdom.

Overall, Taylor has concluded that there has been development overtime between the Ancient Egyptian timeframe of the New Kingdom into the Third Intermediate Period. New religious traditions and customs have been dependent on the restoration of past traditions and had been redeveloped within the Egyptian Civilization. This included the contextual evidence of change in the traditions of royal burials, mortuaries, preservation of Egyptian civilization and individuals based on ranking, and the arrangement of grave goods. These redeveloped traditions are crucial to understanding and displaying cultural change in Ancient Egypt.