In his article, “Changes In the Afterlife”, John H. Taylor compares the mortuary practices between the elites and the commonwealth during the third intermediate period. While the beliefs of what happened after life remained the same throughout the entire society, elite burials could be identified by the difference in the mummies and some of the grave goods.
The Egyptians believed that when a person died their soul was separated from the body. In order for the soul to be reunited with the body, it had to go through steps of purification, rebuilding, being wrapped in linen, and finally the ceremony of the opening of the mouth was performed. The importance of preserving a body peaked during the third intermediate period as shown by the development of new techniques that mummified the body much faster than previous times. Elite burials at the time could afford the “platinum” mummification which included artificial fats, wrapped organs placed in the body, fake eyes, painting of the body, adorned hair, wax figures, and sometimes, an elaborate mask. Those who could not afford this type of burial often just wrapped the mummy in linens which when excavated contained only “black dust and bones” and therefore, they did not mummify. This shows that the other members of the family were not concerned with perfectly preserving the body for the afterlife as long as it looked somewhat alive at the time of burial.
Having objects placed in the graves was very important to the Egyptians because to them it was a representation of Earthly pleasures that the deceased could physically possess and enjoy in the afterlife. During the third intermediate period, elites and some common graves still contained canopic jars even though they were now redundant and the number of shabtis increased from about thirty-five to 401. Grave goods that were originally for elite members such as amulets were now more widespread. Other objects found more widespread in the graves were faience figurines and jewelry, some of which appear to have been worn during life. Having relatively the same funerary goods in graves shows that funerary practices of the elite made it down to the common people living in Egypt at the time, something that had previously not happened.
The third intermediate period was a time of great change in mortuary practices for both the elite and common individuals. This is shown by the overall decline and generic of grave goods in tombs. This change is most likely caused by the upheaval of the government with foreign invaders splitting up and ruling Egypt. It is not until later in the third intermediate period that the government began to stabilize, and there was a return to the old Egyptian practices that could be seen through pyramid building and the building of grand mortuary complexes by the elite.
I also think it’s fascinating to see the differences in the way ancient Egyptians treated their dead before burial. On one end, the treatment could be as simple as wrapping the bodies in linen, however, on the other end, internal organs were removed, the body was drained of fluids and dried to protect against bacterial decomposition, the body covered in a resin and wrapped in many layers of linen. Bodies could also be treated anywhere in the middle, depending on resources available and the person’s importance during life. It’s also interesting to see how these treatments changed over the years. Taylor noted that for those who likely lived lower status lives, the process of simply wrapping the bodies of their dead remained much the same over a long period of time, with a few exceptions. On the other hand, treatment of upper-class individuals varied greatly over time. Earlier specimens of upper-class individuals were found to have their internal organs removed and placed in jars nearby the body. Over time, the jars were moved closer to the body, and eventually were being placed back inside the individual before wrapping. This placement fell out of practice however, and the jars were placed on the body, but still within the wrappings. Taylor suggested that this movement of the internal organs, along with a few other procedures show how the “eternal image” of the individual moved throughout time: from the outside of the wrappings, to the actual surface of the body, and back to the outer wrappings.
I too found it very interesting to read about the changing mortuary practices in Egypt. The evolution of the mummification process is very cool. It is a shame that the level of mummification that a person received relied mostly on family wealth. Since being mummified was a very important aspect of Egyptian mortuary practices I am sure that everyone wanted to be mummified and buried in the most elaborate way possible. If the common people that were mummified in a way that left them as just “black dust and bones” I have a feeling that they would be pretty upset about it. Elites that could afford the more thorough and longer lasting ways of mummification would be much happier with the results.
One of the most interesting grave goods to me is that of mummified animals. Animals were sometimes sacrificed and mummified as offerings that the deceased could use in the afterlife. Other times beloved pets of the deceased were killed and mummified. After mummification they would be buried with the deceased in their tomb so that the deceased could have the company of their pet in the afterlife.
When I read about the Egyptians sometimes “recycling” grave goods to be used in other burials during economic hardship it made me wonder how that would work in their version of the afterlife. Would the original owner of the recycled grave goods lose them in the afterlife when the newly deceased owner was given them? Or would the grave goods still be usable by both of the deceased people in the afterlife. Just some of my thoughts on it.