Mummifictaion is the art of
preserving the
body (be it animal or Human). This process is most commonly associated with
Ancient Egyptians, and that's because they were the first people historically noted to mummify their
dead.
Ancient egyptian burials:
The very early egyptians used to
bury their dead in hot dry sand pits, the heat of the sand used to
dehydrate the bodies and hence preserve them.
Later, they began to bury their dead in
coffins, in order to protect them from being found and eaten by wild animals. However, this method proved to be unsuitable, because the body
decayed, since it was unable to dehydrate.
It was important to egyptians to preserve their bodies so that it remained
intact, ready for the
afterlife - The ancient Egyptians believed in
life after death. They believed that mummification would guarantee a passage into the next life. In no other civilization have such elaborate
preparations for the afterlife been made in the preservation of the dead.
It took a few centuries, but they perfected their technique of preserving bodies, so that they remained life like.
The main steps for mummification:
Removing the brain, which was done by pushing an iron rod with a hook at the tip, via the nasal passage, and pulverising the brain which would then subsequently leak out of the nose.
The abdomen is then removed along with other organs by opening the flank with a flint knife, the cavity is then rinsed out and cleansed using palm wine.
The body is then filled with natron (a salty drying agent) and is left on a slanted embalming table so that any fluids can drip out of the body.
While the body dries out, the heart is also also dried using natron and then wrapped with strips of linen, in preparation for burial along side the mummy.
After 40 days the natron is removed from the body and then cleansed again with palm wine and an infusion of pounded spices, then filled with pure bruised myrrh, cassia and many other aromatic substances (except frankincense). The body cavity is stuffed with scented resin, sawdust, or linen and shaped to restore the deceased's form and features.
The body is then tightly wrapped in many layers of linen with numerous good luck charms, and or amulets, wrapped between the layers (The most important amulet was the scarab beetle, which was placed over the heart). Jewellery is also placed among the bandages. At each stage of wrapping, a priest recites spells and prayers. This whole wrapping procedure could take as long as 15 days.
After the wrapping is complete, the body is put into a shroud. From the Middle Kingdom onward, a painted mask was placed on the mummy so that the spirit would recognise itself.
The body is then placed into a series of coffins and then a sarcophagus.
The entire mummification process took about 70 days.
reference web sites:
http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/home.html
http://members.aol.com/egyptart/mummy.html
http://www.tir.com/~lanata/mummification.html
http://www.clpgh.org/cmnh/exhibits/egypt/mummification.html
http://www.horus.ics.org.eg/html/mummification.html
http://www.crystalinks.com/mum.html
http://rla.sd81.bc.ca/~mummification/mummification.html