When was the embalming process developed

New life sprouted from grains planted in the earth, and the moon waxed and waned. As long as order was maintained, everything was highly dependable and life after death could be achieved provided certain conditions were met. For example, the body had to be preserved through mummification and given a properly furnished tomb with everything needed for life in the afterworld.

M ummification, the preservation of the body, was described in the ancient Pyramid Texts. With the death of Osiris , god of the dead, the cosmos fell into chaos and the tears of the gods turned into materials used to mummify his body.

These materials included honey, resins and incense. B efore mummification evolved, the corpse was placed in a sleeping fetal position and put into a pit , along with personal items such as clay pots and jewellery. The pit was covered with sand, which absorbed all the water from the body, thus preserving it.

Burial pits were eventually lined with mud bricks and roofed over, and the deceased were wrapped in animal skins or interred in pottery, basket ware or wooden coffins.

With these "improvements", decay was hastened because the body no longer came in contact with the hot sand. To solve this problem, the internal organs of the deceased were removed and drying agents were used to mummify the body.

Canopic jars. One of Horus's four sons was represented on the lid of each jar. The human-headed Imsety looked after the liver; Hapy, a baboon, guarded the lungs; Duamutef, a jackal, protected the stomach; and Qebehsenuef, a falcon, cared for the intestines. Royal Ontario Museum. T he practice of mummification began in Egypt in B.

During the Old Kingdom , it was believed that only pharaohs could attain immortality. Around B. But since mummification was expensive, only the wealthy were able to take advantage of it. Although mummification was not a strict requirement for resurrection in the next world, it was certainly regarded as a highly desirable means of attaining it.

The prayers in the Book of the Dead were intended to help the deceased make a successful transition to the afterlife. He was closely associated with mummification and embalming, hence priests wore a mask of Anubis. Anubis Mask This is the step-by-step process of how mummification took place:. If the person had been a Pharaoh, he would be placed inside his special burial chamber with lots of treasure! Embalming tips. The mummy was complete. The priests preparing the mummy were not the only ones busy during this time.

Although the tomb preparation usually had begun long before the person's actual death, now there was a deadline, and craftsmen, workers, and artists worked quickly. There was much to be placed in the tomb that a person would need in the Afterlife. Furniture and statuettes were readied; wall paintings of religious or daily scenes were prepared; and lists of food or prayers finished.

Through a magical process, these models, pictures, and lists would become the real thing when needed in the Afterlife. Everything was now ready for the funeral. As part of the funeral, priests performed special religious rites at the tomb's entrance. The most important part of the ceremony was called the "Opening of the Mouth. By touching the instrument to the mouth, the dead person could now speak and eat. He was now ready for his journey to the Afterlife.

The mummy was placed in his coffin, or coffins, in the burial chamber and the entrance sealed up. Such elaborate burial practices might suggest that the Egyptians were preoccupied with thoughts of death.

On the contrary, they began early to make plans for their death because of their great love of life. They could think of no life better than the present, and they wanted to be sure it would continue after death. But why preserve the body? The Egyptians believed that the mummified body was the home for this soul or spirit. If the body was destroyed, the spirit might be lost.

The idea of "spirit" was complex involving really three spirits: the ka, ba, and akh. The ka, a "double" of the person, would remain in the tomb and needed the offerings and objects there. The ba, or "soul", was free to fly out of the tomb and return to it.

And it was the akh, perhaps translated as "spirit", which had to travel through the Underworld to the Final Judgment and entrance to the Afterlife. To the Egyptian, all three were essential.

After death, the pharaohs of Egypt usually were mummified and buried in elaborate tombs. Members of the nobility and officials also often received the same treatment, and occasionally, common people.

However, the process was an expensive one, beyond the means of many. For religious reasons, some animals were also mummified. The sacred bulls from the early dynasties had their own cemetery at Sakkara. Baboons, cats, birds, and crocodiles, which also had great religious significance, were sometimes mummified, especially in the later dynasties. Ancient writers, modern scientists, and the mummies themselves all help us better understand the Egyptian mummification process and the culture in which it existed.

Much of what we know about the actual process is based on the writings of early historians such as Herodotus who carefully recorded the process during his travels to Egypt around BCE.

Present-day archaeologists and other specialists are adding to this knowledge.