Mummies
According to British anthropologist, Edward Tylor, culture is "that complex whole which included knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society." (Ferraro, 18) Many cultures around the world have fascinating ceremonies and rites held for their dead but perhaps the most amazing is that of the ancient Egyptians. They are famous for their skillful embalming and their elaborate burial customs.The Egyptians believed that every person had a spirit that would live on after the human body died. The spirit would be able to move, eat, drink, and enjoy pleasures just like then the body was alive. But, in order to do this; the spirit had to have a recognizable body to dwell in. After the person died, the Egyptians believed that the spirit took two different forms: the ka and the ba. The ka was the person's double, created by a god named Khnum. The ka lived in the body until death. It would continue to live after death if and only if it was provided with the exact same image of the dead person. Sometimes a statue would be used to house the ka, but a mummy was ideal. The ka also need
The final step was to wrap and bandage the mummy. A combination of large pieces of cloth and narrower strips of linen were used. The wrappings were applied in many layers. These wrappings covered whatever jewelry had been placed on the mummy. Precious objects were also placed on the mummy. As the layers of bandages were applied, warm melted resin was poured over each one, for the purpose of keeping moisture from entering the body. Unfortunately, the resin tended to darken the skin. However, as time went on, this process was improved upon greatly. The next step in mummification was the drying out of the body itself. This was done by thickly coating it inside and out with a powdery white salt called naton. This salt had the ability to draw water from the skin and other tissues. This process took anywhere from thirty-five to forty days. During that time, the body lay on a slanted board known as the "bed of mummification." This moisture dripped through a channel at the lower end into a pan or bucket. ed food and drink to survive. Therefore, the Egyptians left jars of grain and water in the graves. There were many gods that were important to
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 782
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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