The Mummification Process

1351 Words6 Pages
The Mummification Process In ancient Egypt when a person passed away, being that he or should could afford it, would be mummified (Step by Step). The ancient Egyptians are unofficially know as the “Fathers or Mummification” (Sterling) The process of mummification was a well thought out process created by the ancient Egyptians, but it also brought beep meaning to both the deceased and their families. People started to settle around the Nile River banks about eight thousand years ago. After the settled they found that every year the Nile River would flood. Once the water cleared there would be a new layer of fertile soil around the outer parts of the Nile. Because the Egyptians were only able to grow their crops with the rich soil the Nile River provided they did not want to waste the prosperous soil on burying their dead. Further off in the distance was the Barren Desert and the final resting place for many early Egyptians ("All about Mummies"). The Egyptians buried their dead unclothed in shallow graves, but the early Egyptians did not realize that they were naturally preserving their dead bodies. The dry sands would absorb the moisture out of the bodies. Without moisture, bacteria on the bodies couldn’t cause decay. Egyptians discovered that the bodies naturally mummified when scavenging jackals began digging up the mummified bodies for food (“All about Mummies”). It was decided that the dead needed a more proper way of burial They started to improve the burial placed by piling rocks on top of the body to keep the jackals from digging up the bodies. They also began lined the pits with straw or animal skins. Later on they improved the pits even more by adding, floors and walls that were made with mud bricks. These tombs were very much improved from the small hole in the sand. Later on the Egyptians further evolved their mummification process (“All about

More about The Mummification Process

Open Document