Ancient Egyptains developed a method of preserving bodies so they would remain lifelike.
2007-02-21 00:22:59 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
It's called embalming or mummification.
It is a complicated process that takes a little over 70 days to complete. If it is not done properly, the body will not mummify but rot away.
2007-02-21 01:16:36 · answer #1 · answered by tamara_cyan 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You mean mummification. The first mummies were simply buried in the desert. The sand and heat made them natural mummies. The Egyptians believed that the soul could only continue as long as the memory of a person remained, and their body was preserved. They removed the internal organs of a person and placed them in canobic jars. They replaced the heart, which they believed to be the seat of the soul, in the chest, and removed the brains by sucking them through the nose (they thought the brain wasn't important, so they discarded it). They filled the body cavities with a silicon-based compound (like sand), coated the body with resin, then allowed the body to sit for a few weeks. The compound dehydrated the body, and the resin basically tanned the skin. When they returned, they wrapped the body in bandages, usually including written charms and talismans within the bandages (they were great believers in magic, and believed these would help the person to pass through to the other world). Though the pharoahs of the Old Kingdom were buried in pyramids, the average person would be buried in a mastaba, a flat bench-like structure. Some have been found in natural or man-made caves with many other mummies.
2007-02-21 08:38:33 · answer #2 · answered by cross-stitch kelly 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's called embalming.
2007-02-21 08:26:47 · answer #3 · answered by rdenig_male 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
embalming or mummification
2007-02-21 08:29:51 · answer #4 · answered by butterflygurl085 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
embalming
2007-02-24 16:09:33 · answer #5 · answered by arzbarz 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋