Ancient Egypt has captivated the hearts and minds of history lovers for centuries. During the Victorian era, mummy fever hit an-all time high with shady characters selling ground mummy powder as a cure-all for ailments. Eventually science begin to reveal the people behind the exotic mummies with techniques of digital facial reconstruction, DNA mapping and carbon dating. Today we have learned valuable information about ancient Egyptian through the bodies of its citizens, the mummies.
Origins
- The word "mummy" comes from the Latin word "mumia," which translated means bitumen. Bitumen is a black organic pitch-like liquid that stains the skin. Early investigators of mummies believed that bitumen was used during the process because of the blackness of the corpses' skin. Microscopic research tested this theory and found no use of bitumen. The oldest known mummy dates from about 3300 B.C. and is called "Ginger" because of the corpse's red hair. Scientists believe that the dry desert sands and the heat made mummification occur naturally at first. Later, religious sects promoting the belief in an afterlife perfected mummification with herbs, ointments and special treatments of the corpses.
Facts
- Egyptians used special embalming techniques to preserve the bodies of the deceased. According to their religion, it was important to preserve the mummy to appear as life-like as possible. Mummification may have been in use throughout the entire history of ancient Egypt since its beginnings around 4000 B.C. Practitioners removed the major organs like the stomach, lungs, liver and intestines. But the heart stayed intact, because was believed to contain the deceased's soul and personality. In later years, mummification took 70 days and consisted of soaking the body in chemicals and packing it internally and externally with herbs. It was also a religious ceremony, which called for incantations and magic spells.
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