6th Grade Social Studies March 2014 Vol 1 | Page 15

Connor Gale

Egyptian Mummies Secrets Revealed

March 18, 2014
Period 1
Ever wonder why ancient Egyptians

expensive jewelry, or anything else you

even used mummification on dead bodies.

would need to succeed in the afterlife. But

This mummifying objective was only an

the Egyptians would not take the heart out

Egyptian belief. Egyptians used mummifying

of the corpse for various reasons.

because Egyptians believed that there was a

The Egyptians would not remove

life after your death. They called this the

the heart from the corpse because it all had

afterlife. The afterlife means that when an

had to do with religion. Egyptians believe

individual dies they have a second chance to

that if somebody could succeed in the

become a new person. But for a dead

afterlife the corpse would need a heart. The

person to succeed in the afterlife there was

Egyptians thought the heart gave the body

more than burying a corpse. In ancient

all of the smarts and intelligence unlike what

Egypt before burying a corpse the body had

we know today that the brain actually has

to be embalmed.

that job. The afterlife actually was a long

First, Egyptians would take out a

journey, not something that when a person

special tool that played an important part in

dies they automatically earn a second life.

embalming a corpse. This tool was a special

This journey for a second life was an uneasy

curved hook that Egyptians used to take out

adventure. The dead person spirit would

the brain by jamming this hook up the nose.

travel on this journey. On this journey they

The embalmers would have to mash up the

would battle snakes, crocodiles, and huge

brain into small pieces to take it out piece

beasts. All this was to find the god of the

by piece. After taking out the brain, the

underworld, Osiris. When they have found

embalmers would take out all eternal organs

Osiris his men would weigh the spirits heart

such as stomach, liver, lungs, and even the

on a scale to the feather of faith. If the

intestines and lots more. Egyptians believed

heart was lighter than the feather or the

it was not necessary to leave these organs

same weight they could succeed to become

in the body for the afterlife. Those main

a new individual. But if your heart is heavier

organs as stated before were placed in

Osiris would give the heart to a vicious

separate jars. Then the embalmers would

beast named Amut. Amut was a mixed

wrap the body in linen and the put the dead

animal with the face of a crocodile, the

body in a coffin or tomb. In the tomb the

mane of a lion, the paws of a jaguar, and

Egyptia ns placed in food, pottery, and