ACIENT EGYPTIAN BURIAL CUSTOMS

Ancient Egyptian Burial Customs

Introduction

Ancient Egyptians are said to be of both African and Middle Eastern descent. Egyptians, like there origin, where very mixed in there gods also. Archeaologists have found more than 2,000 names of gods written in limestone, on walls, and papyrus. Pharaohs were also thought to be gods, brought down by Re only to return after death and preservation. However, the most important god of all was Re or the sun god. Praised every morning as the sun rose and mourned for every sun set, the sun god was loved and worshiped by almost everyone. Statues of the pharaoh's favorite gods were kept deep inside temples and cared for by high priests. Supposedly, the god's spirit lived inside the statue. After chanting and burning incense, gods were bathed, dressed, and presented with food. Another religious tradition included telling the stories(sometimes in song) of different gods, performed usually by priests. For Egyptians, these tales provided comfort and guidance.

Rationale of the study

This study highlights many issues related to “Ancient Egyptian Burial Customs” and gives a broad analysis of “Ancient Egyptian Society and Family Life.

Significance of the Study

This study is significant in many contexts. The study identifies many aspects of “Ancient Egyptian Burial Customs” like Ancient Egyptian Society and Family Life, Aspects of Life in Ancient Egypt and Egyptian Customs.

Research Question

The study seeks to answer the following questions:

How well American students know about Ancient Egyptian Burial Customs.

Literature Review

The Egyptians were one of the first ancient societies to incorporate the afterlife into their religion. From this came many practices that are well known throughout the world today like mummification. However, the earliest ancient Egyptians did not bury their dead in lavish tombs, but rather in small pits in the desert sands. The dryness and heat of the desert would naturally preserve the bodies. This process was used before mummification was set into practice. As time progressed, Egyptians began to use coffins when burying the dead(Pringle, 2001). The reason for this change was to insure that the deceased would have protection from wild animals. However, this negated the natural preservatives of the hot sand. Therefore, over the next centuries the Egyptians developed a mummification process to preserve the bodies and as the process evolved it became more affective.

This process was performed in three stages that began with the removal of all internal organs except the heart. The organs that were removed were then placed in jars. These jars were known as canopic jars and would later be entombed with the body. The heart was left because Egyptians thought it to be important. However, the brain was not seen with important and was therefore removed through the nostrils. The next stage was to absorb all fluids from the body. In order to achieve this, the Egyptians stuffed the hollow carcass with a brackish substance and left for forty-five days. Upon total dehydration, the body was then stuffed with wood chips and ready for ...