Often the priests placed a mask of the person's face between the layers of head bandages. In order to protect the dead from mishap, amulets were placed among the wrappings and prayers and magical words written on some of the linen strips. The priests carefully wound the long strips of linen around the body, sometimes even wrapping each finger and toe separately before wrapping the entire hand or foot. Each mummy needed hundreds of yards of linen. To make the mummy seem even more life-like, sunken areas of the body were filled out with linen and other materials and false eyes were added. The result was a very dried-out but recognizable human form. When the body had dried out completely, embalmers removed the internal packets and lightly washed the natron off the body. This they did by covering the body with natron, a type of salt which has great drying properties, and by placing additional natron packets inside the body. The embalmers next removed all moisture from the body. Even so, unused canopic jars continued to be part of the burial ritual. In later mummies, the organs were treated, wrapped, and replaced within the body. The other organs were preserved separately, with the stomach, liver, lungs, and intestines placed in special boxes or jars today called canopic jars. They left only the heart in place, believing it to be the center of a person's being and intelligence. The embalmers then removed the organs of the abdomen and chest through a cut usually made on the left side of the abdomen. It was a delicate operation, one which could easily disfigure the face. The brain was removed by carefully inserting special hooked instruments up through the nostrils in order to pull out bits of brain tissue. The first step in the process was the removal of all internal parts that might decay rapidly. Beyond knowing the correct rituals and prayers to be performed at various stages, the priests also needed a detailed knowledge of human anatomy. Special priests worked as embalmers, treating and wrapping the body. The mummification process took seventy days.
It is the general process of this period that shall be described here. 1570–1075 BCE) and include those of Tutankhamen and other well-known pharaohs. The best prepared and preserved mummies are from the Eighteenth through the Twentieth Dynasties of the New Kingdom (ca. Within any one period the quality of the mummification varied, depending on the price paid for it. The practice continued and developed for well over 2,000 years, into the Roman Period (ca. About 2600 BCE, during the Fourth and Fifth Dynasties, Egyptians probably began to mummify the dead intentionally. By chance, dry sand and air (since Egypt has almost no measurable rainfall) preserved some bodies buried in shallow pits dug into the sand.
The earliest mummies from prehistoric times probably were accidental. Mummification was practiced throughout most of early Egyptian history. So successful were they that today we can view the mummified body of an Egyptian and have a good idea of what he or she looked like in life, 3,000 years ago. It was important in their religion to preserve the dead body in as life-like a manner as possible. Using special processes, the Egyptians removed all moisture from the body, leaving only a dried form that would not easily decay. The methods of embalming, or treating the dead body, that the ancient Egyptians used is called mummification.
Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, African Art.
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