EGYPTIAN MUMMIES by USHistory. org

(I'll give you 40 points!!! Explain and get evidence from text.)

A dead noble stands trembling in the Hall of Truth.1 Behind the noble, Horus, the half-falcon, half-man ruler of Earth, unleashes a piercing stare at the quivering2 man. Thoth, the sharp-beaked, ibis-headed3 deity4 of scribes, sharpens his quill — poised to record a verdict of divine judgment.

Seated before the noble on a golden throne is Osiris, the king of the dead. Upon his head rests a glittering crown with a gorgeous white feather plume on either side. Behind Osiris stands Isis, the revered5 goddess of nature, who is responsible for bringing the dead earth back to life each year. She holds an ankh, a cross with a loop above the bar. An ankh guarantees that a dead person will live forever.

The noble wonders if he will live forever. Or will he be fed to the hideous crocodile-like god called the Eater of the Dead and forever cease to exist. (How can the noble wonder about all this if he's already dead? The noble is actually in limbo, a place where the souls of dead people go while being judged.)

Osiris begins the process of judging the noble's life. On one side of a scale, Osiris places the heart of the noble, which bares the secrets of the soul. Had the soul lied, cheated, or lived an evil life? The soul defends itself before a variety of interrogating6 gods.

[5]The noble thinks about his second self, called the ka. The ka lives within every human being. When the physical body expires, the ka goes on to enjoy eternal life, where it can hunt, fish, live with its family, be entertained, and eat favorite foods.

Now Osiris holds up the sacred feather, the emblem of truth, and places it on the other side of the scale. If the scales balance, eternal life awaits. If not, the Eater of the Dead has his favorite food for lunch: noble.

(paragraph 7)
“My heart, my mother! My heart whereby I came into being! May nought stand up to oppose me at [my] judgment, may there be no opposition to me in the presence of the Chiefs; may there be no parting of thee from me in the presence of him that keepeth the Balance! Thou art my ka, which dwelleth in my body; the god Khnemu7 who knitteth together and strengtheneth my limbs. Mayest thou come forth into the place of happiness whither we go. May the Sheniu officials, who make the conditions of the lives of men, not cause my name to stink, and may no lies be spoken against me in the presence of the God.” - “Prayer of Ani” from the Book of the Dead8 (1,700 BCE)

MUMMIFICATION

Before being judged by Osiris, the noble's soul had undertaken a journey that lasted over two months. When the noble died he was brought to the Beautiful House, where an embalmer (often a priest with knowledge of rituals, wrapping, and anatomy) prepared the body to cross to the afterlife.

Egyptians believed that the afterlife would be much like life on Earth and that the soul would want use of its body in eternity. That's why Egyptians made an art out of mummification, or the preservation of the dead.

[10]The process of embalming took great skill and required many steps. What follows is a crash course on Egyptian embalming technique.

1. Removal of the Brain

2. Organ Removal (Evisceration)

3. Dehydration with Natron Crystals: 

4. Stuffing: 

5. Oiling the Body: 

6. Coloring:  

7. Arrangement of the Body:

8. Wrapping: 

9. Funerary Mask: 

10. Burial of Waste: 

(I had to cut some things out)