The Mummification of Pharaoh Khufu

Witness the images of the mummification of the Pharaoh Khufu. Mummification was an extremely important part of the ancient Egyptian belief system. In order to achieve passage into the afterlife, the soul needed to recognize the physical body, so they mummified the dead before burial. As we mummified the Pharaoh Khufu, we saw the steps taken to properly mummify a dead body.
1. Announcement of Death
2. Removal of brain: we inserted a wire hook up through the nose into the brain. We snagged the brain with the hook and removed it through the nose. We threw the brain away because the Egyptians believed the brain was a waste of space.
 3. Removal of Organs. The "slitter" cut a hole in the left side of the stomach area. The slitter was then pelted with stones for he had defiled the human body and needed to be punished. The organs were then removed from the body and placed in canopic jars to be preserved with the body. The four organs: lungs, liver, small intestines, and stomach. To ensure a natural look to the body, the Egyptians then stuffed the empty body cavity with rags and straw to bring it back to it's natural appearance.
 4. Drying out process. The body was covered with Natron Salt for about 40 days. This step sucked all the moisture out of the body and prepared it for wrapping.
5. Wrapping of the body. The body was wrapped from head to toe with hundreds of yards of white linen. The limbs were wrapped seperately, then the hole thing was wrapped together. The linen layers were held together with a substance called "mummia" which is a glue like substance. Within the layers of linen, golden amulets were played to protect the body into the afterlife.
 6. Final Procession. After the mummification process was complete, the mummified pharaoh was brought to his final resting place and sealed in his tomb. For the Pharaoh Khufu, his final resting place was the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Mummification In-Depth

Explore a Mummy on Prezi

Mummification is a fascinating (and gross) ritual of the ancient Egyptians. Ancient Egypt wasn't the only civilization to mummify their dead, but the process in which they did it was very elaborate. Mummification was a very important aspect to their religion and belief of the afterlife. Without preserving the body, their soul would not be able to travel to the Afterlife and gain eternity. Where did these mummies go? In the pyramids. The pyramids were not worship centers or just cool monuments, they were tombs for the mummy and all the other items buried with it. In class, we talked about the steps of mummification but with this prezi, we are going to extend our mummification learning a little further by going in-depth. This mummification prezi will teach you about a few other details about mummification. 

Animal Mummies!

Thank you to my good friend Kristin Pollema for creating this Prezi about animal mummies in Ancient Egypt.

Ancient Quest: "I Perform Mummification"

Johnny entered the Stone Age and discovered how to control fire for the neanderthals. Then, he entered Mesopotamia and figured out how to irrigate the fields so the Mesopotamians could grow crops in the desert. In Johnny's first two worlds, he was successful, gaining his first two golden coins. However, Johnny has a lot of work to do because he still needs to earn six more. For his third task, Johnny will enter ancient Egypt, a land of incredible intrigue and fascination. As Johnny works to figure out his task, it might not be what it seems. Can Johnny figure out what to do and accomplish his task? One thing is certain: his ancient Egypt task will push him to the limits, and then some...

Read Ancient Quest Chapter 5 "I Perform Mummification"

Animal Mummies!

Ancient Mummy Animals on Prezi

If the PREZI is NOT working, click "Ancient Mummy Animals" right above this sentence to view it from Prezi.com. Thank you.
Ancient Egypt is so fascinating, I have decided to linger in this ancient world a bit longer. This week, as we transition our scaprbook project into the binders, we are going to take this opportunity to learn about one more interesting aspect of ancient Egypt: Animal Mummies. The above prezi will guide you through a brief presentation about animal mummies in Ancient Egypt. This excellent prezi was produced by my #1 assistant, who did a great job.
Task: Navigate through the animal prezi above and post a comment telling me 3 things that you learned. That's it. Make sure you get this done. If prezi doesn't work at your house, then use a computer at school. You have 5 days to figure out how to get to a computer that works, so make it happen. Five days is plenty of time.
DUE: Friday, December 2nd. Midnight.
Points: 20 points.

We have a big month ahead of us. Let's get focused.

Mummification In-Depth

Explore a Mummy on Prezi

Mummification is a fascinating (and gross) ritual of the ancient Egyptians. Ancient Egypt wasn't the only civilization to mummify their dead, but the process in which they did it was very elaborate. Mummification was a very important aspect to their religion and belief of the afterlife. Without preserving the body, their soul would not be able to travel to the Afterlife and gain eternity. Where did these mummies go? In the pyramids. The pyramids were not worship centers or just cool monuments, they were tombs for the mummy and all the other items buried with it. In class, we talked about the steps of mummification but with this prezi, we are going to extend our mummification learning a little further by going in-depth. This mummification prezi will teach you about a few other details about mummification. All you have to do is tell me what you learned from it. The information contained in this prezi will be on the test.

Task: Go through the "Mummification In-Depth" Prezi and tell me three things that you learned.

DUE: Friday, November 11th, 2011. Midnight.

POINTS: 20 completion points.