Mummifying
This week we're studying mummies along with our skeletons. Today, Ruth and I made our own mummy, following along with what the ancient Egyptian embalmers would have done.
Creating our mummy out of homemade "clay". I used a recipe of 2c. flour, 1/2c salt, 3/4c water and 1T oil. Then, we shaped our mummy and accessories and baked them for 1hour at 300*.
Here, Ruth and Grace are decorating the canopic jars. The canopic jars held the mummy's liver, intestines, stomach and lungs. These organs were embalmed the same way that the mummy was. They were covered with natron (a kind of salt substance) and pickled for 40 days. After that,they were rinsed and put into jars.
After the mummies were taken out of the soaking of natron, they were washed again, then rubbed with oils and perfumes to make the skin supple and smell sweet. So, we sprayed our mummy with perfume. The final step was to then coat the body with resin which would seal the skin and at the same time, turn the body a dark color. The crossed arms denote a pharoah. Common people were not mummified in this way and in fact, there are very few "common" people found mummified anyway. It was an expensive way to care for the dead and only the more wealthy peoples could afford to have it done.
Here is our mummy after he has "soaked" in the natron. This procedure would dry out the corpse. If you look closely, you can see the opening where we "removed" the internal organs to place in the canopic jars. The opening in the abdomen was almost always made on the left side of the body.
Finally, the opening on the mummy was either stitched closed or covered over with a piece of wax that was usually decorated with some Egyptian symbol. Ours here shows the Scarab Beetle-a common sight in the Egyptian artifacts.
Wrapping our mummy.
Here, we are including in our wrapping an amulet. Ancient Egyptians thought that wrapping special amulets in with the mummy would protect him in the afterlife.
And, last but not least, here is Ruth with our mummy and his canopic jars. (L-R) Imsety, with a person's head, guarding the liver; Hapy, a baboon, guarding the lungs, Qebehsenuef, a falcon, guarding the intestines, and Duamutef, a jackal, guarding the stomach. And, each canopic jar can be opened and the corresponding organs taken out.
Creating our mummy out of homemade "clay". I used a recipe of 2c. flour, 1/2c salt, 3/4c water and 1T oil. Then, we shaped our mummy and accessories and baked them for 1hour at 300*.
Here, Ruth and Grace are decorating the canopic jars. The canopic jars held the mummy's liver, intestines, stomach and lungs. These organs were embalmed the same way that the mummy was. They were covered with natron (a kind of salt substance) and pickled for 40 days. After that,they were rinsed and put into jars. 
After the mummies were taken out of the soaking of natron, they were washed again, then rubbed with oils and perfumes to make the skin supple and smell sweet. So, we sprayed our mummy with perfume. The final step was to then coat the body with resin which would seal the skin and at the same time, turn the body a dark color. The crossed arms denote a pharoah. Common people were not mummified in this way and in fact, there are very few "common" people found mummified anyway. It was an expensive way to care for the dead and only the more wealthy peoples could afford to have it done.
Here is our mummy after he has "soaked" in the natron. This procedure would dry out the corpse. If you look closely, you can see the opening where we "removed" the internal organs to place in the canopic jars. The opening in the abdomen was almost always made on the left side of the body.
Finally, the opening on the mummy was either stitched closed or covered over with a piece of wax that was usually decorated with some Egyptian symbol. Ours here shows the Scarab Beetle-a common sight in the Egyptian artifacts.
Wrapping our mummy.
Here, we are including in our wrapping an amulet. Ancient Egyptians thought that wrapping special amulets in with the mummy would protect him in the afterlife.
And, last but not least, here is Ruth with our mummy and his canopic jars. (L-R) Imsety, with a person's head, guarding the liver; Hapy, a baboon, guarding the lungs, Qebehsenuef, a falcon, guarding the intestines, and Duamutef, a jackal, guarding the stomach. And, each canopic jar can be opened and the corresponding organs taken out.
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Candace (FIAR)
www.homeschoolblogger.com/CandaceC