Did you know?, Mumification Options

[Cleo_Serapis]

Ancient Egyptians believed the heart was the center of intelligence and emotion. They also thought so little of the brain that during mummification, they removed the brain entirely from bodies.

[Cleo_Serapis]

Didn't they also remove other organs that easily decayed within corpse?  Didn't they save all the parts in canopic jars?

I think they had the correct idea about the brain being a minor player... :)

:)....Don

Preparation for the afterlife was key to the religious beliefs of Ancient Egypt.The Egyptians believed that the mummified body was the home for the soul or spirit. If the body was destroyed, the spirit might be lost. The idea of "spirit" was complex involving really three spirits: the ka, ba, and akh. The ka, a "double" of the person, would remain in the tomb and needed the offerings and objects there. The ba, or "soul", was free to fly out of the tomb and return to it. And it was the akh, perhaps translated as "spirit", which had to travel through the Underworld to the Final Judgment and entrance to the Afterlife. To the Egyptian, all three were essential.

Preserving the body in death was critical to keeping the soul alive. Mummification was a ritualistic process (complex and long - 70 days) performed by trained priests in the skills of embalming. The process was done in a separate workshop outside of the town reserved as a 'clean place' called a 'wabet'.

Once the organs were removed, they were placed in canopic jars. These jars were usually carved out of alabaster and inscribed with spells that would one day enable the organs to rejoin the body upon it's resurrection.  

The organs that were placed in the jars include: stomach, lungs, intestines, and liver.  Once placed inside the jars, each organ was protected by the one of sons of Horus whose head graced the lid.

The brain was removed and thrown away and the heart was left in place because later in the underworld Anubis would weigh it and guide the soul through the underworld.

Can you believe they threw the brain away Don?
~Lori