![]() ![]() If found blameless, the deceased was allowed to live with the gods in an eternal paradise. This essence went on a journey where it encountered numerous divine and demonic beings, with its ultimate destiny to be judged by Osiris, the god of the dead. The ancient Egyptians believed that when a person died, their spiritual essence survived. "They believed that there is another life after the life here on Earth." "The ancient Egyptians were obsessed with the afterlife," said Rita Lucarelli, an Egyptologist and expert in Egyptian papyri, or ancient texts, at the University of California, Berkeley. Mummification in ancient Egypt was deeply entwined with the society's religious beliefs. Related: 2 mummies unearthed in ancient Egyptian cemetery where King Tut and other royalty were buried Common people were rarely mummified because the practice was expensive. Unlike in Chinchorro society, mummification in ancient Egypt was typically reserved for the elite of society such as royalty, noble families, government officials and the wealthy. It became a mainstay during subsequent periods, reaching particular heights of sophistication during the New Kingdom (ca. 2686 – 2181 B.C.), mummification was well entrenched in Egyptian society. By the time of the Old Kingdom, or Age of the Pyramids (ca. The first Egyptian mummies appear in the archaeological record at approximately 3500 B.C. ![]() It was in ancient Egypt, however, that mummification reached its greatest elaboration. Not just the elite but all segments of Chinchorro society were mummified, including infants, children, adults and even fetuses. until the practice died out sometime during the first century B.C., red ochre replaced the manganese. The finished mummy was then painted.ĭuring the early phases of Chinchorro society (about 7,050 – 4,500 years ago), mummies were painted with black manganese. Clay masks were placed on the corpses' faces and wigs were often attached. Sticks were inserted into the arms and legs. #Drying out and covering body with natron ancient egypt skin#The skin was stuffed with reeds, dried plants or other vegetal matter. The hollow body was then dried out and reassembled. It involved the removal of soft tissue, organs and brains. Although the practice became more sophisticated over time, the basic process remained the same. The Chinchorro practice of mummification began around 7,000 years ago, some two millennia before the first known Egyptian mummies, according to the same CNN report. Related: Desert dryness inspired mummy diversity They also hunted animals on land and gathered edible plants from the surrounding area. Chinchorro people settled in coastal villages and relied on fishing as their primary means of subsistence, using fishing hooks made out of shellfish. The mummies belong to what Uhle called the Chinchorro culture (9,000 to 3,100 years ago), who lived in what is now southern Peru and northern Chile. The mummies there were found in 1917 by the German archaeologist Max Uhle at Chinchorro Beach near the town of Arica, CNN reported. A narrow strip of land between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes Mountains, this desert receives little rainfall and is considered one of the driest places on Earth. ![]() This valley is in the far north of the country, in a region called the Atacama Desert. The oldest deliberately interred mummies were unearthed in the Camarones Valley of Chile. The first civilization to practice mummification Related: Mummy melodrama: Top 9 secrets about Ötzi the Iceman After Ötzi was murdered in what is now the Italian Alps, his body was preserved in the snow and ice, until tourists discovered his remains in 1991. That mummy was of a young woman whose body was wrapped in linen and fur after she died.Īnother famous naturally preserved mummy is the oldest known in Europe: Ötzi the Iceman, who lived about 5,300 years ago. In contrast, the oldest known Egyptian mummy that was naturally preserved dates to just over 5,500 years ago, Live Science reported (opens in new tab). ![]() Discovered in 1940, and originally believed to be between 1,500 and 2,000 years old, the individual was subsequently radiocarbon dated in the 1990s and determined to be over 10,000 years old, Live Science previously reported (opens in new tab). Wrapped in a Tule mat, it was found in a shallow grave and preserved by the dry atmosphere and rarefied air of the cave. The oldest mummy on record in North America, found at Spirit Cave, outside of Fallon, Nevada, is an example of natural mummification. ![]()
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