Updated 04/05/2020
Scientists have conducted a new study to see if some of the most popular myths about mummies or not a grain of truth.
"Mummification was practiced in Egypt for more than 3,000 years, and the practice was changed in different times and places. In the past, we have looked at one, two mummies and we get a conclusion, but now we have much more technology nondestructive and a wealth of medical information that we rely on, "said anthropologist Andrew Wade, from the University of Western Ontario.
In the next issue of the Journal of Archaeological Science, Wade and his teammate Andrew Nelson examined radiographs of a total of 84 mummies in museums around the world. Their goal was to approve or disapprove some of the oldest and strangest information on ancient mummies. This information was and that during mummification, rulers and their successors brains were removed through the nose. Another information is so that internal organs were removed from the rich mummies.
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| Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports - Elsevier |
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Following our analysis based on X-ray scans, it was found that the mummification process was more complicated than we imagine.
Part of the blame for this confusion Greek historian Herodotus gate which noted in 440 BCE a description of the mummification process, following a visit to Thebes. Then he wrote that during the mummification of the rich is made interventions to remove the internal organs and the brain. Instead, for the poor, who were buried without being wrapped in cloth, resorting to a cheap technique of dissolving parts.
Part of the blame for this confusion Greek historian Herodotus gate which noted in 440 BCE a description of the mummification process, following a visit to Thebes. Then he wrote that during the mummification of the rich is made interventions to remove the internal organs and the brain. Instead, for the poor, who were buried without being wrapped in cloth, resorting to a cheap technique of dissolving parts.
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| Ancient Egypt How were mummies made?. Herodotus |
"In fact, it seems that Tut's time, almost everyone could afford to be mummified," says Wade after analyzing mummies. Then Pharaoh Tutankhamen died around 1323 î.e.n, long before Herodotus, and after the death of Pharaoh, mummification became increasingly popular.
But sometimes things were happening and as described by Herodotus. For example, if the priest Nesperennub, looked at the British Museum with the help of a CT performance, it was found that during the mummification process and has been removed brain through the nostrils, and his organs, such as lungs were stored in containers.
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| Nesperennub Mummipedia Wiki |
However, other times, not performed in accordance with mummification Herodotus. Sometimes the lungs and other organs were left inside mummies, and the brains were removed only in certain cases. Moreover, there were cases where, for removing the brain was a hole in the place where the spine meets the head.
On the other hand they were discovered instances where the mummy's head was filled with resin, and scientists explain this by suggesting that it is possible that golden hue liquid resin to be associated with the sun and divinity. However, the brain was not receiving significant attention at the time. Instead, it was observed that the length of cloth used to wrap the deceased's head vary significantly from case to case, depending on who achieve process. Following investigations it was found that in some cases, are used for head and 55 meters of cloth.
A practice that seems to have been reserved for the elite is linked to heart organ which was the center of conscience and morality in Egyptian mythology. "The whole idea was you could enjoy the afterlife, and certainly for this you needed heart," said Wade.
However, the analysis indicated a significant lack of heart among mummies, which suggests that keeping the body in the afterlife was reserved for the elite. As the "Book of the Dead" is prohibited sharing secrets related to the procedure of mummification, Wade speculate that it could have that common people do not even have been aware of the fact that they remove the heart to allow them to of a privileged elite. Moreover, all heart, the confection shaped stone jewelry beetles that lived over organ.
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| The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead - E. A. Wallis Budge |
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Source : USA Today
