Dead people can't speak, but in the eyes of some people, dead people can also convey information. For example, in the eyes of historical researchers, a dead body thousands of years ago can tell the world the information of his life and the environment of the times. In the British Museum, there is a 2,000-year-old dead body, the mummy, through which the world can learn about the life of the ancient Egyptian civilization.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="3" > How the mummy is produced</h1>
The English name mummy is an evolution of the Persian word mum (wax), meaning embalmed corpse. In medieval English, the word was defined as the preparation for mummification. The Oxford English Dictionary, citing pre-1615 sources, defines a mummy as "the body of a person or animal that has been embalmed for burial". However, the Victorian zoologist Francis Trevelion Buckland defined a mummy as "a corpse of a human body or animal dried out of exposure to sunlight or air", while also applying to frozen animal carcasses buried in prehistoric snow.
Although mummies have been unearthed in many countries, the most famous is undoubtedly the mummies of ancient Egypt. Mummification was one of the most important customs of ancient Egyptian society, and the practice of preserving the human body was considered a typical feature of Egyptian life. However, even mummies have a history of development, with different ways of making them for different classes at different times. Herodotus believed that there were at least three different methods of mummification, which could be divided into supreme, ordinary, and poor.
Ancient Greek historian Herodotus
Supreme: First, the brain is removed from the skull through the nose, and the gray matter is discarded. Excavations of modern mummies have shown that, unlike what Herodotus called the iron hook inserted into the nose, they used a pole to liquefy the brain through the skull cover, and then flowed out of the nose by gravity. The embalmers then wash the skull with specific drugs that essentially remove the residue of brain tissue and also have the effect of killing bacteria. Next, embalmers cut an incision in the side of the body to remove the internal organs. The internal organs need to be stored separately in jars.
Beautiful Egypt
The abdominal cavity is then rinsed with palm wine and crushed spices, which are then filled with spices including myrrh (a medicinal herb), cinnamon, and the like. The carcass was soaked in alkali for 70 days and further dehydrated. Herodotus insisted that the body would not stay in the alkali for more than 70 days. If the time is shorter, the body will not be completely dehydrated; if it is longer, the body will be too hard to move to the position of the package. The embalmers then washed the body again and wrapped it in linen bandages. The bandage is covered with a gum that modern research has shown to be both a water repellent and an antibacterial agent. At this time, the remains were returned to the families of the deceased. These "perfect" mummies were then placed in humanoid wooden boxes. The wealthy placed these wooden boxes in sarcophagus, thus providing further protection. According to Herodotus, the family placed sarcophagus upright against the wall in the tomb.
Ordinary: This version of the production method was described by Herodotus as used by the middle class or people who "wanted to avoid consumption". In this method, an oil extracted from cedar is injected into the abdomen with a syringe. A rectal stopper prevents the oil from spilling. This oil may have a dual purpose, liquefying internal organs while also disinfecting the abdominal cavity. By liquefying the organs, the cost of preserving the internal organs separately is avoided. The body is then placed in a soaking alkali for 70 days. At the end of this period, the body is removed and cedar oil containing liquefied organs is excreted through the rectum. The body has been dehydrated and can be returned to the family of the deceased. Herodotus did not describe the burial process of such mummies, but they may have been placed in a shaft grave. The poor use coffins made of terracotta.
As for the poverty section, the embalmers cleaned the intestines by injecting enemas with an unknown liquid. The body was then placed in the alkali for 70 days and then returned to the family of the deceased. What to do after that, Herodotus did not give more details.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="12" > ii. The status of mummies in ancient Egyptian civilization</h1>
When you think of ancient Egyptian civilization, the first thing that comes to mind may be mummies and pyramids, which shows the important position of mummies in ancient Egyptian civilization. To figure out why the ancient Egyptians mummified to preserve corpses, we need to look to the religious beliefs of ancient Egypt to find out. Ancient Egyptian religion was a complex polytheistic belief and ritual system that formed an integral part of ancient Egyptian culture. It centers on the egyptians' interactions with many gods who were considered masters of the world, and the ancient Egyptians prayed to the gods and offered sacrifices to gain their shelter. Formal religious practice centered on the rulers of Egypt, Pharaohs, who believed in possessing divine power by virtue of their supremacy on earth. They are intermediaries between the people and the gods, and have an obligation to support the gods through sacrifice so that they can maintain order in the universe. The state devotes a great deal of resources to the construction of religious ceremonies and temples.
Egyptian pyramids
Under this polytheistic belief, ancient Egypt also had a unique understanding of death. They believe that humans possess something called a "card," the life force that leaves the body at the time of death. In life, people get nutrients from food and drink to maintain the existence of "cards". So it is believed that in order to persist after death, the "card" must continue to receive offerings of food, the essence of which can still be absorbed. In addition to the "card", everyone also has a "ba", and unlike the "card", the "ba" is still attached to the body after death.
Egyptian funeral rites aim to release the "ba" from the corpse so that it can move freely and recombine it with the "card" so that it can survive as an "akh". However, it is also important to preserve the remains of the dead, as the Egyptians believed that the "ba" would return to its original body every night and then appear as an akh in the morning. It was this view of life and death that drove the ancient Egyptians to carefully preserve corpses and make mummies to prevent them from decaying.
Ancient Egyptian faith
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="18" >3. Ancient Egyptian mummies in the British Museum</h1>
The British Museum has exhibits from around the world, including mummies from ancient Egypt. Here is a mummy from about 240 BC unearthed in the ancient egyptian city of Thebes, which was a noble high priest of Honigitiv, who was placed in a huge black human form and elaborately decorated inner coffin, and carefully embalmed, as well as amulets and evil repellents. Through this mummy, we are able to learn many stories about the life of the high priest.
Scholars have studied mummies
According to modern scholars' research on the mummy, Honigitiv was in middle age at the time of his death, and his body was treated with the highest level of embalming, which shows that he enjoyed a high status in society. In the shroud, the priest placed various amulets, rings, jewels, etc. on his body to protect him safely to the afterlife. In addition, from the mummies we can also learn a lot about the ancient Mediterranean world network. Although mummies are made in Egypt, the materials needed to make mummies do not come only from Egypt. For example, some mummified coffins are coated with black asphalt from the Dead Sea region, while the coffins are from the Lebanese region, and these materials are undoubtedly obtained by trade.
British museum
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="23" > Wen Shijun said</h1>
The mummy lying quietly in the museum may be just an exhibit for everyone to see, but for professional researchers, it is a cultural relic of great research value. Through the study of the mummy itself and the coffin material and writing, we can understand the religion, commerce, and socio-economic conditions of the tomb owner himself in ancient Egypt, some of which are often beyond the reach of traditional documentary research methods.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="25" > reference</h1>
[English] McGregor: A Brief History of the World at the British Museum, translated by Yu Yan, Nova Press, 2014.
George Rawlinson, "The History of Ancient Egypt: Environmental Genes, Geopolitical Hegemony, and the Rise and Fall of Civilization," China Pictorial Press, 2018.
(Haoran Wenshi · Friends of ABC)
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