Mummification In Ancient Egyptian Culture

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Ancient Egypt is one of the most commonly known ancient culture with their pyramids, pharaohs, and of course their mummies. Although a lot is known about this culture very few know the reasons behind mummification or what happens to the soul after the body has been mummified. The Egyptians believed “the body was made up of several parts,” (Ancient Egyptian Beliefs in the Afterlife). Many historians agree on the first two pieces of the body, but the last one is often debated upon. The Ka is believed to be the “life force” of the body (Ancient Egyptian Beliefs in the Afterlife) or the “entity [most] closely associated with the physical body,” and the Ba is agreed to be “the soul,” (Death in Ancient Civilisations). What the third part of the body was is not agreed on by all historians, but the most common belief is that the last …show more content…
There is two different beliefs as to why the Egyptians went to such great lengths to preserve their dead ones. One belief was that in order “to survive in the afterlife, the Ka needed the corpse to remain intact,” which was only possible through mummification (Ancient Egyptian Beliefs in the Afterlife). The other belief was that the Ba “had to be able to recognize its body to be able to return to it,” and “the body’s preservation was essential in order for a person both to reach the afterlife and to be able to enjoy it.” (Death in Ancient Civilisations). The mummification process starts with “ritually washing the corpse” and “removing any organs that might contribute to the rotting process.” (Death in Ancient Civilisations). These removed organs are “placed in ‘canopic’ jars” and are put inside the tomb with the mummy (Death in Ancient Civilisations). The heart of the deceased “would be left in situ or placed near the throat” because it was believed that the “heart was the source of a person’s life force,” (Death in Ancient

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