Because mummification was expensive, cheaper alternatives were offered for the poor. Though these were the standard steps involved in the mummification procedure, process could vary depending on one’s class and status. Wrapping up the corpse was the last step in the procedure and involved more than a hundred yards of linen, smeared over with gum. The next step involved removing all the moisture from the body by covering the body with natron, a type of salt that acted as a preservative and drying agent. All organs of the abdomen were also removed except for the heart, which was believed to be the center of a person’s being. The general steps involved in the mummification process are as follows: First, internal body parts that could decay, such as the brain, are removed.
During this time, priests worked as embalmers and performed rituals and prayers in addition to treating and wrapping the body. The Recipe for MummiesĪ 2011 study on the materials used during the mummification procedure in ancient Egypt revealed that the process took 70 days. These attitudes slowly shifted around 2000 B.C., when commoners were also granted access to the afterworld as long as their body was mummified, and their valuables were placed into the tomb. , only pharaohs were initially entitled to the process. Though the practice of mummification began in Egypt around 2600 B.C. This process began long before a person’s death, and involved the storage of items that one may need in the afterlife, such as furniture, clothing, food and valuables. This is also why tomb preparation was a crucial ritual in Egyptian society. If the body was destroyed, the spirit could be lost and not make its entrance into the afterlife. The Egyptians believed that the mummified body housed one's soul or spirit.
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