Mummification

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/mummification

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the key dehydrating agent?Natron (sodium carbonate and bicarbonate), essential for inhibiting microbial decomposition
2. What is mummification and why did ancient Egyptians do it?Mummification is a special way of preserving a body so it can stay whole for the afterlife. Egyptians believed the body had to stay safe so the spirit could come back to it.
3. How did the ancient Egyptians make a mummy?They first removed the organs, put them in special jars, then covered the body with salty crystals called natron to dry it for about 40 days. After that they washed it, put oils on it, and wrapped it in many layers of linen.

Ka: The ancient Egyptian concept of a vital life force or spiritual double that needed the body to survive.
Ba: The ancient Egyptian concept representing personality, soul, or spirit, often depicted as a human-headed bird.
Canopic Jars: Ritualistic vessels used to store the eviscerated organs (liver, lungs, stomach, intestines) of a mummy.
Paleopathology: The study of ancient diseases and injuries through the examination of skeletal and mummified remains.