Questions
How did the Egyptians make a dead body into a mummy?
Find 3 facts about mummies.
Why were the pyramids built to be so big?
Mummies!
Introduction
Take a look at this picture. Try to guess what it is before you read more.
You are looking at a picture of a mummy from the land of ancient Egypt. A mummy is a dead body that has been prepared so that it will last for many years. A mummy will not rot or fall apart as fast as other dead bodies. Egyptians began making mummies about 5000 years ago.
How did the Egyptians make a dead body into a mummy? Most often, the first step was to take the brain, lungs, and other inside parts out of the body. Next, the body was dried out. Then it was rubbed with a special oil, and it was wrapped in long strips of cloth.
Why did the ancient Egyptians make mummies? That’s a good question to ask an archeologist. An archeologist is a scientist who studies the things that ancient people have left behind. Archeologists say the Egyptians believed that dead people could go on living after death.
Dead people could live forever in a world that was called the afterlife. But they could only live in the afterlife as long as their bodies were safe and in good shape. If the body rotted or fell apart, the dead person would die forever.
The Egyptians had to protect the mummies so they wouldn’t be stolen or damaged. One way to protect the mummy was by putting it in a tomb. A tomb is a room or building where a dead body is kept.
Maybe you’ve heard about the pyramids of ancient Egypt. The ancient Egyptians built the pyramids as tombs for their kings.
The kings were called pharaohs. When a pharaoh died, the Egyptian priests would make his body into a mummy. Then the mummy was put in a tomb along with all the things that he might want in the afterlife.