Good afternoon everyone, my name is Christina Panahon. Did you know that there is a way to physically pull your brain out through your nose?? Well, that process was commonly used when preparing a mummy, which brings me to my topic. The Mummification Process. Mummification is the preservation of a body, either animal or human. By mummification, the Egyptians believed they were assuring themselves a successful rebirth into the afterlife. At first the mummification process was only available to the Kings, but over time it became available to everyone. .
The process of mummification has two stages. First, the embalmment of the body. Then, the wrapping and burial of the body. The first step in mummification is embalming the body. By eliminating moisture, you have eliminated the source of decay. They dried the body by using a salt mixture called natron. Natron is a natural salt found along the Nile river . The Egyptian climate lent itself well to the mummification process, being both very hot and dry. First the body was taken to the tent known as 'ibu' or the 'place of purification'. There the embalmers wash the body with good-smelling palm wine and rinse it with water from the Nile. The first organ removed is the brain. A large bronze needle with a hooked or spiral end was used to perform this procedure. It was speculated that the Egyptians would insert this hook through the nose and the brain could be pulled out in pieces or they inserted the hook through the nose then smashed the brain tissue into an almost liquid state and the liquefied brain tissue drained out through the nostrils. The Egyptians believed that the brain was of little importance so it was discarded after it was removed. The next step was to remove the internal organs. One of the embalmer's men would make a cut in the left side of the body, then remove many of the internal organs. It was important to remove the internal organs because they were the first part of the body to decompose.