Are You My Mummy?

Today we brought history to life.  Actually the lesson was about death, and how the ancient Egyptians cared for their dead, but it was a very hands-on experiment in mummification.

We chose a doll that could be sacrificed - of course, that would be Barbie.  We needed a good reference guide that was written at the correct level for a 1st grader to comprehend.  Magic Tree House has Fact Finder guides that are wonderful for this purpose.  We spent the night before reading the book and setting the stage for our experiment.

Assemble your supplies - coffee optional

We began by removing all of the organs but the heart.  We discussed the organs in the body and how the Egyptians didn't realize what purpose the brain serves so they threw that out too.  They believed that in the afterlife the heart would be weighed and would show if the person had led a good life.

Anna drew a heart on her Barbie to represent the one organ remaining.
No surprise, Barbie is brainless -- I mean, her brain would have been removed.

Then we washed the body in wine.  I'm pretty certain that the ancient Egyptians didn't use a Riesling, but that's what I had on hand.  Then they rubbed the body with oil and spices.  We used olive oil and cinnamon, nutmeg, and whatever else was on hand.  Then the body was rubbed with salt and left on a slightly inclined table for about 40 days.

While we waited "40 days" we passed the time by making amulets (out of fun foam).  The amulets would be woven into the bandages to bring luck and protection to the person during their journey into the afterlife.

Amulets and the death mask

After the body was wrapped, it was customary for a death mask to be placed on the mummy so the person's ka and ba (their soul) would recognize their body.

Next project -- shoe box sarcophagus.