Background information - Egyptian funerary belief and

practice
Fill in the missing words from the vocabulary list below

The preservation of the body was an essential part of ancient

Egyptian funerary belief and practice. Early mummification
involved ___ wrapping of specific parts of the body such as the
face and hands. It has been suggested that the _______
developed to reproduce the naturally occurring desiccating
(drying) effects __ the hot dry sand on a body buried within __.
The best literary account of the mummification process is _____
by Herodotus, an ancient Greek historian. He records that ___
entire process took seventy days. The internal organs, apart
____ the heart and kidneys, were removed via a cut __ the left
side. The organs were dried and wrapped, ___ placed in canopic
jars, or later replaced inside the ____. The brain was removed,
often through the nose, and discarded. ____ of natron or salt
were packed both inside and _______ the body, and left for forty
days until all ___ moisture had been removed from the
remaining body tissue. ___ body was then cleansed with
aromatic oils and resins ___ wrapped with bandages, often
household linen torn into strips. __________ analysis of mummies
using processes such as X-ray and __ scanning has revealed a
wealth of information about how ___________ lived and died. It
has been possible to identify __________ such as lung cancer,
osteoarthritis and tuberculosis, as well __ parasitic disorders.
The British Museum has on display a ____ burial dating from
about 3400 BC. The body was buried ________ in the desert
sand, which completely covered the body, _____ it out and thus
preserved it. Such burials may ____ contain grave goods
objects buried near the body such __ bowls, jars, jewellery
and flint tools.
The British Museums ________ coffin burials date from about
2950 BC. Here the body ___ placed in a coffin made of wooden
planks or ____ basketwork which might be buried in the ground

or ______ in a cave. Although the coffin was intended to_______

the body from wild animals (direct sand burials were__________
to being dug up and disturbed by wild animals), __ actually kept
the sand (which would have dried the ____ out) away from the
body, thus
allowing the flesh __ rot away leaving only the skeleton.
The ancient Egyptians _____ have become aware of the
problems associated with coffin _______ through opening graves
for subsequent burials as well as _______ accidental uncovering
of sand burials. Increasing understanding of the _________ of
natural preservation, coupled with the religious emphasis on
___ importance of the body in the afterlife, led to ___
development of full mummification which involved artificially
drying the ____ before placing it in the coffin to ensure the
__________ preservation of the body.
a
also
and x 2
as
bags
body x 3
burials
complete
conditions
CT
dried
directly
earliest
from
given
in
individuals

it x 2
of x 2
outside
placed
process
processes
protect
reed
scientific
the x 6
through
to
vulnerable
was
would