Early Egyptians: 1. natural mummification by burial in hot, dry sand. 2. problem: animals dig up body

Later embalming and mummification:

1. Cleanse body with palm wine and rinse with Nile river water in a tent called an ibu (place of purification).

2. Remove internal organs, the first parts to decompose. The brains liquified and drained out through the nose, penetrating through the ethmoid bone with a large brass needle with a hooked end. The brain was the only body part discarded, as it was considered of little use. An obsidian knife is used to open the abdominal cavity, removing the liver, lungs and gastrointestinal tract are washed and packed in Natron to dehydrate them. Natron (hydrated sodium carbonate; Na2 CO3 � (10 H20); Molecular Weight = 286.14; phosphorescent mineral found in Saline lake beds in arid environments; about 600 pounds) osmotically pulls out water (about 2/3 of the body weight). Natrum absorbs light and releases it when the temperature of the crystal fluctuates. The heart is left intact to serve as the center of intelligence and emotion in the afterlife. The whole body is packed in natron to remove the water. All fluids and cloths used in the process are buried with the body, so that nothing that is removed is separated. After 40 days, the body is again washed with Nile river water. Natron along the Nile river may contain sodium bicarbonate (helps prevent bacterial growth by alkalizing), sodium chloride and sodium sulfate in addition to sodium carbonate.

3. Oils (frankincense, myrrh, palm, lotus, and cedar) put on skin to maintain flexibility and elasticity; antioxidant; aroma.

4. Linen (flax; linum ussitatisimum; about 100 yards) to hold oils on surface. Dehydrated organs are wrapped in linen and replaced, although in earlier times they were stored in canopic jars in the burial chamber. Sawdust and/or leaves may be added to fill out life-like shape of body. The head, neck, fingers and toes are individually wrapped in fine linen. Arms and legs are wrapped separately, and amulets are placed between layers of linen wrapping, while prayers are being said. Arms and legs are then tied together by linen wrappings and a papyrus scroll from the Book of the Dead is placed in the hands. The whole body is wrapped in linen glued together by sticky plant resin or tar called bitumen, from which the word 'mummy' is derived from the Persian 'moumia'. Another cloth is wrapped around the whole body with Osiris painted on it. A final cloth is wrapped around the whole body and tied by linen strips. A painted wooden board is placed on top of the body and it is placed inside two nesting coffins. These are placed inside a stone sarcophagus inside a stone tomb which contains furniture, clothing, food, drink and other valuable items as well as 365 ushabtis (spirit workers), one for each day of the year. The heart of the person is judged based on good deeds performed during life to determine if the person qualifies to live eternity in the heavenly 'field of reeds.'

The entire ritual took 70 days, the same length of time that the star Sirius took to reappear marking the Egyptian new year and the annual inundation of the Nile flood plains, after sinking below the horizon each year.

Egyptians needed all six aspects of self to enter the afterlife:

1. physical body (preserved by mummification)

2. shadow

3. name (protected by a magic rope around it as a cartouche)

4. ka (spirit) which would reside in the tomb and use the items left there, e.g. eating the food.

5. ba (personality) could transcend this world.

6. akh (immortality) could transcend this world.