This week, learners dive into one of ancient Egypt's most fascinating traditions: mummification. They will also go over the belief in a second, eternal life after death. They explore why Egyptians believed the body needed to be preserved, walk through the mummification process step by step, and meet Tutankhamun, the boy pharaoh whose 1922 tomb discovery gave historians their clearest picture yet of a royal burial. Students also learn about the gods connected to the afterlife, the Book of the Dead, and how other cultures around the world, from Chile to China to Europe, developed their own ways of preserving the dead.

KEY IDEAS

• Egyptians believed death led to a second, eternal life if the body was preserved.
• Pyramids and the Great Sphinx were built to protect a pharaoh's body and belongings.
• Mummification used natron salt and linen wrapping to preserve bodies over about 70 days.
• The Book of the Dead guided the soul through judgment in the afterlife.
• Howard Carter's 1922 discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb revealed what a royal burial actually looked like.

SUGGESTED PICTURE BOOK
The Mummy Makers of Egypt by Tamara Bower

HANDS-ON PROJECT
Mummify an Apple

VOCABULARY

• Pyramid – A massive stone tomb built for a pharaoh
• Mummy – A body preserved through drying and wrapping
• Sarcophagus – A stone coffin that held a mummy's body
• Canopic Jar – A container used to store a preserved organ
• Natron – A natural salt used to dry out and preserve a body
• Afterlife – The eternal life Egyptians believed came after death
• Embalmer – A trained specialist who prepared and preserved bodies

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

• Why do you think Egyptians believed the body needed to be preserved for the afterlife?
• What do you think mummification tells us about how much Egyptians valued the body?
• Why do you think Tutankhamun's tomb taught us so much more than other pharaohs' tombs?

Digging Deeper

• If you believed you'd need your favorite belongings in the next life, what would you want buried with you?
• What object would you want future archaeologists to find in your tomb?

TIMELINE

• c. 5000 BCE – The Chinchorro people of Chile mummify their dead, the oldest known mummies in the world
• c. 3400 BCE – Egypt's earliest mummies form by accident, dried by hot desert sand
• c. 2600 BCE – Egyptians begin deliberate mummification, removing organs and wrapping bodies in linen
• c. 1323 BCE – Tutankhamun is buried in the Valley of the Kings
• c. 400 CE – Egyptian mummification largely comes to an end
• 1922 CE – Howard Carter and his Egyptian crew uncover Tutankhamun's tomb