history on egyptians and their life style..

The Egyptians - Mummies...

The Ancient Egyptians believed that when a person died they made a journey to the next world. They believed that in order to live in the next world their body had to be preserved. A preserved body is called a mummy.

After death a body begins to decompose. In order to prevent a body from decomposing it is necessary to deprive the tissues of moisture and oxygen.

The earliest Egyptians buried their dead in shallow pits in the desert. The hot, dry sand quickly removed moisture from the dead body and created a natural mummy. However, the Egyptians discovered that if the body was first placed in a coffin, it would not be preserved.

In order to ensure that the body was preserved the Ancient Egyptians began to use a process called mummification. This involved embalming the body and then wrapping it in thin strips of linen.

Mummification

The mummification process took around 70 days and involved the following steps:

1. The body was washed
 2. A cut was made on the left side of the abdomen and the internal organs - intestines, liver, lungs, stomach, were removed. The heart, which the Ancient Egyptians believed to be the centre of emotion and intelligence, was left in the body for use in the next life.

3. A hooked instrument was used to remove the brain through the nose. The brain was not considered to be important and was thrown away.

4. The body and the internal organs were packed with natron salt for forty days to remove all moisture.

5. The dried organs were wrapped in linen and placed in canopic jars. The lid of each jar was shaped to represent one of Horus' four sons. The picture (above) taken by Nina Aldin Thune shows from left to right -

Imsety, who had a human head - guardian of the liver
Hapy, who had the head of a baboon - guardian of the lungs
Qebehsenuf, who had the head of a falcon - guardian of the intestines
Duamatef, who had the head of a jackal - guardian of the stomach

6. The body was cleaned and the dried skin rubbed with oil.

7. The body was packed with sawdust and rags and the open cuts sealed with wax

8. The body was wrapped in linen bandages. About 20 layers were used and this took 15 to 20 days.

9. A death mask was placed over the bandages

10. The bandaged body was placed in a shroud (a large sheet of cloth) which was secured with linen strips.

11. The body was then placed in a decorated mummy case or coffin.

The Egyptians - Food...

Although Egypt is a hot, desert country where the lack of water makes it difficult to grow crops and raise animals, the annual flooding of the river Nile (inundation) between the months of June and September made the Nile Valley one of the most fertile areas of the ancient world.

When the river flooded, mud and silt was deposited onto the surrounding area. This soil was rich and fertile and made good farming land. The main crops grown were wheat and barley.

Wheat was made into bread which was one of the main foods eaten by both rich and poor ancient Egyptians. The picture (right) shows the bread-making process.

First the grain was made into flour. It was then made into dough with water and yeast which was placed into a clay mould before being cooked in a stone oven.

Barley was used to make beer. The barley was combined with yeast and made into a dough which was part-baked in a stone oven. It was then crumbled into a large vat, mixed with water and allowed to ferment before being flavoured with dates or honey. Recent evidence suggests that barley malt may also have been used in the process.

Beer was drank by both rich and poor.

Wine made from grapes, pomegranates and plums was enjoyed by the rich.

The rich ancient Egyptians' ate meat - (beef, goat, mutton), fish from the Nile (perch, catfish, mullet) or poultry (goose, pigeon, duck, heron, crane) on a daily basis. Poor Egyptians only ate meat on special occasions but ate fish and poultry more often.

The picture (above) shows ancient Egyptians hunting for fish and birds in the reeds that grew on the banks of the Nile.

Meat, fish and poultry was roasted or boiled. It was flavoured with salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, sesame, dill and fennel.

Meat, fish and poultry that was not eaten quickly was preserved by salting or drying.

A variety of vegetables were grown and eaten by the ancient Egyptians including onions, leeks, garlic, beans, lettuce, lentils, cabbages, radishes and turnips.

Fruit including dates, figs, plums and melons were eaten for dessert.

The Egyptians - Clothing

The ancient Egyptians wore light clothes made from linen.
Linen is made from flax - a plant which was grown along the Nile. The picture above shows the flax growing process.

Once harvested, the flax was soaked in water until soft. The softened flax was then separated into fibres which were beaten before being spun into thread which was then woven into cloth.

Men

All men wore a wrap-round skirt that was tied at the waist with a belt. Sometimes the material was wrapped around the legs as well. The length of the skirt varied depending on the fashion of the time - in the time of the Old Kingdom they were short while in the Middle Kingdom they were calf length. During the New Kingdom period it was fashionable to wear a pleated garment.

Rich Egyptian men were able to afford the best quality linen which was very fine and almost see-through. Rich Egyptian men also wore as much jewellery as they could afford and decorated their clothes. They also wore headdresses for special occasions.

Women

Egyptian women wore full length straight dresses with one or two shoulder straps. During the New Kingdom period it became fashionable for dresses to be pleated or draped. The dresses worn by rich Egyptian women were made from fine transparent linen. Like the men, rich Egyptian women decorated their clothes and wore jewellery and headdresses.

Children

Ancient Egyptian children did not wear clothes until they were about six years old when they would wear the same clothes as men and women.

Footwear

The Ancient Egyptians went barefoot most of the time but wore sandals for special occasions or if their feet were likely to get hurt.

The sandals worn by the poor were made of woven papyrus or palm while those worn by the rich were made of leather.

The picture shows the various styles of sandals worn.

Jewelry

The Ancient Egyptians wore jewelry to show their wealth and also because they believed it made them more attractive to the Gods.

They wore rings, ear-rings, bracelets, decorated buttons, necklaces, neck collars and pendants.

Only the very rich could afford jewelry made of gold and precious stones. Ordinary people made jewelry from coloured pottery beads.

Make up

Egyptian men and women wore make up.

They used black kohl eyeliner to line their eyes and darken their eye lashes and eye brows. They coloured their eye lids with blue or green eye shadow made from powdered minerals.

Henna dye was used to colour their lips and nails.