-
- Contributed By: Christine Mytko
Introduction
In this activity, students learn hands-on the steps involved in mummification. This science lesson complements students’ studies of Ancient Egypt in Social Studies class. This activity was adapted from the Exploratorium’s “Make a Mummy” activity. (http://www.exploratorium.edu/bodies/webcast_activity.html)
Objectives
Time Required
Materials
SAFETY NOTE: Check if any student has a tactile allergy to fish!
Procedures
1. Week 0 (pre-fish planning)
2. Week One: Canopic Jars and initial drying
3. Week Two: Repacking the fish
4. Week Three: Repacking the fish
5. Week Four: Wrapping the fish
6. Week Five: Burial Ceremony (optional)
Assessment
Students will maintain a packet with weekly qualitative / quantitative observations as well as a reflection of their contributions to the group. Students may also graph the mass data at the end of the activity. Additional quizzes or discussion may be utilized.
In this activity, students learn hands-on the steps involved in mummification. This science lesson complements students’ studies of Ancient Egypt in Social Studies class. This activity was adapted from the Exploratorium’s “Make a Mummy” activity. (http://www.exploratorium.edu/bodies/webcast_activity.html)
Objectives
- Students will perform and understand the main steps in the mummification process
- Students will make and record qualitative and quantitative observations
- Inner organs are removed and placed in canopic jars (intestines, stomach, liver, “lungs”)
- Body cavity is stuffed with natron (drying salt). Salt is also packed around the body.
- Body is left to dry for 40 days.
- Then body is cleaned and rubbed with fragrant oils and spices.
- Finally, the body is wrapped in strips of linen dipped in resin.
Time Required
- (prep) 15 - 20 minutes set up each week plus time to initially get fish & supplies
- Week 0 - introduce and plan with students (15-20 minutes)
- Week 1 - dissection and initial mummification (45 - 50 minutes)
- Week 2 - change “natron” / observations (15 - 20 minutes)
- Week 3 - change “natron” / observations (15 - 20 minutes)
- Week 4 - observations / wrapping (45 - 50 minutes)
- Week 5 - (optional) Burial ceremony (45 - 50 minutes)
Materials
- Copies of worksheets
- (one per student) Mummification Background, Fish Packet
- (one per group) Fish Mummy Plan Sheet, Weekly Procedure Sheet
- One medium sized [fresh] fish [with guts] per group (Check with local restaurant suppliers. Sea bass, perch or tilapia work well.) Any fish that comfortably fits in a...
- One container per group (Gladware size Large works well)
- Four film canisters or other small jars to serve as canopic jars
- Baking soda and table salt (enough to fill each group's containers each week)
- Big bowls (for mixing natron, and later resin)
- Dissection scissors (necessary), blunt probe, and forceps (optional)
- Scale and rulers (HINT: cover the scale with plastic wrap to easier clean-up)
- Herbs (from grocery store or garden) and “fragrant oils” (I purchased mine from a discount beauty supply store, Baby Oil is a good alternative if allergies are a concern)
- Muslin cloth to tear into strips (available at any fabric store)
- Elmer's glue for "resin"
- Trash bags, air fresheners… this activity is fun and educational, but SMELLY. (Week 2 is best done outside, if possible)
- Gloves (optional - my kids do not wear gloves except in cases of open cuts. All materials are food grade and safe to touch.)
SAFETY NOTE: Check if any student has a tactile allergy to fish!
Procedures
1. Week 0 (pre-fish planning)
- Read “Mummification Background Sheet” and discuss
- Students will be assigned / chose groups and complete “Fish Mummy Plan Sheet”
- "canopic jar kids" will need their jars in order to complete the them by Week 1.
2. Week One: Canopic Jars and initial drying
- Students will dissect fish and place appropriate organs into corresponding canopic jars. (I recommend emptying those canopic jars after class, unless you want to preserve them separately or want a smelly mess. To preserve, follow the fish mummification procedure on a smaller scale) NOTE: Make sure to discuss lungs vs. gills.
- Students will mass the fish WITHOUT ITS ORGANS and record data / additional observations in “Fish Packet”
- Students will pack the now-empties gut cavity of the fish with fresh “natron” mixture (2/3 baking soda, 1/3 table salt) [referred to from now on as natron]
- Students will line disposable container with 1 -2 inches of natron, then place fish in it, then adding more natron until the fish is completely covered.
- Fish should be stored for one week to allow dehydration.
3. Week Two: Repacking the fish
- Students will open up their containers and remove all used natron from inside and outside the fish. (WARNING: This can be SMELLY - unpack the fish outside if space and weather permit) Students should notice that it is the moist baking soda that smells bad… and not so much the fish.
- Students will repeat steps 2-5 in Week One’s procedure
4. Week Three: Repacking the fish
- Students will repeat the procedure from Week Two.
5. Week Four: Wrapping the fish
- Students will remove all unused natron, saving the container for their wrapped fish..
- Students will mass the fish and record data / additional observations in “Fish Packet”
- Students will dip 1 - 2 strips of muslin (“linen”) in oil, fold them up, and put them inside the fish's body cavity.
- Students will rub the fish with scented oils and apply herbs to simulate the burial practices of Ancient Egyptians (the oils were a burial ritual, but also served to cover up any residual odors)
- Students will then dip strips of muslin (“linen”) in a mixture of Elmer’s glue & water (“resin”) and wrap the fish mummy, taking care not to get the fish too damp.
- Set fish aside to dry. (In the meantime, if students will be doing a ceremony, they should be creating amulets and the sarcophagus)
6. Week Five: Burial Ceremony (optional)
- You can be as elaborate or as simple as you choose. (I downloaded some funeral music, and the kids really got into it, composing songs for their fish, dramatically sobbing during their ceremonies…)
- Students can have the option to take the fish home and bury it. (I’ve had kids dig them up a year later, and they were still intact and “not smelly”)
Assessment
Students will maintain a packet with weekly qualitative / quantitative observations as well as a reflection of their contributions to the group. Students may also graph the mass data at the end of the activity. Additional quizzes or discussion may be utilized.
MUMMIES - INFO SHEET
Newton’s apple lesson plan (http://www.ktca.org/newtons/13/mummy.html)
Imagine that you could step back in time and get a firsthand look at what daily life in ancient Egypt was like. For decades, archaeologists have been taking just these types of journeys, and their tour guides have been the mummified remains of individuals who died centuries ago. Even though they are silent, mummies speak volumes to those who know how to ask the right questions.
When most people hear the word "mummy," they usually think of ancient Egypt. But mummies have been found all over the world, including China, Europe, Peru, and Mexico. In fact, many mummies have formed naturally without any human involvement or preparation at all.
For mummification to occur, all water must be removed from the body. When there is water, bacteria can get in and start to decompose, or break down, the body. Therefore, in order for mummification to occur, they body must get dried out. As you might expect, most mummies have been discovered in desert environments. But they have also been found in peat bogs, where the water is extremely acid and has little or no oxygen, and in the tundra, where individuals have become trapped in glacial ice. In both environments, bacteria cannot break down the body tissue. Some scientists argue whether "bog men" and "ice men" are true mummies, but these bodies still can reveal a great deal about the world they lived in.
The earliest Egyptian mummies date back to around 3200 B.C. By reading the text on the walls of tombs, scientists have learned that the mummification process changed over time. In early days, preparers would simply treat the body by covering it with a natural salt, called natron (now called baking soda), to help dry it out, and then wrap it in bandages soaked in a type of resin. Almost two thousand years later, the art of mummification reached its peak. Before treating the body, the preparer would remove the brain and many vital organs. Then they would pack the abdominal (or body) cavity with natron, sand, or sawdust and cover the body in more natron for about 40 days. After that, the body was washed, repacked with spices and more natron, and wrapped in those resin-soaked bandages. The whole process took about 70 days.
People were often buried with food, tools, jewelry, clothes, and even pets. By studying these artifacts and using modern analysis on the mummies, scientists have unlocked many mysteries about diet, health, and even grooming habits. With the help of modern science, mummies have told us many secrets of their pasts.
The 5 steps of Egyptian mummification:
1. Inner organs are removed and placed in canopic jars (intestines, stomach, liver, “lungs”)
2. Body cavity is stuffed with natron (drying salt). Salt is also packed around the body.
3. Body is left to dry for 40 days.
4. Then body is cleaned and rubbed with fragrant oils and spices.
5. Finally, the body is wrapped in strips of linen dipped in resin.
6. Mummy is placed in sarcophagus, given a facemask, and sent off into the afterlife surrounded by amulets and anything else s/he might need in the afterlife.
WHO’S DOING WHAT FOR THE FISH MUMMY?
4 WEEKS:
1 - Prepare the fish. Cover. 2 & 3 – Check the fish. Re-cover. 4 – Final preparations.
Group member names:
1. _______________________ 4. _________________________
2. _______________________ 5. _________________________
3. _______________________ 6. _________________________
TASKS:
You may certainly participate in every job, however, there needs to be one person responsible for each step, to make certain that the job is finished. You can put your name down more than once, just make sure the work is divided evenly. If there are two blanks, and only one person wants to be responsible, you can write that person’s name on each blank.
Canopic Jars: ______________ (liver) _____________(lungs/gills) (Bring Week 1)
______________ (intestine) _____________ (stomach)
Gut Removers: _______________ _______________ (Week 1)
Fish Mass-er (week 1)_______________ (week 2)_______________ (All weeks)
(week 3)_______________ (week 4)_______________
Baking Soda Manager _______________ (Weeks 1-3)
Resin – mixer _______________ (Week 4)
Fish wrappers _______________ _______________ (Week 4)
Sarcophagus maker _______________ (Bring Week 4) Question runner (or teacher liason) _______________ (All weeks)
ALL OF YOU WILL PARTICIPATE IN: making observations each week, making amulets, and the final ceremony.
This is the plan sheet handed out to students before the fish mummification. This attachments has proper formatting.
A diagram of a generalized fish anatomy.
Canopic Jars
During mummification the internal organs were removed and placed in four containers. These containers often have human or animal-headed stoppers. The word, canopic, comes from the Greek name of the local god of Canopus in the Nile delta, who was represented as a human-headed pot. Canopic jars can be made of limestone, alabaster, wood, pottery, or even cartonnage. The heads of the canopic jar represented the Four Sons of Horus
.
From left to right they are;
Duamutef: The jackal or wild dog headed guardian of the stomach
Qebekh-sennuef: The falcon headed guardian of the intestines
Hapy: The baboon headed guardian of the lungs
Imsety: The human headed guardian of the liver
This packet should be filled out weekly by each student. It contains areas for both qualitative and quanitative observations, as well as a weekly self reflection.
Each week, I typed up that week's particular instructions. I put these sheets in a plastic page protector, since student workspaces tended to get very messy.
