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Human beings love their animals.
Egyptians loved them so much they mummified them! In the 1700
and 1800's, animal and human mummies held little value. They
were destroyed, sold for souvenirs (often a thriving family
business), used as paper, peddled as medicine or paint (crushed
mummies only!) and even used as fuel. Mark Twain wrote how they
“fueled his trip up the Nile.”
"Cat Mummy" copyright
Animal Mummies Project 2000
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"Egyptians mummified animals for
many reasons. Among their reasons were:
SCARED ANIMALS; identified with a
particular deity and worship
VICTUAL MUMMIES; As food for the
future life of the deceased
VOTIVE OFFERINGS: dedicated to particular
gods
BELOVED PETS: Often they were simply
a beloved pet buried with the owner."
-- Dr.
Salima Ikram
Early animal mummies got no respect and
were often destroyed. Only when their importance was established were
they treated better. Many were then placed in museums and studied to
see what they could tell us about the past. (Yes, cat, alligator and
duck mummies can talk too!)
Other cultures mummified their animals also.
The Paracus people of South America tied their dead in a fetal position
and wrapped them in layers of fabric. This “mummy bundle” was then put
in a basket with offerings and lowered into an underground chamber.
In the chambers were also bundles containing parrots, foxes, dogs, cats,
frogs, and deer.
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Polly
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Dusty
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Once they are removed from their desert
graves, animal mummies are
susceptible to the humidity (the
moisture from human breath can restart decay)
and insects. They
are so fragile that many simply turn to dust like our Dusty.
copyright Animal Mummy Project 2000 |
Adopt A Mummy!
The Animal Mummy Project of Cairo
Museum is aimed at studying and preserving the animal mummies
it holds. The project will identify and record the mummies and
will lead to conclusions about mummification in general, with
detailed information about climate and fauna, animal domestication,
veterinary practice, human nutrition and religious belief in
ancient Egypt.
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Scarab __ also known as
Dung Beetle
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important symbol of immortality can be seen
on sunny days forming a ball of dung
and rolling it over the sand to its burrow!
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In New Kingdom
burials, when the heart was removed it was replaced with a scarab
beetle. This dung beetle became the symbol of immortality because
of its life cycle. It laid its eggs in a pile of dung and after
hatching The eggs survived on a dung diet.
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To the Egyptians, this
life from dung was a miraculous rebirth. Next time you see a scarab
remember this beetle symbolizes life, and the ball of dung on
its head is the sun.
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A Dung Website?
Think about it! Every living thing
eliminates its wastes. What better way to study all living things.
Thanks to Aluynne B. Beaudoin of the Provincial Museum of Alberta,
Canada, we can lead you to the site dedicated to the study of
dung. (Bet some wild stories can come from dung!)
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A Mummy Mermaid?
A mummy mermaid turned out to be half
fish and half MONKEY!
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One big mummy!
A Woolly Mammoth was recently found
in Siberia. This animal mummy is so well preserved that its fur
is still intact. Discovery Channel had a special documentary on
this event called Raising
The Mammoth. Some scientists
want to clone it and bring back to life the woolly mammoth.
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Would you like to make a
chicken mummy? Cluck
here! 
James M. Deem, the Mummy Master, will walk you through it!
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