Divine Creatures: Animal Mummies in Ancient Egypt
Salima Ikram
Abstract
The invention of mummification enabled the ancient Egyptians to preserve the bodies not only of humans but also of animals, so that they could live forever. Mummified animals are of four different types: food offerings, pets, sacred animals, and votive offerings. Here, a series of studies on the different types of animal mummies, the methods of mummification, and the animal cemeteries located at sites throughout Egypt are drawn together in a definitive volume on ancient Egyptian animal mummies. Studies of these animals provide information not only about the fauna of the country, and indirectly ... More
The invention of mummification enabled the ancient Egyptians to preserve the bodies not only of humans but also of animals, so that they could live forever. Mummified animals are of four different types: food offerings, pets, sacred animals, and votive offerings. Here, a series of studies on the different types of animal mummies, the methods of mummification, and the animal cemeteries located at sites throughout Egypt are drawn together in a definitive volume on ancient Egyptian animal mummies. Studies of these animals provide information not only about the fauna of the country, and indirectly, its climate, but also about animal domestication, veterinary practices, human nutrition, mummification technology, and the religious practices of the ancient Egyptians.
Keywords:
mummification,
ancient Egyptians,
bodies,
humans,
animals,
food offerings,
pets,
sacred animals,
votive offerings,
animal mummies,
animal domestication,
religious practices
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2005 |
Print ISBN-13: 9789774248580 |
| Published to Cairo Scholarship Online: January 2012 |
DOI:10.5743/cairo/9789774248580.001.0001 |
