Each jar was believed to be guarded by a different god. An opening was made in the left side of the abdomen and the lungs, liver, stomach and intestines were removed and placed into four canopic jars. Then the brain was removed through the nostrils and discarded. First, the body was thoroughly washed in the waters of the Nile river. There were several steps to the Egyptian ritual of mummification. The ancient Egyptians started mummifying remains about 3500 BC, although older purposefully mummified remains have been found elsewhere, such as in Pakistan about 5000 BC and in Chile around 5050 B.C. It was important for a person's ka to survive so that he or she could enjoy the afterlife, or life after death. The ancient Egyptians believed that preserving the body was important because without the body, the previous owner's 'ka,' or life force, would always be hungry. But what is the connection between these three things and what is a mummy? A mummy, like the one shown in Figure 1 below, is a corpse whose skin and flesh have been preserved by chemicals or by exposure to the elements of weather.

Most people associate ancient Egypt with the pharaohs, the Great Pyramids of Giza, and mummies.

Natron salt mummification