Mummification Reenactment - The Galloway School

These 6th grade students are reenacting an Egyptian mummification in their classroom for their Ancient History class. The body is being played by one of the other students in the class, lying as still as possible on the table. The brainhook is a pair of needle-nosed pliers, and the brain is actually some cut up sponges in a plastic bag. Next they cut open a specially prepared shirt on the body and pull out more organ shaped sponges taped to its chest. As would real Egyptian embalmers, the students dry out the organs it natron (here played by kitty litter) and then wrap them in linens and store them in the appropriate canopic jars. As the mummification progresses, the students wrap the body in linens, put it in a sarcophagus, and then they perform the opening of the mouth ceremony so the dead person can eat, speak, and move in the afterlife. Next they follow the journey of its soul as it is judged in the afterlife, with students playing the roles of the gods such as Anubis, Thoth, and Osiris.

Throughout the entirety of the complicated process, the students pay rapt attention. This lesson makes the history real for them; they are not just reading or hearing about ancient Egypt, but living out a slice of it. Such tangible participation in the ritual allows them to access and absorb the information with all of their senses and intelligence.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• history
• mummification
• middle
• school
• education
• egypt

[hugsandluvable1]

wow i am in 6th grade! i wish we could "mummify" someone in social studies! =p!

[DBXguy]

cool