Show pupils photographs of mummies and ask them to describe what they see. Explain that mummies are human or animal remains. What is a mummy?

Ask students to think about why the ancient Egyptians might have wanted to preserve bodies. Remind them that mummification was an elaborate, multi-step process. Why might it be important to preserve a body?

Explain why it was important for the ancient Egyptians to preserve the bodies of people and animals.

Explain the origins of mummification and ask pupils to consider why burial practices changed. What might be some of the problems with sand burials? What new problems might occur as a result of coffin burials?

Discuss why the mummification process took a long time to develop. Remind pupils that it was a ritual, but that it was also a scientific process.

Wrap-up the discussion by explaining what kinds of information modern scientists and Egyptologists have learnt from studying mummies from ancient Egypt.

Ancient Egyptian mummies are the bodies of humans (or animals) which have been preserved through a complex process of mummification. The process of mummification is the process (embalming and wrapping) by which a body was preserved and prepared for burial.

The ancient Egyptians mummified their dead because they believed that the physical body would be important in the next life. Thus, preserving the body in as lifelike a way as possible was the goal of mummification.

The early burials in ancient Egypt consist of holes dug in the sand. The body was placed in a curled-up position surrounded by jars and baskets containing food and drink. Objects such as tools were also included so that the person would have them in the afterlife. The heat and dryness of the sand dehydrated these bodies quickly, creating lifelike and natural ‘mummies'.

When the ancient Egyptians began to bury their dead in coffins the bodies were no longer exposed to the heat and drying action of the sand. The lack of heat and dryness led the bodies to decay. Thus, the ancient Egyptians changed their burial practices.

Eventually, the ancient Egyptians developed methods for drying and preparing bodies so that they would not decay. This process is called mummification. The Mummification Story gives a complete account of each stage of the process of mummification.

Scientists have learnt a lot about life, disease, death and nutrition from studying ancient Egyptian mummies. In the past 100 years, technological advances in non- invasive techniques of studying bodies such as x-rays and CAT scans allow us to learn even more about how the ancient Egyptians lived.