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The word “mummy” comes from an Arabic word that refers to asphalt, which alludes to the black color of the mummified bodies of ancient Egyptians. It was believed that this black color was a result of the corpse being treated with bitumen. We now know that the black color of ancient Egyptian mummies is a result of oils, resins, dirt and age.<ref>Ikram, Salima. “Mummification.” <i>UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology</i>. 2010 ed. UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, Los Angeles. Web. 11 Nov. 2015, p. 2.</ref> Since their rediscovery in the 19th century we have learned a great deal about the ancient Egyptians and the reasons they left mummies behind. It is commonly said that the Egyptians mummified their dead to preserve the body for the afterlife, but this is an oversimplification of a very complex process and corresponding set of beliefs. The practice of embalming, anointing, wrapping and reciting spells for the dead reflects the complex way in which the Egyptians viewed life, death and the underworld.

The ancient Egyptians conceived of the human body as an amalgam of smaller parts including the limbs, organs, blood, bone, hair, et cetera and that this collection of parts constituted a whole, which was the earthly home for the three parts of the soul. These parts were known as the ka, the ba and the akh. The ka was the part of the soul that existed in the living realm and the akh was the part of the soul that existed in the land of the dead or the underworld. The ka and akh were each a kind of “double” of their host. The ba, which is often depicted as a bird with the head of the deceased, could travel between the two realms of the living and the dead.<ref>Riggs, Christina, “Body.” <i>UCLA Encyclopedia Of Egyptology</i>. 2010 ed. UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, Los Angeles. Web. 11 Nov. 2015, p. 4.</ref>

The Egyptians harbored a deep fear that their physical body would be damaged or disfigured after death. Tomb walls and religious texts feature prayers and spells for protecting the body and guiding the parts of the soul back to the person’s tomb should they get lost or become unable to recognize the body.<ref>Riggs,<i>UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology</i> p. 4. </ref> Essentially, the individual’s eternal afterlife depended on their body being preserved such that it could be recognized and reanimated by its soul.

[[File:Albany_museum,_egyptian_mummy_-_rsa.jpg|thumbnail|350px|Egyptian Mummy in Albany Museum Grahamstown]]

The mummification process involved a great deal of ritual and prayer. It was believed that death was the process of transitioning from the land of the living, a world of suffering and limitations, to the land of the dead, where the deceased (if properly buried) could assume godlike powers including everlasting life and the ability to take any form they choose.<ref>Hays, Harold M. ”Funerary Rituals (Pharaonic Period). ” ‘’’’UCLA Encyclopedia Of Egyptology’’’’. 2010 ed. UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, Los Angeles. Web. 11 Nov. 2015, p. 1.</ref> Any person who could afford it was mummified.<ref>Ikram,<i>UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology</i> p. 1.</ref>

When a person of great wealth or status died, the process of assisting them in their journey to the afterlife began immediately. The body was transported to the necropolis as a part of a ceremony that constituted a symbolic journey from the land of the living in the east, across the Nile to the land of the dead in the west.<ref>Jones, Dilwyn. ‘’’’Boats. Egyptian Bookshelf’’’’. Austin: University of Texas Press. 1995. Print. p. 25.</ref> When the body arrived on the west bank, it was met by a group of priests and priestesses who informed the gods that the deceased had arrived. Each priest involved played the role of a particular god who received the deceased and participated in their transition to the underworld.<ref>Riggs,<i>UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology</i> p. 4.</ref>

It is important to remember that the practice of mummification was carried out over period of thousands of years. The process changed throughout history and there is no one way that the Egyptians mummified their dead. Described in this article is what Egyptologists call the “classic” manner of mummification, or mummification as it was carried out in the pharaonic period.<ref>Ikram,<i>UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology</i> p. 2.</ref>

The process of mummification remained common, particularly for the noble classes, from the earliest dynasties all the way to the end of the time of Cleopatra. Although the details of the ritual changed, the intent remained the same; to preserve the body such that it can perform its essential role of housing the soul in the afterlife.

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