- Canopic jar
Canopic jars were used by
ancient Egypt ians during the mummification process, and were commonly made oflimestone ,pottery , wood, orbronze . These jars were used by ancient Egyptians from the period of the Old Kingdom onwards to store various internal organs removed during the process ofmummification . All theviscera were not kept in a single canopic jar, but rather each organ was placed in its own.The jars were four in number, each charged with the safekeeping of a particular human organ. These four types of the canopic jars also represented the four cardinal points of the compass. Each was associated with one of the
four sons of Horus .Duamutef , the jackal-headed jar representing the east, contained the stomach and was protected by the goddessNeith .Qebehsenuef , the falcon-headed jar representing the west, contained the intestines and was protected by the goddessSelket .Hapi , the baboon-headed jar representing the north, contained the lungs and was protected by the goddessNephthys .Imseti , the human-headed jar representing the south, contained the liver and was protected by the goddessIsis . [ [http://www.aurorahistoryboutique.com/S000254.htm Canopic Jar of Duamutef ] ]Canopic Jars in the Old Kingdom were plain, almost never inscribed, and did not have the heads of the gods as lids.
In addition to hieroglyphics, figures of gods were often hand-painted on the jars. These were the
Four sons of Horus , the guardians of the organs. [Names of the sons of Horus and the body parts they guarded: from The British Museum's [http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/story/main.html] classifications, October 2006]Occasionally, the jars or the jar lids were made in the shape of a god. Hieroglyphics were inscribed into the base of the jar that reffered to the four sons of Horus.
The Egyptians considered the heart to be the seat of the soul so it was left inside the body instead of being placed in a canopic jar. The Anciet Egyptians believed that in the afterlife the heart would be weighed against the feather of truth by the god Anubis. If it was too heavy from bad deeds it would fed to the monster Ammit.
The brain was not preserved (it was held to be only used for producing mucus), but instead was smashed and pulled through the nose by a long hook.Sometimes the covers of the jars were modelled after (or painted to resemble) the head of
Anubis , the god of death/embalming. These jars have been around for years, and surviving examples of them can be seen in museums. The canopic jars were placed inside a canopic chest and buried in tombs together with the sarcophagus of the dead. It was also done because it was believed the dead person would need their organs for the afterlife.Notes
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