WILL SOMEONE PLEASEEEEE TAKE THAT BEEF JERKY FROM HIM!!!!!!! -
-- In antiextraterrestrialgroup@yahoogroups.com, antigray@c... wrote:
> Hi Group,
> I was wondering what you guys think of this idea I got while eating
some beef
> jerky while reading about mummification. Why did the ancient
Egyptians go to
> all this trouble? Where did they get such an idea? What was the
point of
> preserving a body that couldn't possibly come back to life cause
they had removed
> the heart, brains, and internal organs? The brain was thrown away
and the
> internal organs were preserved by dehydration. I think
mummification was very
> likely an ancient Reptoid recipe for making the human equivalent of
beef jerky.
> Mummification is the preservation of a body, either animal or
human. Some mummies
> are preserved wet, some are frozen, and some are dried. It can be a
natural
> process or it may be deliberately achieved. The Egyptian mummies
were
> deliberately made by drying the body. By eliminating moisture, you
have eliminated the
> source of decay. They dried the body by using a salt mixture called
natron.
> Natron is a natural substance that is found in abundance along the
Nile river.
> Natron is made up of four salts: sodium carbonate, sodium
bicarbonate, sodium
> chloride, and sodium sulfate. The sodium carbonate works as a
drying agent,
> drawing the water out of the body. At the same time the
bicarbonate, when
> subjected to moisture, increases the pH that creates a hostile
environment for
> bacteria. The Egyptian climate lent itself well to the
mummification process, being
> both very hot and dry. One written record concerning mummification
to have
> survived comes from the Greek historian Herodotus, who visited
Egypt around 450
> BC. He described how the Egyptians preserved their dead. But even
with the help
> of Herodotus, many questions remain. Much of Herodotus' account of
the
> process is sketchy and open to speculation. For example, how the
Egyptians used
> natron to dry the body has been a controversy ever since early
Egyptologists
> translated the text of Herodotus. Some translated it to mean that
the body was
> "pickled" in a natron solution. This technique would require large
vats to soak
> the corpses in, no evidence to support this theory has ever been
found. Instead,
> there is evidence of large tables being used for the drying
process. But it
> has never been clear why these tables are nearly six feet across,
wide enough
> to fit two corpses. These and many more questions were answered
during the
> mummification of Mumab.
> Herodotus described using of a sharp black stone to slice open the
abdomen.
> It is assumed this was made of obsidian, a black volcanic glass. It
had been
> speculated that obsidian was used because of ritualistic purposes.
But, it may
> have been used simply because it was the best material available
for cutting
> through human tissue. A small incision was made on the left side
through which
> the internal organs where removed. The heart was the only organ
that the
> Egyptians left intact because this is where they believed the
essence of a person
> lived. After removing the internal organs, they were washed with
frankincense,
> myrrh and palm wine. Then they would be dried using natron. After
being
> individually preserved, the organs are stored in a special canister
called a canopic
> jar. The lids of canopic jars are shaped like the heads of Egyptian
gods, the
> four sons of Horus. They are the guardians of the entrails. The
canopic jars
> with their contents would be placed in the tomb with the mummy.
> A Modern Mummy.
> From May 21, to June 25, 1994 A.D. a team of scientists from The
University
> of Maryland and The Long Island University performed the first
human
> mummification in nearly 2,000 years. They used replicas of ancient
Egyptian embalming
> tools, one hundred yards of fine Egyptian linen, more than 600
pounds of natron,
> frankincense and myrrh, oil of cedar, palm wine, and natural
resins. The
> mummification was preformed at The University of Maryland Medical
School in
> Baltimore, MD.
> Once the internal organs were removed, Ronn and Bob rinsed his
abdominal and
> thoracic cavities using palm wine and myrrh. This ritual probably
had
> practical roots as it provided a more pleasant aroma than that
which typically
> emanates from a dead body. These cavities were then stuffed with
small bags of natron
> to dry the corpse from the inside out. The embalming table was
constructed to
> match the specifications of those that had been found in Egyptian
tombs. The
> questions of why this table was so wide would soon be answered. As
natron was
> first poured on the table and then over the body it became clear
that they
> would need the width to keep the body completely surrounded with
the 600 pounds
> of natron. The temperature was maintained at about 115'F (46'C).
The humidity
> was kept under 30 percent. The same conditions as those found in
ancient Egypt.
> After 35 days buried in natron, Mumab was completely desiccated.
The moisture
> that he lost amounted to 100 of his original 160 pounds. The drying
process
> of mummification only took 35 days. Why then did an Egyptian
mummification
> ritual take 70 days? The answer may lie in the movements of the
star Sirius.
> Sirius was an important star to the Egyptians and we know that they
followed its
> movements very closely. The rising of the dog star, Sirius marked
the Egyptian
> New Year, the beginning of the season of inundation. The time when
Sirius
> disappeared in the sky until the time it returned (Egyptian New
Year) was 70 days,
> perhaps the Egyptians equated this astronomical phenomena with the
time needed
> from death in the physical world to rebirth into the afterlife. Now
that the
> drying process was complete, the bags of natron that had been
placed inside
> the body could be removed. The empty cavity was swabbed with palm
wine, and
> packed with spices, myrrh, and muslin packets of wood shavings. The
body was
> rubbed with a mixture of five oils: frankincense, myrrh, palm,
lotus, and cedar.
> The scientists removed tissue samples for biopsy, and the mummy was
completely
> checked for the presence of bacteria. Remarkably, three months
after this man
> had died, all the cultures indicated that there was no bacteria
present. This
> was the point at which the mummification was considered a success.
The process
> was not finished, because the mummy still needed to be wrapped.
Photographs of
> the mummy of Tuthmosis III would be used as a guide. The wrapping
was
> preformed using long strips of linen bandages and shrouds that had
been imported from
> Egypt. Each strip of linen was complete with appropriate
hieroglyphic
> inscriptions. They were attached using a natural resin. In some
ancient Egyptian
> mummies, this resin appears to have been poured on, covering the
entire body.
> Observations of this tar-like substance is how mummies got their
name. Early
> observers believed this resin to be bitumen (tar), the Persian word
for bitumen is
> moumia. The entire wrapping process took several days and required
more than 6
> layers or 20 pounds (9 kilograms) of linen. In accordance with
ancient
> practice, a heart amulet was placed over Mumab's heart. At this
point, if Mumab
> truly were an ancient Egyptian mummy he would be going through
burial rituals that
> dealt with purification and preparing for the afterlife, such as
the <A HREF="http://members.aol.com/egyptart/glossary.html#o">opening
> of the mouth ceremony</A> . Mumab's body is not destined for the
afterlife. He is
> now resting in the Museum of Man in San Diego, CA. He will continue
to be
> studied by Ronn Wade, Bob Brier, and scientists of this, and future
generations.
>
> Then there are accounts of Chinese people preserved in a mystrey
fluid for
> 2,000 years. From the sound of this article, the Reptoids would
find that the
> meat is still edible. Yummy, Chinese food.
> 2,000-Year-Old Woman Found Preserved In Mystery Fluid
> [Original headline: 2000-year-old woman found] [AFP] The corpse of
a woman
> who died more than 2,000 years ago has been found well preserved in
a mystery
> fluid in eastern China, state media reported today. The body of the
woman, who
> was believed to have lived during the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC -
24 AD),
> still had some of her skin, muscle tissue and veins, according to
the Xinhua news
> agency. Construction workers at a building site in Lianyungang,
Jiangsu
> province, discovered the corpse, which was in a coffin, on July 8,
Xinhua said "The
> female corpse, estimated to be over 2,000 years old, is said to
still have
> elastic muscle tissue from being immersed in a special fluid in her
coffin,"
> Xinhua quoted Lianyungang museum curator Zhou Jinping as saying.
Zhou said a
> rectangular lacquer box, a bamboo food container, a comb, a copper
mirror and a
> lock of hair with a hairpin were also found in the coffin. Xinhua
described the
> corpse as priceless, in terms of archeological research, and said
it was now
> being preserved in formalin solution and covered with a layer of
absorbent
> cotton. The news agency did not identify the fluid used to preserve
the corpse for
> 2,000 years. Zhou said further investigations would be made to
determine the
> woman's precise historical age, social status and other background
details.
> Xinhua said the woman was only the third well-preserved Han Dynasty
corpse ever
> discovered. The other two were excavated separately in the
Mawangdui Han Tomb
> in Changsha, Hunan province, and the Jingzhou Han Tomb in Hubei
Province. •
> Story originally published by:
> <A HREF="http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,4702003%
5E13762,00.html%20">News.com.au</A> / Australia - July 14.02
> I worked as a meat cutter for 2 years and the similarities between
> mummification and modern beef jerky making and between new and old
fashioned meat
> preservation techniques kind of leapt out at me. .
> Art
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]