Perhaps this was because archaeologists did not recognize their importance. But unfortunately, there was little interest in a large number of Egyptian animal mummies. Subsequently, many more such graves surfaced over the years.Įarly archaeologists who dug through the sands of Egypt placed great value on the treasure-filled tombs of the wealthy and noble. Apparently, he discovered a large grave containing a staggering number of ancient mummified cats. It told about a local farmer in 1888 who was simply digging in the sand near the village of Istabl Antar. One intriguing story surfaced in the “English Illustrated Magazine”. Therefore, empty mummies may have existed primarily for commoners who needed votive offerings (sacrifices) or idols. This way, real humans and animals were spared. In fact, many cultures offered to their gods small statues made of various materials in the image of a “sacrifice,” such as a human or animal. In the ancient world, votives certainly did not have to contain real body parts. An empty mummy might have also been a low-cost substitute for a real statue if someone needed an idol of one of the animal gods. The expense of the embalming process may have been simply cost-prohibitive. Hence, to take the pressure off the embalmers and animal farms, priests sold stuffed ones as worthy replacements.Īnother very real possibility is that commoners couldn’t afford real animal mummies. Some scholars theorize that the demand for animal offerings exceeded the supply. There may be different reasons for purchasing an empty animal idol. Although some sources have quickly concluded that this is a result of fraud, other highly credible research teams, such as the University of Pennsylvania Department of Anthropology, indicate that the empty “mummies” may not have been the result of dishonesty at all. Those only contained sticks or perhaps feathers. However, about one-third of the animal mummies that experts scanned had no animal inside. Most of the mummies examined by experts contained whole or partial animals. The care given toward mummification of the human was also extended to his animals, and together they could continue in the afterworld. This idea is in alignment with the Egyptian belief that life is everlasting as long as certain conditions existed, such as proper mummification and a tomb that contained everything necessary in the next world. In addition to the use as idols, animals were so loved and relied upon for companionship that when an owner died, his pets would also be mummified. Perhaps a devotee was offering up the mummy as thanks for some blessing or as a sacrifice for a favor. Either way, massive burials of animal mummies have been discovered at many sacred temple sites. The animal mummies may have been given to a priest at the temple or simply left there as a votive like Catholics leave candles. Worship often occurred at Egyptian temples that priests dedicated to specific gods. The Egyptians venerated the embodiment of the gods within the animals as well as within their statuary idols. Sometimes the mummified animal was entombed in a statue. Their belief that animals were the manifestation of gods and goddesses led them to create idols, such as statuary and mummies. Egyptology and a Brief History of Egypt Idol WorshipĪs an animistic culture, Egyptians believed that gods could dwell anyplace and in anything.
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