Lecture: Being Born into the Next World: Egyptian Mummies and their Coffins
Kea Johnston, PhD Student, UC BerkeleyOctober 28, 2017To a modern museum patron, accustomed to viewing the elaborate objects that they prepared for their tombs, the Ancient Egyptians can appear obsessed with death. It is more accurate to say that they loved living, and were committed to ensuring that their lives and those of their loved ones continued forever. In order to make the transition from this world to the next, the body had to be preserved and placed in the coffin, which acted as a magical "machine" through which the deceased was reborn. In this lecture, Johnston discusses the practice of mummification, and the beliefs that drove it.Presented in conjunction with, R.I.P.: On Art and Mourning.
