An Egyptian mummification fact — Joslyn event set for March 7

In advance of a March 7 campus presentation about the Joslyn Museum’s current exhibit on ancient Egypt, below is a fact about the mummification practices practiced in the “birthplace of civilization.”

Mummy masks such as this are on display at the Joslyn Art Museum as part of the “To Live Forever: Egyptian Treasures from the Brooklyn Museum” display, which runs through June 3.

To mummify a body, Egyptians would remove the brain through a nostril. The body’s intestines also were removed and the organs were placed in “canopic jars,” with each organ was placed in a separate jar. The internal organ that was not removed was the heart as Egyptians thought it to be the “seat of the soul.”

UNMC employees are invited to join Brooke Masek, assistant to Joslyn’s Executive Director and CEO, at noon on March 7 in the Sorrell Center, Room 2014, for an illustrated talk on the “To Live Forever: Egyptian Treasures from the Brooklyn Museum.”

The exhibition, which is on display now through June 3 — explores:

• Egyptian beliefs about life, death, and the afterlife;
  
• The process of mummification;
  
• The conduct of a funeral; and
  
• The different types of tombs — answering questions at the core of our fascination with ancient Egypt.

RSVP to Kacie Gerard at kgerard@unmc.edu by March 1 if you would like to attend.