Excerebration is an ancient Egyptian mummification procedure of removal of the brain from corpses prior to actual embalming. Greek writer Herodotus, a frequent visitor to Egypt, wrote in the fifth century B.C. about the process, "Having agreed on a price, the bearers go away, and the workmen, left alone in their place, embalm the body. If they do this in a perfect way, they first draw out part of the brain through the nostrils with an iron hook, and inject certain drugs into the rest".[1]
An object more than 6.8 inches long, probably made from plants in the group Monocotyledon (including palm and bamboo), would have been used for liquefying and removing the brain. The instrument would be inserted through a hole punched into the ethmoid bone near the nose via a chisel.[2][3] Some parts of the brain would be wrapped around this stick and pulled out, and the other parts would be liquefied. In order to drain the remaining liquified brain and cerebral fluid the individual would be put on their abdomen or their head would be lifted.[2]
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The Mummification Process
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Egyptian Brain Removal Demonstration - Mummification Lesson
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Mummy Brains
Transcription
This is a mummy of a young man named Herakleides. He died in Egypt in the first century A.D. when he was about 20 years old. Mummification was developed by the ancient Egyptians to preserve the body for the afterlife. Typically, all internal organs were removed before mummification, with the exception of the heart, but in this case the heart was removed and the lungs were left intact. Next the body was covered with salt and left for about 40 days until all moisture was eliminated. Perfumed oils and plant resins were rubbed on the body. Thick layers of resin were applied to glue the strips of linen that were wrapped around the body. The mummy was placed on a wooden board, and more wrappings bound them together. A mysterious pouch, perhaps of religious significance, was placed on the chest. A mummified Ibis, a wading bird with a slender, down-curved bill, was placed on the abdomen. Ibis mummies commonly served as votive offerings to the gods, but this is an unusual case of a bird being mummified with a deceased human. Long linen strips further secured the wrappings. A portrait panel of Herakleides was placed over the face. A large linen cloth was wrapped around the mummy. The shroud was painted red with an imported lead-based pigment. This treatment is rare. Very few red-shroud mummies are known to exist. Egyptian symbols of protection and rebirth were painted on the outer cloth with pigments and gold. Finally, Herakleides' name was written in Greek at the feet. Thanks to this remarkable mummification process, Herakleides' body is with us today.
Evolution of Excerebration
Excerebration can be traced back to the Old Kingdom through Greco-Roman Egypt.[2] The evidence of excerebration consists primarily of skull perforations. During the Old and Middle Kingdom there was a low frequency of skull perforations, leading some authors to hypothesize an alternative entrance via the foramen magnum.[2] In skulls from the New Kingdom the primary entrance was transnasal.[2][3]
Over the millennia excerebration has changed. In the Old and Middle Kingdoms a transethmoidal excerebration was the standard.[2] With the assistance of modern technology and CT scanning more evidence has arisen as to where in the skull excerebration occurred. Through CT scans it has been determined that over time the transethmoidal approach was shifted towards a transsphenoidal approach.[2] However, there is also evidence of a combined transethmoidal-transsphenoidal excerebration that could have been used in the Third Intermediate Period.[2]
Religious Aspects of Excerebration
In order to extract all organs from the body embalmers would make an incision on the left side of the abdomen. Similar to this, excerebration was rarely ever seen through the right nostril and almost exclusively through the left nostril.[4] Knowing that the body would have been laid with the head to the north all incisions and excerebration would have taken place on the eastern side of the body.[5][4] For convenience and accessibility, it would have been more practical to make incisions on the western side of the body or the right side, however, everything was done on the left side, signifying some degree of symbolism or religion was involved.[4] The notion that the right side was honored, while the left was inferior, is a notion common in ancient Egypt.[4][6] Not only this, but resurrection was also seen as a journey from west to east.[4][7] Therefore, one could infer that it was more honorable and respectful to the deceased if excerebration and the removal of other organs were performed via cuts made on the left or eastern side of the body.
Modern Comparisons
Many[who?] have said that Ancient Egyptians were the first to learn about the brain and document their findings. In fact they were, they have some of the oldest documentation on the spinal cord and the brain in the world.[clarification needed][4] There are also many surgeries that take a very similar approach as excerebration did in the past. Specifically now endoscopic skull base surgery can be seen directly in excerebration with their shared approach transnasally.[clarification needed] Excerebration was an important procedure in Ancient Egypt and even today a version of excerebration can be life saving for some.
See also
References
- ^ translated by A. D. Godley, Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1920, through Perseus Digital Library
- ^ a b c d e f g h Fanous, Andrew A.; Couldwell, William T. (2012-04-01). "Transnasal excerebration surgery in ancient Egypt: Historical vignette". Journal of Neurosurgery. 116 (4): 743–748. doi:10.3171/2011.12.JNS11417. ISSN 1933-0693. PMID 22224784.
- ^ a b Chapman, Paul H.; Gupta, Rajiv (2007). "Reinvestigation of a Middle Kingdom Head Provides New Insights Concerning Mummification and Its Relationship to Contemporary Anatomic Knowledge and Funerary Ritual". Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt. 43: 113–127. ISSN 0065-9991. JSTOR 27801609.
- ^ a b c d e f Raven, Maarten J. (2005). "Egyptian Concepts on the Orientation of the Human Body". The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology. 91: 37–53. doi:10.1177/030751330509100103. ISSN 0307-5133. JSTOR 3822392. S2CID 162109010.
- ^ J. C. Goyon, 'Chirurgie religieuse ou thanatopraxie? Données nouvelles sur la momification en Égypte et réflec- tions qu'elles impliquent', in Sesto Congresso Internazionale di Egittologia, Atti (Turin, 1992), I, 215-25
- ^ Palka, Joel W. (December 2002). "Left/Right Symbolism and the Body in Ancient Maya Iconography and Culture". Latin American Antiquity. 13 (4): 419–443. doi:10.2307/972224. ISSN 1045-6635. JSTOR 972224. S2CID 163786759.
- ^ Carus, Paul (1905). "The Conception of the Soul and the Belief in Resurrection Among the Egyptians". The Monist. 15 (3): 409–428. doi:10.5840/monist190515326. ISSN 0026-9662. JSTOR 27899609.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2024, at 23:56