Pyramids, Tombs, and Mummies: Death and Burial in Ancient Egypt

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In Pyramids, Tombs, and Mummies (Death and Burial in Ancient Egypt), we will use a combination of reading, writing, lecture, and discussion to address some of the most common questions people have about ancient Egypt and about how and why people were buried the way that they were, including (but not limited to): What motivated the ancient Egyptians to invest so much effort and wealth into their tombs? During some periods, kings were buried in pyramids, but what about everyone else? How did afterlife and other religious beliefs influence the way that people wished to be cared for after death? Why did the ancient Egyptians sometimes go to great lengths to preserve bodies through mummification? The primary sources that we will use to answer these and other questions include: literature, letters, and administrative records; material culture/archaeological remains, such as artifacts found in graves; art and architecture; and Tulane’s own Egyptian Collection.