Social Stratification & Mummification in Ancient Egypt: The Inevitability of Variability in the Post-New Kingdom Mummification Program
Abstract
This study examined the connection between social status and mummification in post-New Kingdom Egypt using a sample of sixty-one (n=61) adult non-royal Egyptian human mummies archived in the IMPACT radiological database. The purpose of this research was two-fold. First, as they have been uncritically accepted by both the academic community and popular literature, the validity of Classical mummification accounts offered by Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus was assessed. Second, four features of mummification with status connotations (arm position, amulets, cranial resin, estimated stature) were tested using exploratory data analysis in search of any potential connections with each other or specific time periods. The results of this study not only challenge the accuracy of Classical accounts discussing ancient Egyptian mummification but demonstrate that arm positioning and cranial resin have potential associations with specific time periods, geographic regions, and each other. Ultimately, following the democratization of mummification in the New Kingdom, this research highlights the inevitable variability of the mummification program in post-New Kingdom Egypt.