When the word ‘mummy’ is mentioned, two things usually come to mind: a mother or the embalmed remains of an ancient Egyptian king or queen. But did you know that it wasn’t only humans that were mummified before their burial, but animals as well?
In ancient Egypt, it was not just cats and dogs that were kept as pets, but ibis, hawks, falcons, snakes and even monkeys! Additionally, pets were not seen as mere creatures that aimlessly roamed the earth, but as gifts by the Gods that were meant to be loved and cared for.
Beginning as early as during the Old Kingdom (ca 2686 -2181 BCE) there are pets depicted in their owners' tombs. When a pet died, just like when a human died, certain rituals would be undertaken by the family as a sign of mourning. When a dog died, for example, the entire family would have to shave all the hair from their bodies, but when a cat died, only the eyebrows had to be shaved. Having your hair and eyebrows shaved was the quickest and most apparent way of showing that you were in mourning.
There are cases where the wealthy, such as noblemen and royalties, loved their pets so much that they brought their pets with them to the afterlife. If a pet died before their owner, the animal would be mummified and laid to rest in the owner’s tomb and wait for its owner, but if the owner died before them, well, let’s just say that did not stop the ancient Egyptians from bringing them along to the afterlife - unless it was specifically specified by the owner that the pet should be allowed to keep living. When it eventually died it would be reunited with its owner and usually placed inside the entrance of the tomb.
One example is in the tomb of the 18th Dynasty (1550 - 1292 BCE) prince Thutmose, the eldest son of Pharaoh Amenhotep IV, where his pet cat named Ta-miut (which translates to “she-cat”) was found in her own sarcophagus. Ta-miu was actually one of the first pet mummies ever found in Egypt and one of the first cats to be named in written history.
Exotic pets were also found, such as in the High Priestess Maatkare Mutemhat from the 21st Dynasty’s (1077 - 943 BCE) tomb. When the tomb was first discovered archaeologists found Maatkare Mutemhat’s mummy as well as a smaller mummy placed by her feet. Initially it was thought that this was her baby based on the size and shape of the smaller mummy and that Maatkare Mutemhat may have died during childbirth- however that made no sense as she was the high priestess and had sworn a vow of celibacy. When the smaller mummy was eventually x-rayed it turns out that it was in fact her pet monkey.
The ancient Egyptians believed that they could bring their possessions into the afterlife with them. It would thus only be natural to believe that by sharing the tomb with their pets, they would be able to spend their afterlife with them, just as they had done when they were still alive.
Text: Christoffer Ek. MENAM Archaeology. Copyright 2023.
Image: Ta-Miut’s sarcophagus. wikimedia commons.
Further reading: Bunson, M. The Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. Gramercy Books, 1991.
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