Most people think about mummies and the process of making mummies whenever they hear the words Ancient Egypt. However, not many are aware that Egyptian canopic jars were vital in the process and rituals linked with making mummies. So what are canopic jars and what were their roles in the Ancient Egyptian ritual for the dead? Well, during the mummification ritual, the viscera or the major organs found in the middle part of the human body were removed from the deceased. And such organs were stored in wide-necked cylindrical containers called canopic jars.
It is important to note that the heart was one organ that was not placed in Egyptian canopic jars. The heart was left inside the mummified body as Ancient Egyptians believed that it contained the spirit and senses of the departed and that it would be required when the dead faced Judgment Day in the Underworld. The only organs that were placed in canopic jars include the lungs, liver, stomach, and intestines.
Four Egyptian canopic jars were needed during a mummification process because the four aforementioned organs had to be stored individually. These funerary jars were ornately decorated. However, the decorations and the materials used to make the jar usually varied, depending on the status and wealth of the deceased. Jars could be made from stone, calcite or alabaster, wood, pottery, bronze, or even gold for the very wealthy and powerful.
What makes Egyptian canopic jars interesting, even today, are the lid stoppers. If you see an Egyptian funerary jar, you will surely wonder why it has a lid stopper that is designed after the head of an animal or man. As mentioned earlier, four jars were needed to store each visceral organ. You will know what organ is inside the jar by looking at its lid stopper's decoration or sculpture. According to the belief of Ancient Egyptians, certain gods protect each organ. The jar that contains the liver has a painting or sculpture of a man's head because the god Imsety, protector of the liver, is depicted with a man's head. The jar containing the stomach contains jackal decorations in honor of Duamutef, while the jar storing the intestines has a head of a falcon to represent the god Qebehseneuf. Since the god Hapi is the protector of the lungs, the canopic jar with a representation of a baboon's head on its lid contains the lungs.
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