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B.C.E.: Before the Common Era. Also referred to as B.C.

Bitumen: a sticky substance found in the earth or made from petroleum. It is sometimes called asphalt, tar, or pitch.

Ca.: circa. It designates that the years given are approximate.

C.E.: Common Era. Also referred to as A.D.

Cartonnage: waste papyrus or linen soaked in plaster, similar to papier maché.

Embalming: any process used to preserve a dead body.

Frankincense: a sweet-smelling gum resin used chiefly as incense.

Hieroglyphic Writing: a system of writing, such as that of ancient Egypt, in which pictorial symbols represent meaning or sound or both. The word hieroglyphic comes from the Greek words hieros, meaning sacred, and glyphein, meaning to carve or hollow.

Jackal: a type of wild canid found in Egypt.

Mummification: the creation of a mummy.

Mummiform: having the shape of a mummy.

Mummy: the preserved body of a person or animal. Mummies are made naturally or by embalming.

Myrrh: a sweet-smelling resin obtained from several Asian or African trees and shrubs and used in perfume and incense.

Natron: a naturally occurring salt used in ancient times for embalming, cleaning, and making ceramic paste. When used in making Egyptian mummies, natron dried the body’s tissues.

Resin: a type of tree sap that is very sticky and becomes very hard when exposed to the air.

Sarcophagus: a wood or stone container for a coffin.

Scarab: the dung beetle; an ancient Egyptian symbol for rebirth.

Viscera: internal body organs.

Wood pitch: a thick, dark, sticky substance. Today it is used for waterproofing, roofing, caulking, and paving.

Sources:

Adams, Barbara. Egyptian Mummies. Aylesbury: Shire Publications, Ltd., 1984.

Dictionary, Microsoft Encarta 97 CD-ROM. Microsoft Corporation, 1997.

Lucas, A. Ancient Egyptian Material and Industries. London: Edward Arnold, Ltd., 1962.

Putnam, James. Mummy. New York: Alfred A. Knopf., 1993.

Wilcox, Charlotte. Mummies and their Mysteries. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books, Inc., 1993.