Peer Review

Death and Burial in Egypt

Material Detail page

Reviewed:: Feb 23, 2003 by History

Bookmark

Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:: The Death and Burial site is a single page in a larger web site on ancient
Egypt, which in turn forms part of an extensive series on early Mediterranean
civilizations sponsored by several major museums called ODYSSEY Online
(http://www.carlos.emory.edu/ODYSSEY/MidElem_Home.html). This site focuses
on the practice of making mummies to explain ancient Egyptian ideas of death and
burial.
Type of Material:: The page provides an explanation of how mummies were made and why with
interactive links to follow-up information on the tombs in which they were
placed, the grave objects accompanying them, the beliefs behind their burial, as
well as a brief Cat Scan "game" that lets the viewer imitate scientists in
exploring what lies behind their wrappings.
Recommended Uses:: It would provide a good supplement to units in any social science or history
course on ancient Egypt. Teachers can find some very helpful tips on what to do
with the material featured on this and other such pages by consulting the
Teacher Resource page cross-linked to the home page of the ODDYSSEY series
(http://www.carlos.emory.edu/ODYSSEY/Teachers/index.htm).
Technical Requirements:: Shockwave software is required to facilitate animated illustrations, but it can
be downloaded if needed from the site.
Identify Major Learning Goals:: The aim of this page is to explain what mummies were and how studying them help
us understand ancient Egyptian beliefs about death and burial.
Target Student Population:: Elementary through high school students. Based on student ability levels the site might have some value for Western Civilization survey courses.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:: No special knowledge or skill is needed to use the site, though some background
information on ancient Egyptian civilization would provide a background context.
Much of this this can be obtained by activating the links at the bottom of this
page to other pages on the larger Egyptian site to which this one belongs
belongs.

Content Quality

Rating:
Strengths:: Although a simple presentation, it is an accurate one, well illustrated and
furnished with links that will take the interested viewer deeply into different
aspects of the ancient Egyptian world and world view. A site advantage for the instructor is the links to other religions of Ancient History, particularly to the Near East, Greece, Rome, and Africa. The site provides the opportunity to develop effective compare and contrast models between Egypt and other ancient civlizations on the basis of people, mythology, daily life, death and burial, writing, archaeology. All items are linked to religion.
Concerns:: None. The material is well chosen and presented.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:
Strengths:: This page would be a useful supplement to any study of the ancient world for
students in upper level elementary classes through the lower reaches of high
school. Its simplicity and clarity are such that it could used as an out of
class assignment. It is especially effective in showing how we can learn about
the abstract beliefs of an earlier time through physical objects. Information on how a mummy is made, the effect of desert burials, coffin construction, the mastaba, pyramids, shabtis, food, and the Book of the Dead offers a more comprehensive view of Egyptian beliefs. Although designed more junior and senior high students, it might have some use for a Western Civilization survey course.
Concerns:: A link here to the Teacher Resource page for the ODYSSEY Online site might be
worth adding, as it would call more educator's attention to ways suggested there
on how the material might be used in different kinds of classes.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:
Strengths:: The page is extremely clean and easy to use. Navigation is through underlined
words in the text that lead to fuller and deeper explanations of items and
concepts mentioned in the main narrative.
Concerns:: None. Even young children will find it easy to follow and understand.

Other Issues and Comments:: Overall this is a very well done page which shows the effectiveness of a simple
but accurate and carefully thought out presentation.
Creative Commons: