Funeral practices are an essential aspect of human culture, spanning from outside Homo sapiens ( Ex. Neanderthal and Homo Nadeli) as well as a plethora from our ancient and modern cultures. Historically, some of the most famous samples of ornate funeral practices come from Egypt.
Though the funeral practices of the ancient Egyptians can been seen as ornately designed, gilded in gold and sometimes revolved around megalithic structures, not everyone in Egypt could afford an “expensive” funeral. This model represents an individual who most likely was well to do but not rich like a member of the royal family. This mask is made of linen with gold leaf placed on its surface.
The funeral mask model here has a winged scarab on its head which is a symbol of rebirth into the next world. On the back of the mask is the Ankh which symbolizes the breath of life.
*from private collection
Citation:
http://johnhawks.net/weblog/fossils/naledi/deliberate-deposition-exchange-2016.html
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