Thanatology Final Exam Questions
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Who had the most influence upon Western funeralization? - ✔✔the great ancient civilization of Egypt;
influenced the practice of embalming, beliefs/ concepts of the afterlife.
What was Egypitan polytheistic belief? - ✔✔Osiris was their god of the dead and the underworld; they
believed in multiple gods who represented multiple powers and things
Why did the Egyptians embalm? - ✔✔they believed there was life after death so the body must be
preserved
What was embalming considered in Egyptian times? - ✔✔a religious ceremony
What was seen by the various levels of embalming/mummification options that were offered to Egyptian
people? - ✔✔social stratification played a role in the type of embalming
What were canopic jars used for? - ✔✔they contained the internal organs of the decedent
What was considered the center of the universe for Egyptians? - ✔✔the sun was the focus of the universe
from which all things originated and returned
Define: Ba, Ka and why the Egyptian dead needed constant attention - ✔✔Ba - the spirit of the individual
who traveled to and from the tomb
Ka- The physical double that stayed with the body
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Families and friends in Egypt needed to visit and make food or goods offerings to the deceased often in
order to ensure them a good afterlife
Kher-heb - ✔✔in ancient egypt, the priest was also oversaw the embalming and funeralization of ancient
egyptians
What does the word sarcophagus mean? - ✔✔flesh eater
Define: anthropoid - ✔✔human-shaped
Who were responsible for cremation as we know it? - ✔✔the ancient greeks
What was the mood towards death of the Ancient Greeks? - ✔✔feared death as it was seen to be evil and
bad
Define: necropolis - ✔✔city of the dead
Suttee - ✔✔the Hindu custom of cremating a widow on her husband's funeral pyre; self or group inflicted
cremation
stelae - ✔✔shaft like tombs with upright slabs of stone carved with figures
kiones - ✔✔column like tombs
trapazae - ✔✔square cut tombs
naidia - ✔✔temple like tombs
What was originated during the time of the Ancient Greeks? - ✔✔funeral feasts; people would fast from
the time of death and then eat after the burial of the deceased
Who was the Ancient Greek cult god? - ✔✔The cult of Dionysus is also a "cult of the souls"; his maenads
feed the dead through blood-offerings, and he acts as a divine communicant between the living and the
dead.
Katelyn Whitman© 2025, All Rights Reserved.