Time Raiders: Death of a Mummy

This Double Crossed resource uses the context of the excavation of an Egyptian tomb to learn about the main organs in the human body. The students evaluate evidence from a recently discovered mummy to draw conclusions about the person’s life and the cause of death.

A cut and stick activity is used to describe the mummification process before the students translate the hieroglyphs on the canopic jars found in the tomb and identify each of the body organs inside.

Fact cards provide information on the basic structure and function of the heart, kidneys, lungs, stomach, intestines, liver and brain. They also present evidence from the scientific analysis of the organs, which the students use to draw conclusions and write a short report on their findings.

The resource, from the Centre for Science Education and supported by the Astra Zeneca Teaching Trust, is designed to link with the Key Stage Three history curriculum in a thematic approach to teaching and learning.