Speech on the History of Embalming

Introduction a. Attention Statement: Taken into a tent, the body is washed with good-smelling palm wine and rinsed with water. A cut is made in the left side of the body and most of the internal organs removed. The heart is not taken out for it is the center of intelligence and feeling. The brain is smashed by a long hook and pulled out through the nose. The body is stuffed and covered, then left out to dry for forty days, only to be washed again. Stuffed with dry materials and covered with good smelling oils, it is now ready to be wrapped. b. Subject Statement: Today, I would like to share with you the history of embalming. c. Significance of Subject: Embalming, seen as an alternative to early decomposition, has been around for centuries, only to have recently started back up again. d. Point Preview: First, I will share with you the origin of embalming; second the men who influenced the world of embalming, and last, embalming entering the United States. I. Main Point One – Origin of Embalming a. Subject Statement: Embalming was first practiced in the early dynastic period of Egypt around the year 4000 before the Common Era. b. Documentation: According to the 1908 edition of The Practical Embalmer by A. Johnson Dodge, “it is believed by some that the origin of embalming in Egypt is to be traced to the lack of fuel for the purpose of cremation and the danger to the people of burying in a soil that was so likely to be disturbed at any time by the overflowing of the river Nile.” c. Illustration: With such complications, deceased bodies would become a detriment to the health of others, illustrating how many of the deaths were brought on by the unsanitary conditions. However, most believe the practice of embalming arose from superstition in regards to resurrection of the