Understanding the text

Q1. Give reasons for the following.

(i) King Tut’s body has been subjected to repeated scrutiny.
Answer: King Tut’s body has been examined so many times because he was the last of his family line, and he died very young. The mystery surrounding his death has caused a lot of speculation, with murder being a possibility, which has led to repeated investigations.

(ii) Howard Carter’s investigation was resented.
Answer: Carter’s investigation was resented because of the damage he did to the mummy. To remove Tut’s body from its solidified resins, he had to chisel away parts of it and sever many major joints, which was a very rough way of handling the remains.

(iii) Carter had to chisel away the solidified resins to raise the king’s remains.
Answer: Carter had to chisel away the resins because they had hardened and cemented the mummy to the bottom of the coffin. The sun’s heat didn’t work, so he had no choice but to use force to free the body.

(iv) Tut’s body was buried along with gilded treasures.
Answer: Tut’s body was buried with golden treasures and everyday items because the ancient Egyptians believed that a king or pharaoh would need these things in the afterlife. The brilliance of the gold was meant to ensure resurrection.

(v) The boy king changed his name from Tutankhaten to Tutankhamun.
Answer: He changed his name to restore the old religious ways. ‘Tutankhaten’ meant “living image of Aten” (the sun god), but when he reinstated the worship of the old god Amun, he changed his name to ‘Tutankhamun’, which means “living image of Amun.”

Q2.

(i) List the deeds that led Ray Johnson to describe Akhenaten as “wacky”.
Answer: Akhenaten was seen as “wacky” because he promoted the worship of a single god, Aten, and shocked the country by attacking the major god Amun. He also moved the religious capital from Thebes to a new city, Akhetaten.

(ii) What were the results of the CT scan?
Answer: The CT scan provided new and detailed images of Tut’s body. It created a 3D virtual body with 1,700 digital X-ray images, revealing intricate structures like his neck vertebrae, a hand, and his skull in “eerie detail.”

(iii) List the advances in technology that have improved forensic analysis.
Answer: Modern forensic analysis has been greatly improved by technologies like CT scans and diagnostic imaging, which can create detailed three-dimensional virtual bodies. This allows scientists to study ancient remains without damaging them.

(iv) Explain the statement, “King Tut is one of the first mummies to be scanned – in death, as in life…”
Answer: This statement means that just as King Tut was a powerful and regal figure in life, moving ahead of his countrymen, he maintained this status even in death by being one of the first mummies to be scanned with the new, advanced technology. He was, and still is, a leader.

Talking about the text

Q1. Scientific intervention is necessary to unearth buried mysteries.
Answer: It’s a great point for discussion! On one hand, scientific intervention is the only way to get conclusive evidence and a detailed look at the past, helping us understand history in a new way. On the other hand, it can be seen as an intrusion into the dead, and it can sometimes cause damage, as seen with Carter’s work.

Q2. Advanced technology gives us conclusive evidence of past events.
Answer: Advanced technology like CT scans provides incredibly precise data, but it doesn’t always give a complete picture. For example, the scan of Tut’s body gave new clues, but it still didn’t definitively say how he died. It helps, but it might not provide all the answers.

Q3. Traditions, rituals and funerary practices must be respected.
Answer: This is so important. Respecting traditions is key to preserving cultural heritage. Funerary practices are sacred, and disturbing them can be seen as disrespectful. However, studying them can also help us understand a civilization’s beliefs and values in a deeper way.

Q4. Knowledge about the past is useful to complete our knowledge of the world we live in.
Answer: Knowledge of the past is crucial! It helps us understand where we came from, how our societies and beliefs evolved, and the mistakes and successes of previous generations. It’s like a history lesson for humanity that helps us shape our future.

Thinking about language

Q1. Read the following piece of information from The Encyclopedia of Language by David Crystal.
Answer: This is a great piece of information about the history of the Egyptian language. It’s a fantastic example of how languages evolve and sometimes go extinct.

Q2. What do you think are the reasons for the extinction of languages?
Answer: Languages go extinct when their last speaker dies. This happens for many reasons, such as when a community is forced to adopt a dominant language, or when a small community faces a disaster, or when younger generations no longer learn their ancestral language.

Q3. Do you think it is important to preserve languages?
Answer: Yes, it’s incredibly important. Languages are not just words; they contain the history, culture, and unique way of thinking of a community. When a language dies, we lose a part of our collective human heritage.

Q4. In what ways do you think we could help prevent the extinction of languages and dialects?
Answer: We can help by teaching and speaking our native languages at home, documenting and recording them, and creating learning resources for future generations. Also, technology can help, like creating apps or websites for learning and preserving languages.

Working with words

Q1. Given below are some interesting combinations of words. Explain why they have been used together.
Answer:

• ghostly dust devils: Used to describe the swirling dust that looked like ghosts, creating a spooky atmosphere.
• casket grey: The clouds were a dark, somber grey, the color of a casket, which foreshadows death and burial.
• stunning artefacts: The treasures were incredibly beautiful and impressive, so they were ‘stunning’.
• funerary treasures: The treasures were specifically placed in the tomb for the funeral and the afterlife.
• scientific detachment: Describes how the archaeologist, Carter, reported on the damage to the mummy in a cold, unbiased, and objective way, like a scientist would.
• dark-bellied clouds: This is a vivid description of the clouds, which looked menacing and full of rain or a storm.
• eternal brilliance: The gold was meant to be brilliant forever, symbolizing eternal life and resurrection.
• ritual resins: The sticky substance used to cement the mummy to its coffin was part of the ancient Egyptian burial ritual.
• virtual body: The body created by the CT scan was not real or physical, but a computer-generated representation.

Q2. Here are some commonly used medical terms. Find out their meanings.
Answer:

• CT scan: A medical imaging technique that uses computer-processed X-rays to create cross-sectional images of the body.
• MRI: (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) A medical imaging technique that uses a magnetic field and radio waves to create detailed images of organs and tissues.
• tomography: A technique that produces a three-dimensional image of an object by combining images from multiple angles.
• autopsy: A surgical examination of a dead body to determine the cause of death.
• post mortem: A synonym for an autopsy.
• dialysis: A medical procedure for people with kidney failure to remove waste products and excess fluid from the blood.
• ECG: (Electrocardiogram) A test that measures the electrical activity of the heartbeat.
• angiography: A medical imaging technique used to visualize the inside of blood vessels.
• biopsy: A procedure where a small sample of tissue is removed from the body to be examined under a microscope for disease.