Temporarily Immortalized

It's not hard to conclude that the makers of mummies were preoccupied with the morbid aspects of existence. Usually mummification was an honor reserved for the most important people in society like political leaders or members of the religious process. It was believed that the subject was important to the survival of the community, and they would endure spiritually, the dead together with the living. In fact, it was so vital that many times the subjects were sacrificed in order to generate this form. There was also a significant effort made to chemically preserve the body through a well-developed embalming process, as if the priests possessed the means to scientifically achieve immortality. When the person's physical life was over, they would embark on a well-defined journey that was set out for their eternal spirit beyond death.

Nevertheless, there is no evidence that these kings occupied their bodies in the afterlife. Great pains were taken to prepare the king and his tomb before his death, so it's clear that the makers whole-heartedly held the view that they would be providing the proper pathway through eternity, but such beliefs are easily refuted by the modern archeologist, and the mummies get their travel passes revoked before being removed and dissected.

One curious aspect of mummification is that it is common to separate cultures in human history. Determining the need people have to believe that the dead are continuing to live on, watching over us in a new form, is considered an ongoing puzzle. There is a large portion of medical study dedicated to psychology, but no one is prepared to deal with the problem of the soul's location. Often it is just taken as a given that people expect death can't be the end, and these beliefs remain unquestioned. So if the soul of the dead subject doesn't remain in the body, where does it go?

Always tell your mummy before you go off somewhere.