Canopic Jar Conundrum

Here’s a mnemonic for your history class. Ancient Egyptian embalming/mummification included canopic jars. These are containers that were used to store viscera that had been dried in natron that was not returned to the body. There were four canopic jars and describes the tops of the jars as representative of the children of Horus. These are described as a jackal head, a human head, a hawk head and an ape head. Each jar contained specific viscera. Here is where our mnemonic lies!! The jar with the ape head contained the lungs….You may have seen video of an ape beating on its chest considered to be for mating or intimidation. Well, the lungs are right under where the ape is beating! So when I try to remember what viscera is in the canopic jar with an ape head, I just think about what I ‘ve seen apes to at the zoo and on TV.