Mummy from Abydos 6th Dynasty, Old Kingdom, c. 2305-2152 B.C.

 “The first attempts at mummification were necessitated by the development of larger and more elaborate tombs and coffins, which counteracted the drying effects of the desert sand. In this early period, there was more of an attempt to preserve the form of the body in the wrappings rather than treating the body itself. The fingers and toes were individually wrapped, as were the arms and legs. By the end of the Old Kingdom, members of the provincial nobility were buried in their local cemeteries rather than in the great court necropolis at Giza an “ nd Saqqara as they had been earlier.