Today I visited the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose. It is the largest collection of artifacts in the Western United States. Why here? Can't answer that one, except to say that the Rosicrucian order was first in New York, then SF, Tampa, then came to San Jose in 1927. I am not going to discuss the facts as to how old the order actually is. Just that the founder of AMORC came here & built a museum at the order's headquarters.
The museum is built in Ancient Egyptian style, & includes several actual mummies, including one of a 4-6 year old girl. The display for this mummy includes information on an investigation at Stanford, where the mummy was put under CT Scans & other methods involving Silicon Graphics & NASA.
There is a complete recreation of a rock cut tomb, which you can walk through. It is quite extensive, with several rooms, including wall paintings. There are several actual & replica coffins. A lot of small artifacts from daily life. Plus a large gallery devoted to Mesopotamia (current Iraq).
Yes this culture was from 4000 years ago to about 1000 years ago. But the technology they used has stood the test of time. One wonders if things we are manufacturing today will exist even a hundred years from now. When you think of that culture, & how it seems that world culture went backwards after their society collapsed, it is astonishing. There were actually several periods, because of times when Pharoahs were replaced with local leaders. These periods are called intermediate periods, & they happened twice. Between the old Kingdom & the Middle Kingdom. It is in the 4th Dynasty of the Old Kingdom (2750 BC-2160 BC) when the great pyramids were built.
I know. I'm not talking about cell phones or computers. but this is still technology. Very ancient, but what they did for Science & Engineering is fascinating, & the reason why you see a lot of tv specials on this era.
The museum is built in Ancient Egyptian style, & includes several actual mummies, including one of a 4-6 year old girl. The display for this mummy includes information on an investigation at Stanford, where the mummy was put under CT Scans & other methods involving Silicon Graphics & NASA.
There is a complete recreation of a rock cut tomb, which you can walk through. It is quite extensive, with several rooms, including wall paintings. There are several actual & replica coffins. A lot of small artifacts from daily life. Plus a large gallery devoted to Mesopotamia (current Iraq).
Yes this culture was from 4000 years ago to about 1000 years ago. But the technology they used has stood the test of time. One wonders if things we are manufacturing today will exist even a hundred years from now. When you think of that culture, & how it seems that world culture went backwards after their society collapsed, it is astonishing. There were actually several periods, because of times when Pharoahs were replaced with local leaders. These periods are called intermediate periods, & they happened twice. Between the old Kingdom & the Middle Kingdom. It is in the 4th Dynasty of the Old Kingdom (2750 BC-2160 BC) when the great pyramids were built.
I know. I'm not talking about cell phones or computers. but this is still technology. Very ancient, but what they did for Science & Engineering is fascinating, & the reason why you see a lot of tv specials on this era.
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