Alabaster Canopic Jar

Canopic jars were made to contain the organs that were removed from the body in the process of mummification: the lungs, liver, intestines, and stomach. Each organ was protected by one of the Four Sons of Horus: Hapy (lungs), Imsety (liver), Duamutef (stomach), and Qebehsenuef (intestines). Beginning in the New Kingdom, canopic jar lids were usually carved with heads that identify these four protectors: the baboon head is Hapy, the human head is Imsety, the jackal head is Duamutef, and the falcon head is Qebehsenuef.