Year 11 Ancient History News

The Dark Secret Behind a Popular Children’s Party Game

To finish Term 1, Year 11 Ancient History students are studying the ethics behind using and displaying human remains. It’s a topic that is cause for much debate in academic circles. Students are learning about how various worldviews on the topic develop and change over time. 

With a particular focus on Ancient Egyptian mummies, we are learning about the scientific processes involved in the study of the Ancient Past and also the ethical discussions regarding their display in museums. After the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815) a new wave of ‘Egyptomania’ swept across Europe, with wealthy aristocrats and collectors trying their best to get their hands on precious antiquities. This renewed interest in the Ancient Past saw the importation of thousands of mummified bodies back to Europe. In some cases, ‘unwrapping parties’ would take place, where wealthy Victorians would purchase tickets to exclusive events where the mummies would be unwrapped in front of their own eyes. As the ancient bodies slowly unravelled, precious gems and other funerary items would fall out.

If you were lucky to catch one, it was yours to keep. This is the dark, disturbing origin of the children’s party game ‘Pass the Parcel’.

Year 11 played a less horrific version of the popular party game, unwrapping a paper parcel that revealed a ‘funerary item’ and an information card. As we read the information, we learned about different Ancient Egyptian funeral practices. This also prompted deep ethical discussions around the treatment of human remains. As we continue to explore the topic, students will develop their own opinions while understanding the changing nature of ethics in history.