NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English Chapter 3 – Discovering Tut: The Saga Continues
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Notice these expressions in the text. Infer their meaning from the text.
Q. forensic reconstruction - Scientific methods for investigation
Ans. Tut, the last heir of a powerful family that had ruled Egypt, died as a teenager. His death was still a mystery so he (the mummy) had been sent for scientific investigation so as to discover information about his life and death.
Q. Scudded across - move along fast and smoothly
Ans. When the mummy was taken for the C.T. scan from its resting place, there was a sudden change in the atmosphere and the dark clouds driven by the strong winds began to move fast across the sky.
Q. casket grey - coffin of grey colour
Ans. The black ghostly clouds had started hiding the stars as if they were capturing them in a grey coffin, predicting some mysterious happening.
Q. resurrection - revive or restore something to life, revive a practice or belief
Ans. Tut’s Tomb contained artefacts in glittering gold which supported their belief that there is afterlife and the king would be requiring all those things.
Q. funerary treasures - precious metals buried with the dead at the time of the funeral
Ans. Funerary treasures were the burial related wealth. They contained jewellery with articles of everyday use like wine, clothing, board games, etc.
Q. Computed tomography
Ans. Computed tomography or C.T. scan is used for diagnostic imaging by which hundreds of X-rays are put together in cross-section to get the three dimensional virtual body.
Q. Eerie detail - fearful or weird details
Ans. Tut’s mummy was C.T. scanned from head to toe. His head scanned in 0.62 millimeter slices to register its complicated structure, gave an exciting and fearful detail.
Understanding the Text :
Q. Give reasons for the following.
(i) King Tut’s body has been subjected to repeated scrutiny
Ans. Tut’s tomb was discovered in 1922, since then, there were speculations about the mysteries related to his death with murder being the most extreme possibility. He was the last heir of the powerful family that had ruled Egypt for centuries. His death was a mystery as he died at a very young age. So, it was necessary to scrutinize Tut’s body.
(ii) Howard Carter’s investigation was resented
Ans. Howard Carter was the British archaeologist who in 1922, discovered Tut’s tomb. He hastily ransacked its contents. His investigation was resented because he left the mummy in a very bad condition in order to remove it from its gold coffin. The Mummy’s head was removed and every important joint was severed.
(iii) Carter had to chisel away the solidified resins to raise the king’s remains.
Ans. Tut’s body was kept in a gold coffin on the ritual resins which were solidified. In order to remove the cemented body from the gold coffin, Carter had to chisel away the solidified resins to raise the body otherwise thieves would have cut the guards and ripped it apart.
(iv) Tut’s body was buried along with gilded treasures
Ans. There was a belief among Egyptians that there is life after death. Tut’s body was buried with gilded treasures as according to their belief, their eternal brilliance would guarantee resurrection. Apart from that, the pharaohs were extremely rich and they considered that the wealth could be carried to the other world.
(v) The boy king changed his name from Tutankhaten to Tutankhamun.
Ans. As soon as the very young Tutankhaten took the throne, he changed his name to Tutankhamun which meant ‘living image of Amun’, the major God of Egyptians. Tut’s grandfather had discarded worshipping him and smashed his images and closed his temples. But Tut wanted to restore the old ways, therefore, he changed his name.
Q. (i) List the deeds that led Ray Johnson to describe Akhenaten as “wacky”.
Ans. Akhenaten had been called as “wacky” which means unconventional because he initiated one of the strangest periods in the history of ancient Egypt. He promoted the worship of Aten, the sun disk and discarded the worship of Amun, the major God of Egypt. He moved the religious capital.
(ii) What were the results of the C.T. scan ?
Ans. The C.T. scan produced astonishing images of Tut. A grey head took shape from scattering of pixels. Neck vertebrae appeared as clearly as in an anatomy class. Other images revealed a hand, several views of rib cage and transection of the skull.
(iii) List the advances in technology that have improved forensic analysis.
Ans. Advances in technology have brought a revolutionary change in the field of forensic science and improved it a lot by providing fascinating facts and details of the entire body from all the possible angles. On the other hand, it reveals the mysteries of death also, thus helping in forensic analysis.
(iv) Explain the statement, “King Tut is one of the first mummies to be scanned---- in death as in life…”
Ans. Tut was the last heir of the powerful Egyptian family which had ruled Egypt for centuries. He ascended the throne at a very young age. He restored the old ways, bringing the past glory of his dynasty back but he died in his teens under mysterious circumstances. He was buried with the richest royal collection ever found. The discovery of his tomb engaged the modern world in speculating his untimely death. More than 3,300 years later, with the advances in the technology, he got the privilege to be scanned first to unravel the mystery of his death.
Talking about the Text :
Discuss the following questions with your partner.
Q. Scientific intervention is necessary to unearth buried mysteries.
Ans. For : We can’t do without science or modern technology. To get the information or know about the buried mysteries, it is necessary to take the help of science. Man is handicapped without it. Our civilization is thousands of years old and each civilization has left thousands of mysteries lying beneath the Earth, so to unravel the hidden truth it becomes essential to take the help of advanced technology. Science provides a mechanism to analyse, generalise and draw conclusion. Without scientific intervention, we cannot reach to any conclusion and undiscovered historical facts and secrets would have remained hidden forever. We have unearthed several civilisations like Indus Valley, Egyptian, Harappa and so on with the help of scientific technology.
Against : The curiosity to know about the past has brought a lot of destruction to the environment. Scientists, archaeologists and geologists have dug the Earth, destroyed forests, exploited oceans, etc. to get some clues for further studies and know about the past. But by doing this, they don’t have the slightest idea of the harm they are causing to the future generation. They are wasting a lot of money and time on the past things and dead ones rather than investigating on the present and live. The mummies are dug to know about the legendary pharaohs, scientists unearthed to know the different civilizations, their way of living, their utensils, clothing, ornaments, but what is the use of it? What will the children learn from this? Instead they should spend their energy on some productive invention which would be fruitful for the mankind.
Q. Advanced technology gives us conclusive evidence of past events?
Ans. For : The modern technology is very advanced. It has all the sophisticated tools including medical technology. It gives the detailed study of the past events that had happened long back. We couldn’t have the idea of knowing the age of any civilization, animal or human being without the advanced technology. Precise and minute observations helped to get the evidences of the past events. Even the mummies which are thousands of years old can be scanned and every section of their body could be seen from any angle.
Against: It is illogical to say that science gives us conclusive evidence. Most of the discoveries are based on the guesses, like we can tell when certain species of animals got extinct and the probable reasons for their extinction. We may not have any solid proof to know the reason behind their extinction but it helps us to understand evolution of life. Similarly, we know when the seven wonders of the world were built, we still have some idea who built them or whose idea worked behind them, yet for some of them we are still clueless. How the pyramids were built can be guessed but how the statues were erected is still shrouded in mystery. Thus, some mysteries still remain unresolved despite all the advances made in science.
Q. Traditions, rituals and funerary practices must be respected.
Ans. For : Traditions, rituals and funerary practices are related to religion and as practices needed to help having a healthy life. They are the terms which should be respected otherwise the feelings and the emotions of the people would get hurt. Different religions have different beliefs. In ancient Egypt, people buried their pharaohs with great respect. Valuable things, ornaments, utensils, clothes, etc. were also buried with them because they had faith in after life. Then they let them rest in peace. By digging them out of their tombs, it would disturb their peace and pharaoh’s curse would fall upon them in the form of misfortune or death.
Against: Traditions, rituals and funerary practices must be respected, but to an extent to which they are of utility and beneficial to the society, otherwise they should be changed or discarded outright. If they hinder the path of progress, it is better to discard them. Some religious ways bound the people in such a way that howsoever difficult they are, people follow them and find it impossible to leave them. Sometimes, the religious practices exploit the community monetary wise, in which makes the poor to suffer a lot while the priestly class enjoys the loot.
Q. Knowledge about past is useful to complete our knowledge of the world we live in.
Ans. For : The future depends on the present and the present depends on the past. Without the knowledge of the past, one cannot lay foundation of the present or the future. That is why the study of History is a must. It helps to make the basis for understanding present.
Against: One can’t rely on the past for understanding the present or deciding the future. The past is something which is dead. It is useless and waste of time in investigating the things of the past. If one’s past is not good enough, it may affect his present and future. Many people live in past only, so they do not think of present. The past may become a hurdle in the planning of the future. When we live in present, we should think of present only.
Thinking about Language :
Q. What do you think are the reasons for the extinction of languages ?
Ans. There are many reasons for the extinction of languages. Regional languages are popular in their respective areas and are unknown to the outsiders. But when they come in contact with other languages, they change their form. This gives birth to a new language and after a certain period of time, the original form completely vanishes. Sometimes, a popularly known common language is used for communication in most of the spheres leaving behind the regional language. In this regard, we can say that English has become the most commonly used language in the world.
Q. Do you think it is important to preserve languages?
Ans. Languages are our cultural heritage, so it is necessary to preserve them. They tell us about the culture of a particular region or place. They serve the purpose of connecting us to the past. Through language only, we come to know about the ancient culture and heritage. If we abandon a language, we lose a culture. Therefore, languages should be preserved.
Q. In what ways do you think we could help in preventing the extinction of languages and dialects?
Ans. Nowadays, technology has developed so much that languages and dialects can be preserved easily through CDs, DVDs. They can further be used for teaching and learning. Some of the languages and dialects are preserved in books which can be studied any time. Future generations should be taught those languages and in educational institutions also, the learning of at least one more language must be made mandatory.
Working with Words :
I. Given below are some interesting combinations of words. Explain why they have been used together.
(i) ghostly dust devils
(ii) desert sky
(iii) stunning artefacts
(iv) funerary treasures
(v) scientific detachment
(vi) dark bellied clouds
(vii) casket grey
(viii) eternal brilliance
(ix) ritual resins
(x) virtual body
Ans. These combination of words are used to leave an impact on the reader’s mind and to create an effect in the story. The former ones are the describing words whereas the latter ones are the nouns. Thedescribing words are associated beautifully with the nouns, making them sound more interesting. Phrases and their use/effect.
| Describing words | Nouns |
| (i) ghostly dust devils | It points out to the devilish or frightful movement of the dusty winds. It reflects the anger of the winds for disturbing the king from his resting place. |
| (ii) desert sky | It refers to the dusty sky of the desert. The barren sky spread over the vast desert region portrays a sad and dry picture. |
| (iii) stunning artefacts | Items found in the tomb were extremely beautiful. Usage of both the words together explains the ‘eternal brilliance’ of the objects. |
| (iv) funerary treasures | Reference is to the fact that a king was buried with numerous things which were no less than treasures as most of the items were made of pure gold. |
| (v) scientific detachment | It refers to an indifference towards human sensitivities by scientific investigations. |
| (vi) dark bellied clouds | It refers to the dark clouds containing rain. |
| (vii) casket grey | The words point out to the stars being covered by the ‘dark-bellied clouds’, the way jewels are kept in a casket (a jewel box). |
| (viii) eternal brilliance | Eternal refers to something that is timeless. Thus, eternal brilliance refers to timeless everlasting lustre and shine of the jewels and valuables of the king. |
| (ix) ritual resins | Resins are used as a customary duty in the process of burying a body. |
| (x) virtual body | A body created through electronic images or CT scan. It resembles a real body and provides a very clear view. |
2. Here are some commonly used medical terms. Find out their meanings.
[CT Scan , MRI , Tomography,
Autopsy, Dialysis, ECG
Post Mortem, Angiography, Biopsy]
Ans.
| Describing words | Nouns |
| (i) C.T. Scan | (Computer Axial Tomography) It produces X-ray pictures of sections of the body with the help of a computer. |
| (ii) Autopsy | An examination of a dead body to discover the cause of death. |
| (iii) Post Mortem | Detailed medical examination of a dead body to find out how he or she died. |
| (iv) MRI | A diagnostic technique in which magnetic field and radio waves are used to provide computerised images of internal body tissues. (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) |
| (v) Dialysis | Purifying of blood by removing impurities for the proper functioning of kidney. |
| (vi) Angiography | An X-ray examination of blood vessels that have been injected with a substance that is opaque to X-rays. |
| (vii) Tomography | A technique used for displaying the cross section through a human body or other solid object using X-rays or ultra sound. |
| (viii) ECG | (Electrocardiogram) a record of the electrical variations that occur during the contraction of the heart muscles. |
| (ix) Biopsy | An examination of tissues under microscope, taken from the body to discover the presence or cause of the disease. |
Things to Do :
Q. The constellation Orion is associated with the legend of Osiris, the God of the afterlife.
Find out the astronomical descriptions and legends associated with the following :
(i) Ursa Major (Saptarishi mandala)
Ans. It is a Latin word which means the greater bear. It is a constellation in the Northern Hemisphere.
Legend : It has mythological significance in numerous world cultures. This constellation has forms an image of a bear and has been observed by many civilizations. It can be seen throughout the year but it is best seen in the month of April. This may stem from a common oral tradition dating back more than 13,000 years. Julien d’Huy reconstructs the following state of the story: “There is an animal that is a horned herbivore, probably an elk. One human pursues this ungulate. The hunt proceeds to the sky. The animal is alive when it is suddenly transformed into a constellation. It forms the Big Dipper.”
In Roman mythology, Jupiter lusts after a woman named Callisto, a nymph of Diana. Juno, Jupiter’s jealous wife, transforms the beautiful Callisto into a bear. Callisto later encounters her son Arcas. Arcas almost shoots the bear but Zeus turns them into a bear forming Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.
(ii) Polaris (Dhruva Tara)
Ans. It is located in the constellation of Ursa Minor, the Little Bear. It sometimes also goes by the name Stella Polaris. Another names include the ‘North Star’, ‘Lode Star’ or ‘Polaris Borealis’.
Legend: The name Ursa Minor is derived from the same story as the one which told about Ursa Major. The little bear is said to be Arcas, son of Callisto, a mortal woman. Arcas was turned into a small bear by Zeus/Jupiter ( depending on the Greek or Roman version) to save him from killing his mother after he goes in search of her, who was also turned into a bear by the wife of Zeus or Jupiter, namely Hera or Juno.
Another mythology is that the Little Dipper is actually a dog quarreling with Draco or possibly a tree that Draco is coiled around.
In Hindu mythology, Polaris is associated with Dhruv a, a prince who was blessed with eternal life as the Pole Star because he fasted and abstained from water for 6 months, meditating. At the end of this time, Vishnu wanted to reward him but he would not come out of his trance, his focus was brought back and at the end of his journey, is placed as the Pole Star.
(iii) Pegasus (Winged Horse)
Ans. Pegasus constellation lies in the northern hemisphere. It is one of the largest constellations in the sky. It was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. The constellation was named after Pegasus, the winged horse in Greek mythology.
Legend: In Greek mythology, Pegasus is a white winged horse that sprang from the neck of the Gorgon Medusa when Perseus beheaded her. Perseus was sent to kill Medusa by King Polydectes of Seriphus. When Perseus killed Medusa, Pegasus and the warrior Chrysaor sprang from her neck, both of them are offspring of Poseidon.
(iv) Sirius (Dog Star)
Ans. Sirius, in the constellation Canis Major the Greater Dog, is the sky’s brightest star. It is very easy to spot it in the evenings during winter and spring.
Legend: Sirius has been known since ancient times, and its name signifies its nature as “scorching” or “sparkling”. It was associated with the Egyptian God Osiris and other gods. Ancient Egyptians noted that Sirius rose just before the sun each year immediately prior to the annual flooding of the Nile River. Although the floods could bring destruction but they also bring new soil and new life. In India, Sirius is sometimes known as Svana, the dog of Prince Yudhishtira. The prince and his four brothers, along with Svana, set out on a long and arduous journey to find the kingdom of heaven. One by one, all the brothers abandoned the search until only Yudhishtira and Svana were left. They finally reached the gates of heaven where Lord Indra welcomed Yudhishtira but denied Svana’s entrance. The prince told the Lord that without his dog, he would forsake even heaven and finally they both were welcomed.
(v) Gemini (Mithuna)
Ans. Gemini is one of the constellations of the zodiac. It was one of the 48 constellations described by the 2nd century AD astronomer Ptolemy. Its name is Latin for ‘twins’ and it is associated with the twins Castor and Pollux in Greek.
Legend: In Greek mythology, Gemini was associated with the myth of Castor and Pollux, the children of Leda and Argonauts both. Pollux was the son of Zeus, who seduced Leda, while Castor was the son of Tyndareus, the king of Sparta and Leda’s husband. When Castor died, because he was mortal, Pollux begged his father Zeus to give Castor immortality and he did that by uniting them in the heaven.
Q. Some of the leaves and flowers mentioned in the passage for adorning the dead are willow, olive, celery, lotus, cornflower. Which of these are common in our country ?
Ans. In our country, celery and lotus flowers are common.
Q. Name some leaves and flowers that are used as adornments in our country.
Ans. Rose, Jasmine, Marigold, Champa are the flowers whereas Asoka leaves, Banana leaves and Mango leaves are used as adornments in our country.
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