Step 8 of 9

Ancient fingers

You might not have noticed before, but when you look really closely, you can see ancient fingerprints on the back of this ushabti. No fingerprints are visible on the front. We can thus conclude that it was produced in a mold that consisted only of the front of the ushabti. The clay was pressed into the mold from the back, which is why we can still see the prints today, more than 3000 years later!