Anubis was concerned with funerary practices and the care of the dead. He was usually represented as a canine or as a man with the head of a jackal. The association of jackals with death and funerals was created because Egyptians observed them scavenging around cemeteries. In the Old Kingdom, before Osiris rose to prominence as the lord of the underworld, Anubis was considered the principal God of the dead. According to the myths, Anubis embalmed and wrapped the body of the murdered King, Osiris, becoming the patron God for embalmers. Many ancient tombs had prayers to Anubis carved on them.