Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics

Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics By Judy Chan 8-17

Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics began around 3300 B.C. The word “hieroglyphics means” the words of god” because the Egyptians believed the god, Thoth invented the writing.

The first hieroglyphics consisted of over 6 000 pictures, each standing for the actual object.

Later pictures were simplified, and they stood for sounds. The 6 000 pictures became 3 000 for scribes to learn. The sounds could form to make words.

At the age of six, boys of the rich started to learn how to read and write hieroglyphics.

They could not only write words, but also numbers. The numbers were based on units of 10. Different images represented the units.

Hieroglyphics were only used to keep records at first, but they were later used to write letters and stories too.

The words were written in columns and rows. The rows were read both ways. From left to right, or right to left. You could figure out which way to read it by looking at which way the animal or human was facing. They always faced where you should begin reading. This picture is read from left to right

Hieroglyphics were written on walls of temples, tombs, pottery, limestone, papyrus and jewellery. An Egyptian bead

Papyrus was a material made from the steam of a water plant. It was used for writing and painting on.

The last time hieroglyphics were used in Ancient Egypt was in the 4th century A.D by a priest. It was written on a gate post of The temple of Philae.

The Egyptians kept the meaning of their writing a secret so no one could read it for fifteen hundred years. Many people tried to decipher the language, but no one succeeded.

Then came the discovery of the Rosetta Stone in the 1799 by Napoleon’s army.

Egyptian Hieroglyphics The Rosetta stone was found near the town of Rosetta in Egypt. There are three sections on the stone, each with words in different languages: Coptic, Ancient Greek, and Egyptian Hieroglyphics. Coptic Ancient Greek

Although the parts were written in different languages, they all meant the same thing. A scholar from France, named Jean Francois Champollion used the Greek part to translate the Egyptian hieroglyphs.

He had to use a copy of the actual stone because the real one was captured by British soldiers. It took Champollion fourteen years to discover the hieroglyphic meanings, but it was worth it. With this key discovery, archaeologists can learn, and has learned so much about the fascinating pictures we call hieroglyphics.

Bibliography • http://www.earlham.edu/~seidti/iam/papyrus.html • http://www.eyelid.co.uk/hiero1.htm • http://www.greatscott.com/hiero/ • www.viewimages.com • www.medj.com.au • artswork.asu.edu • www.acid.org

Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics