ANCIENT EGYPT

In 3000 B.C. the Egyptians started using a way of writing called hieroglyphics. Hieroglyphics was a difficult way of writing, it didn’t resemble our English language at all. It was actually a way of writing that used pictures to symbolize objects, actions, sounds, or ideas. There were over 700 hieroglyphs, our English alphabet only has 26 letters. Interestingly the writing system is Egyptian but the word hieroglyphics comes from the Greek language. The actual word hieroglyphics means holy writings, ‘hiero’ is holy or sacred and ‘glyphics’ means marks or writing. Hieroglyphics didn’t use any punctuation, instead, the picture words were organized in rows or columns. The characters were typically written from right to left or top to bottom and sometimes left to right. The reader was able to tell where the beginning of the text was as the human and animal characters faced in the direction of the starting point.

 

The majority of Ancient Egyptians couldn’t read or write. That job was for scribes as well as priests or priestesses. Scribes were well regarded and usually the children of wealthy families as they were given the opportunity to train for this job. The job of a scribe was considered to be very good as they didn’t have to pay taxes or become a part of the army. It wasn’t easy to learn how to read or write, scribes would start training as early as age six or seven.  They transcribed the hieroglyphics with pen and ink onto a homemade type of paper called papyrus. The pen was a thin sharpened reed that was dipped into ink which was made from crushed plants mixed with water. The paper was made from the hollow stem of a marsh plant which was flattened, dried, and then stuck together to create pages.  

 

The scribes also carved the hieroglyphics into stone and painted them onto the walls of tombs. It was thought that words and names written in hieroglyphics had magical powers. That is why they were written onto coffins and tomb walls. It was believed that the markings helped people to be remembered and stay protected by the gods in the afterworld. It was also believed that if the markings disappeared or were damaged, they would no longer survive in the afterworld. As Ancient Egyptians evolved so did their writing system. A shorter and simpler version of writing was created called hieratic that priests could use to record information. Pictures were still apart of this system. An even more simple form of writing was developed from the hieratic system, this type of writing didn’t use any pictures and was essentially for common people use. Regardless of the type of system that was used throughout the duration of Ancient Egypt, what remained most important was to capture and archive events and history.