Egypt - History of Art Hieroglyphic

What: Egypt - History of Art Hieroglyphic
When: 10/30/2018, 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Hieroglyphic

Hieroglyphic writing was a form of writing used by the ancient Egyptians. The individual characters are called 'hieroglyphs'

Scribe

An ancient Egyptian man who learned to read and write hieroglyphs and hieratic (a quicker and shorter form of hieroglyphs).

Scribes had two main duties:

They were the only people in ancient Egypt who could read and write the sacred hieroglyphs that would appear on temples and in tombs
they kept government records and wrote letters for the pharaoh.

Hieroglyphic writing was a form of writing used by the ancient Egyptians. The individual characters are called 'hieroglyphs'

How did someone become a scribe?

To become a scribe, you had to attend a special school for scribes. At this school, you would learn how to read and write hieroglyphics and hieratic scripts. This was hard work. These scripts are complicated, and there were many signs to learn.

Students spent a lot of time practicing the signs by copying them onto sheets of papyrus, old pieces of pottery or flakes of limestone.

Could anyone become a scribe?

No. Most often it was the children of scribes who became scribes. Although some craftsmen were able to get their sons into the school for scribes, it was very rare.

How long did it take to become a scribe?

It could take four to five years for a person to go through scribe school.

How long did it take to become a scribe?

Papyrus

Papyrus was a reed that grew in ancient Egypt that was used in many different ways. It was cut into strips, pressed together, pounded, and dried to make sheets which were written on.

Papyrus was also gathered, tied together in bunches, and used to make small fishing boats. 'Papyri' is the plural form of the word papyrus.

Rosetta Stone

Rosetta Stone is a stone with writing on it in two languages (Egyptian and Greek), using three scripts (hieroglyphic, demotic and Greek).

Why is it in three different scripts?

The Rosetta Stone is written in three scripts because when it was written, there were three scripts being used in Egypt.

The first was hieroglyphic which was the script used for important or religious documents. The second was demotic which was the common script of Egypt.

The third was Greek which was the language of the rulers of Egypt at that time.

The Rosetta Stone was written in all three scripts so that the priests, government officials and rulers of Egypt could read what it said.

When was the Rosetta Stone made?

The Rosetta Stone was carved in 196 B.C..

When was the Rosetta Stone found?

The Rosetta Stone was found in 1799.

Who found the Rosetta Stone?

The Rosetta Stone was found by French soldiers who were rebuilding a fort in Egypt.

The Challenge - 'Making Sense'

The ancient Egyptians did not use vowels when they recorded information in writing. Thus, two words with the same consonants but different meanings could be spelt the same way.

to avoid confusion there are certain hieroglyphs which were used to clarify what a word meant. These signs are called 'sense signs' or 'determinatives'.

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