Just like English evolved over time (think Shakespearean English), so did Egyptian. The Egyptian language had a lifespan of more than four thousand years – the longest continuously attested language in the world! It first appeared in writing around 3000 BC and was actively used until the 11th century AD. What language does it represent?Īncient Egyptians spoke Egyptian – a dead language, just like Latin (modern Egyptians speak Arabic). Instead, for administrative tasks, Egyptians used a cursive form of hieroglyphs or hieratic (more to that below). Is it art or words?Ĭlearly, hieroglyphs were not intended for day-to-day use – that would have been quite impractical. Some examples are craftily carved and look more like art than writing, and they were. These were created for eternity, either for the gods or for the afterlife. Hieroglyphs is the writing system ancient Egyptians used for inscriptions mostly on walls of temples and tombs, as well as statues, coffins, and sarcophagi. And because writing articles is how I learn (or refresh) best, I decided to create a little summary article and share it with whoever is interested. Allen's Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs for a refresher. Having forgotten so much of it, I picked up my edition of James P. If you think that's a weird career path, I fully agree.Īnyways, recently a colleague found out and asked if I could do a hieroglyphs intro at our next "show and tell". So, how does someone who writes about the most cutting-edge technologies (the future), write about Ancient Egypt (the past)? Well, turns out that, many years ago, I studied Egyptology. Since I'm publishing this on LinkedIn, chances are we are connected and you've seen some of my articles on cloud native technologies. You'll gain a broad understanding of their purpose, how they were read, and will hopefully look at them in a different way next time you'll encounter them in a museum or during a trip to Egypt. "Seated scribe", statue remainder, the 'bust'.If you've ever wondered how hieroglyphs work, what language they represent, and how exactly scholars were able to decipher them, this high-level introduction will hopefully shed some light on these questions. Ramesses I (Paramessu), 18th dynasty (1320s to 1290s BC), vizier during the reign of Horemheb.Prince Setka, son of Djedefra, 4th dynasty (typical sitting form, with "atypical" Flooring enclosure).Non-scribe, ancient Egyptians portrayed as "seated scribes" Nebnetro-(scribe)–honors Egyptian God figures: extensive hieroglyph story-(+plinth inscription).Khay-(scribe)–New Kingdom- Thoth-(tutelary of Scribes)-honored in Shrine-form-(Naos)(at Louvre).The granite statue represents the daytime sunlit journey, the limestone the night. (The original block statue started with the Tomb of Hetep, Saqqara, 12th Dynasty as two cuboid statues, one each of granite and limestone, and inscriptions explaining the block form, and exposed limbs receiving the first rays of the morning sun-(to arise out of primordial earth). (Note: all names ending in "U" show a plural for the last 'hieroglyph "syllable"').TT390–Irty-RaU( Irtyrau)-Female Scribe-etc.TT365–NefermenU(Nefermenu)-(scribe title).
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