![]() Hieratic script eventually became widely used as a faster, more functional form of writing and it was used for monumental inscriptions. ( Jose Ignacio Soto /Adobe Stock) The Rise of Hieratic, Demotic, and Coptic ScriptsĪround 2700 BC, hieratic (meaning ‘priestly’ by the Greeks) script was introduced, which was a form of writing more akin to alphabet letters. Scribes were indispensable to the Pharaohs. These scribes may also have something to do with how long the ancient Egyptian language was able to survive since hieroglyphs were seen as a gift from the gods - to alter or abandon them was as an act of sacrilege. Not everyone in ancient Egypt could read and write hieroglyphics thus making their meaning incomprehensible to the common citizen. Only one group had this knowledge and they were called scribes. In order to become a scribe, one had to receive an education at a special school which could take several years to complete and it was usually young boys who entered in at the age of six or seven. ( Keith Schengili-Roberts/ CC BY SA 3.0) The Importance of the Ancient Egyptian Scribe Cartouche purchased for £12 may be precious seal of Ramesses IIĭetail of a bee hieroglyph from the tomb complex of Senusret I. ![]() The Ancient Origins of Some Dead or Dying Languages.There are also glyph sections for tools and weapons, jewels etc. The Ancient Egyptians rejected the use of abstraction in their language and hieroglyphs drew from many elements in the physical world around them. The most complete and obvious glyphs are those devoted to people and parts of the human body however, animals and birds are another, just as equally important category. Egyptian Hieroglyphs Drawn From the World Around ThemĬompared to another ancient writing system, namely cuneiform, hieroglyphics are without an identifiable precursor and much more obscure. They also differ from the Sumerian cuneiform form of writing in that they represent consonants only while cuneiform script represents whole syllables, including vowels. Inscriptions found on temple walls, graves, and monuments were destined for ‘eternity.’ Hieroglyphs retained their importance as a means of communication with the Gods and the Egyptians believed their language was a gift from Thoth, their moon God of wisdom, and goddess Seshat. Hieroglyphic inscriptions on temple walls and other monuments were used for decorative and sacred purposes. Parts of the Book of the Dead, a compilation of spells the ancient Egyptians believed would assist them in the afterlife, were inscribed on sarcophagi. A cartouche was a type of name tag on a sarcophagi, often reserved for royalty and was shaped in an oblong fashion and can be also found on Egyptian monuments and papyri documents. Priests used hieroglyphs to write down prayers and texts related to life after death and worship of the gods. When preparing their tombs, many citizens in Egypt had hieroglyphic guides of the afterworld written on the surfaces of tomb walls and on the insides of coffins. ![]()
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