Hieroglyphics

What is it A hieroglyph was a character of the ancient Egyptian writing system meaning ‘language of the gods’ A system that employs characters in the form of pictures Can be read eaither as picturess, as symbols for pictures or as symbols for sounds. There were 700 ancient Egyptian symbols representing words, and thousands of others used for individual sounds.

How were they it used? Was only used by a small portion of the Egyptian population Priests Civil officials Wrote on boards made of wood, clay, stone walls, and papyrus. Used all over the country

Importance The ancient Egyptians believed it was important to record and communicate about religion and government This lead to the invention of hieroglyphics to record information Hieroglyphics were used for many purposes in different places.

What they were used for If a king died, on the coffin it would show what it looks like in heaven and write how he died Write it from right to left or top to bottom Helpful with coffins because it shows all of the things up in heaven like tools, animals, crops, and boats Used to decorate jewelry by carving symbols in it.

What impact did it have? A way of communicating through writing Was able to create a political government, run an army and start civilization

3 different groups Phonograms : represented sounds ideograms : represented objects or ideas Determinatives : relate to speech sounds and serve as word sectors

Rosetta stone Was written by a group of priests to honor the Egyptian Pharaoh listing all the good things that the Pharaoh did Was written in 2 languages : Egyptian Hieroglyphics Demotic - Greek