Egyptian Writing Systems

Hieroglyphs Meaning=Divine speech or god’s words Used by priests for religious writing- written on papyrus or wood Hieroglyphs is an abjad, a writing system where each symbol stands for a consonant-the reader must think of the correct vowel Scholars were confused for centuries because they thought hieroglyphs were all pictographs

Hieratic Developed alongside hieroglyphs as a quicker way to write Used by scribes for government business Written in ink with a brush on papyrus

Demotic Similar to hieratic Also used by scribes for government business Began to be used in the Nile Delta region later in Egyptian civilization.

Comparison

The Rosetta Stone Stone with three texts-hieroglyphs, hieratic, and ancient Greek Discovered by Napoleon and the French when they invaded Egypt Seized by the British when they defeated the French in Egypt

The Rosetta Stone

Jean Francois Champillion Child prodigy, spoke 11 languages by age 20 Was obsessed with discovering the true age of the world, thought hieroglyphs might hold the key Working for 20 years, he was able to decipher the stone

The Problem with Hieroglyphs Try to decipher the writing on the back. Hint: There are 5 sentences.

Answer For nearly 3000 years ancient Egypt was one of the world’s greatest civilizations. Very few Egyptians could read or write. The ones who could were usually scribes or priests. Egyptians had a form of writing called hieroglyphs. The key to understanding hieroglyphs was lost for centuries until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone.