EGYPTIAN ACHIEVEMENTS
p. 40-46
Unit 4 Interactive Notebook
Mr. Davis
HIEROGLYPHICS
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Egyptian writing system
One of the world’s first writing systems
Over 600 symbols, mostly pictures and objects
Each picture represented sounds
Could be written in any direction—difficult to
read
PAPYRUS
• A long-lasting, paper-like material made from
reeds
• Pressing layers of reads together and pounded
into sheets
• Scribes wrote on them with brushes and ink
• Survived in Egypt’s dry climate for many years
ROSETTA STONE
• Discovered by a French soldier in 1799
• Used to translate hieroglyphics
• Has Greek, Egyptian (Demotic), and
Hieroglyphics on it
• Allows for scholars to know what the Ancient
Egyptians wrote
EGYPTIAN TEXTS
• Government, Historical, Scientific, and
Medical records
• Literary Works: stories, poems, myths
• THE BOOK OF THE DEAD – tells about the
afterlife
• Love poems and stories about gods and kings
TEMPLES
• Believed to be homes of the gods
• People visited them to worship, offer the gods
gifts, ask for favors
SPHINXES
• Lined the path leading to the entrance of
temples
• Mythical creatures with the head of a human
and the body of a lion
OBELISKS
• A tall, four-sided pillar that is pointed at the
top
• Usually at either side of the entrance to the
temple
• (The Washington Monument in Washington,
DC is a giant obelisk)
TEMPLE OF KARNAK
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Lavishly decorated with paintings
Huge columns support the roof
Statues of gods and pharaohs
Sanctuary was most sacred part of the
temple—located at the far end
EGYPTIAN PAINTING
• Painted on canvas, papyrus, pottery, plaster,
and wood
• Temple art was to honor gods
• Subjects vary widely—historical events,
religious rituals
• People’s heads and legs are always to the side,
but torso is straight on
• Important figures are larger than others
JEWELRY
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Made of gold and precious stones
Made for women and men
Necklaces, collars, bracelets
Burial items for pharaohs
TOMB OF KING TUT
• Found in 1922
• Filled with treasures: jewelry, robes, burial
mask, ivory statues
• Tells us a lot about Egyptian burial practices
and beliefs