Saturday, February 12, 2011

Egyptian Hieroglyphs and Pyramids

HIEROGLYPHICS:
·  formal writing system used by ancient Egypt
·  use figures like animals, objects, and people
·  logographic and alphabetic elements
·  they represent real or illusion elements 
·  it is read alone of its visual characteristics
·  mostly written on papyrus paper or on the Pyramids
·  hieroglyphs means "Writing Words of God"
·  before they were used to write on pyramids they used them for recording something like a census
·  use a rebus-pictures are used according to the way they sound
·  ex. i believe -"eye, a bee, and a leaf"
·  the people who write them are called scribes
·  3 types
o ideogram-a picture used to symbolize an abstract idea 
o phonogram-a picture whose name is close to the desired sound
o pictograph-a drawing of the literal word
·  first written language for ancient Egypt
·  over 2,000 different symbols 
THE PYRAMIDS:
  • Ancient Egypt was actually located in North Africa.
  • About 80 pyramids in Ancient Egypt
  • Built as tombs for the pharaohs and their queens
·         The pharaohs usually referred to them as their “House of eternity”
o   Began planning their houses of eternity as soon as they took the throne
·         All sides of the pyramids were to face directly north, south, east, and west
·         Large stones were cut from quarries and used to build the pyramids
·         Most of the workers were farmers who worked during the flood season, when their fields were under water.
·         Four main chambers:
o   King’s chamber
o   Grand Gallery – leads from ascending passage to the king’s chamber
o   Queen’s chamber- not actually meant for the queen to be buried there, possible used as a place to store the king’s funerary objects
o   Underground chamber – almost like a trick chamber, many different views on what this tomb was used for

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