Hieroglyphics (pronounced Hire A Gli-Fix- I have bad memories of when I thought it was an advertisement) are "a writing system consisting of a stylized picture of an object representing a word, syllable, or sound, as found in ancient Egyptian and other writing systems" (Oxford Dictionaries).
Medical Technologies
I twisted my ankle by tripping over a rock earlier today. It was really cool what the doctor did. He set my foot on top of a stone block. He put a warm compress on my foot to reduce swelling and started making a splint. He put it around my ankle. He looked like he knew what he was doing, even though I thought Egyptians didn't know how to fix anything! When I asked him what Egyptian doctors do, he told me that Egyptian doctors sew up people's cuts and set broken bones. They use splints, bandages, and compresses (McTighe).
Ancient Egyptians have cool daily lives
Social Classes Egyptian society was organized by social status- their position in society. The pharaoh and his family belong in the highest position in Egypt, followed by an high class of army commanders, nobles, and priests. A large group of traders, artisans, and scribes made up the middle class. The bottommost but largest group was made up of farmers and unskilled workers. Even though there were clear divisions in Egyptian social status, "ambitious people in the lower classes were able to improve their social position" (McTighe). Egypt's higher classes lived in beautiful homes and owned land along the Nile River. Their homes were made of wood and sun-dried mud bricks, and some were like modern houses: two or three floors tall! Surrounding their homes were "lush gardens and pools filled with fish and water lilies" (McTighe). Men and women from the higher classes dressed in white linen clothing and wore dark eye makeup and jewelry. Servants performed household tasks for them. The middle class had people who owned businesses and had deft jobs. These jobs included trading and being a scribe. Artisans were also very important. They produced linen cloth, jewelry, pottery, and metal goods. The middle class lived in small homes and dressed simple compared to the higher classes. The lowest class included farmers, unskilled workers, and enslaved people. Many farmers worked on land that was owned by wealthy people. They paid rent to the landowners, usually with food from their crops. Farmers lived in houses that were made of mud brick. The houses usually contained only one room and a roof made of palm leaves. Farmers ate simple foods such as bread, vegetables, and fruit. Unskilled workers performed labor such as "unloading cargo from boats and transporting it to markets" (McTighe). Some were fishers. Most unskilled workers lived in crowded city neighborhoods. They lived in very small mud-brick houses with hard-packed dirt floors. Their houses sometimes had a courtyard. Families often got together on the rooftops to talk, play games, and sleep. Because of the hot climate, they also cooked on the rooftop. Some of these unskilled workers were enslaved people. "Many of them had been captured in war, and they could earn their freedom over time. Some of these enslaved people helped build the pyramids" (McTighe). (McTighe) Image credit: Ancient Egypt Online
Family The family was the most important group. Even the gods and goddesses were arranged in family groupings. The dad was the head of the family in ancient Egypt, but women had more rights than women in other civilizations. Egyptian women held a legal. They could own property, buy and sell goods, and divorce their husband. Wealthy women were even priests; the managed temples and performed the religious ceremonies. Wives of farmers often helped their husbands. However, women of the higher social classes probably stayed at home while their husbands did their work. Few Egyptian children attended school. Egyptian children had lots of time for fun (lucky). They played with board games, dolls, spinning tops, and stuffed leather balls. Egyptian children were expected to respect their parents. Moms taught their daughters to sew, cook, and run a house. Boys learned farming or other trades from their dads. Learning their father's trade was important, because most of the time the oldest son would inherit his father's business. When boys and girls became teens, they were to get married and start families of their own. In Egyptian cities and among the upper classes, people usually lived in nuclear families, which is made up of two parents and their children. Some farm families and others in the lower class lived as extended families, which means that all of the family. For farm families, this meant more people to work the fields. The oldest son, and sometimes the oldest daughter, were also responsible for taking care of their parents when the parents became too old or sick to care for themselves. They also made sure that their parents were given a proper burial when they die. (McTighe)
All About Scribes
Unlike modern days, only a certain group of people were allowed to read and write. They were the scribes.
Usually scribes are men, but there is evidence of women doctors. The women doctors would have to go under scribe training to read medical texts.
Scribes had to attend a special school to learn how to read and how to write. It was very hard, for the writing was complicated and there were many hieroglyphs to learn. The students practiced what they learned on papyrus, pottery, and pieces of limestone.
Almost all scribes are the sons of scribes; very rarely a craftsmen will get their child into scribe school.
Scribe school takes 4-5 years; as long or almost as long as elementary school!
What scribes used to write with were papyrus reed brushes dipped in ink. The ink was made by grinding colored minerals into a powder, then adding liquid to the powder to make it easier to apply. (Ancient Egypt)
I have a Dream...
If I were an Egyptian, I'd like to be a scribe. Scribes are a middle class,
meaning that they get proper clothes and homes. They get an education
and would gain the knowledge of reading and writing. However, their lives
aren't as grand as the upper classes, but it's OK. I like to keep things
simple.
FIVE EXTRA INVENTIONS!
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to my (imaginary) TV show, Top 5! Yesterday's question was "what is the most AMAZING Egyptian inventions?" The results have rolled in, and we will discuss them today with the help of Ancientech! My name is Chloe Cho, I hope you enjoyed my online journal, and let's grab the popcorn for the very last notes in my notebook!
5. Fishing Tools! Back in the time of the ancient Egyptians, hunting and breeding animals was difficult. Aside from fruits and veggies, the poor couldn't afford the scarce meat. But there was a solution to this drastic problem! Fish is cheap and plentiful in the Nile River, and fishermen used tools such as nets, traps, spears, and harpoons to catch them! Hooks are made out of cheap metal and bones. Hunting has gotten a whole lot easier!
4. Toothpaste and breath mints! The Egyptians want to hide the awful smell that comes from our mouths. Bad breath means poor dental health and low income. Although the Egyptians had dentists, they cannot fix teeth that started to get serious cavities and smell super bad like the bottom of a Dumpster! Luckily, the mints came to the rescue! They contained of a combination of frankincense (a type of resin), myrrh, and cinnamon honey, and are sucked to kill the noxious odors.
3. Sickle! This curved blade used for cutting has aided Egyptian farmers quite a bit! Harvesting grain, including wheat and barley, is a tedious job that uses a lot of hard work. The sickle improves farming processes and makes picking wheat much easier. This is especially helpful in Egypt as the Nile River has proved to be a valuable asset, providing yearly floods and rich fertile soil for producing crops. Close runner-ups to this handy-dandy farming tool include wooden hoes, which are used to dig pits, as well as large walls of mud to keep water flow contained called dikes.
2. Boats and sails! The first boats that the Egyptians invented were rafts, made from papyrus reeds that were tied together. They were used on the Nile for trading and transportation. These boats are also used for fishing and for many, just for pleasure. Papyrus is used because of the scarcity of wood and the easiness of shaping the plants. Sails catch the wind and move boats at a much quicker pace, and the boats have started to be made from wood. This helps the transportation of heavy loads.
1!!!. Calendars and clocks! The Egyptians invented the modern 365-day calendar which associated with the flood cycle of the Nile and advises farmers when they can best irrigate their land. Did you know that the calendar allows Egyptians to track our three important seasons: Spring (The Flooding of the Nile), Winter (the Reappearing of the Land), and Summer (the dry period)? The calendar is also used for astrology. "The Egyptians also discovered other ways to tell time with water clocks and sundials. Water clocks measure time by the flow of water and sundials measure time by using a vertical pole on a horizontal surface with marks and numbers around the clock’s edges" (Ancientech).