Transcript Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics and the Rosetta Stone

Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics
and the Rosetta Stone
Hieroglyphics
• Hieroglyphics-Picture
writing that was inscribed
on pyramid tomb walls,
temples, monuments, and
papyrus.
• Papyrus-Egyptian paper
made from the inside of a
papyrus plant.
Hieroglyphics
• At first, each hieroglyphic stood for a whole word
or meaning.
• As writing advanced, most hieroglyphics could
be used to stand for sounds to spell out words.
Hieroglyphics
• Scribes- Spent several
years going to a special
school to learn the
complicated system.
• Scribes would wrote down
messages, names, and other
important information in
hieroglyphics.
• Scribes eliminated vowels
when writing to make it
quicker and easier.
• There are over 600 different
hieroglyphic symbols.
Cartouche
• Cartouche-A twisted
double loop of rope
tied at one end.
• Names of pharaohs
and important leaders
were written inside a
cartouche.
Rosetta Stone
• In 1799, Napoleon's
troops found a black
stone in Rosetta,
Egypt.
• The Rosetta stone
had a document
inscribed in Greek,
Demotic and
Hieroglyphic.
Rosetta Stone
• Jean Francois
Champollion- figured out
the complicated
translation in 1820.
• Champollion used the
Greek letters on the stone
to figure out the
meanings of the
hieroglyphics.
• Champollion’s results
unlocked many ancient
mysteries!