Hieroglyphs and Papyrus
Know that ancient Egyptians used a special writing system called hieroglyphs, with pictures and symbols that stood for sounds and words. They wrote on papyrus, a paper-like material made from a plant that grew along the Nile.
What a learner can do afterwards
- Describe hieroglyphs as a writing system that uses pictures and symbols
- Explain that papyrus was a material like paper made from a river plant
- Explain that scribes were trained writers and that learning Egyptian writing took practice
1 · Read
Ancient Egyptians used writing signs called hieroglyphs. Many looked like people, animals or objects. Some stood for sounds or whole words. Other signs helped show what a word meant. These signs were part of a writing system.
Papyrus was made from a tall plant that grew along the Nile. Workers cut the inner stem into strips. They laid strips in two layers, one across the other, then pressed and dried them into sheets. People wrote on these sheets, as we write on paper. Egyptians also wrote on stone walls.
Mia reads a museum label: 'Hieroglyphic message on papyrus.' Hieroglyphic names the writing. Papyrus names the plant-made sheet. Marks do not become hieroglyphs just because they are on papyrus. The writing and its material are two different things.
A scribe was a trained writer. Scribes learned signs and practised reading and writing. Learning could take years. Most people in ancient Egypt did not learn to read and write. Some people who were not scribes could read or write too.
Drawing an animal does not teach you to read its sign. You must learn how the sign is used. Some hieroglyphs stood for a sound, as the letter B can. Egyptians also used other, quicker forms of writing for everyday tasks. Some papyrus sheets held writing in these other forms instead of hieroglyphs.
Scribes wrote messages and kept records, such as lists of food. A written record saved information to read later. Old writing helps us learn about the past, but many records have been lost. A surviving list tells us what was recorded, not everything people ate. A dry or crumbly sheet does not tell us its material.
Hieroglyphs were Egyptian writing signs. Papyrus was a plant-made writing material. Scribes were trained writers.
Lesson, questions and flashcards written for this dataset about Egyptian writing, papyrus and scribes.
Four readings written for this dataset about Egyptian writing, writing materials and evidence from the past.
More to read
A plant becomes a writing sheet
Papyrus names a plant and a writing material made from it. A writing sheet did not grow ready-made. Workers used strips from inside the stem. They laid the strips in layers, then pressed and dried them. The finished sheet gave a writer somewhere to put a message. Stone walls could hold Egyptian writing too.
A shape and its use
Seeing a picture shape is not the same as reading a message. A hieroglyph could stand for a sound or a word. Other signs helped show meaning. A reader had to learn how the signs worked together. English words such as bird and eye name things. Printing those words in boxes does not show real hieroglyphs.
Writing something down
A list saves information so someone can read it later. Scribes kept records and wrote messages in ancient Egypt. Their training included learning signs and practising their use. Most people did not learn to read and write. Some people who were not scribes could read or write too. Egyptian writers also used quicker forms of writing for everyday work.
Two questions about an old message
What writing does a message use? What is it written on? These are different questions. A museum label might identify hieroglyphs as the writing and papyrus as the material. A dry or damaged sheet needs more study before we name its material. Old writing that survives gives us evidence about the past, but many records have been lost.
2 · Watch
به انگلیسیTake it off screen
Where it sits
Learn first
Optional connections
This opens up
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
24 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.