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Chapter 4
Section 4
Egyptian Achievements
Doctors/Medicine
 Egyptian doctors known throughout Mediterranean region
 Ancient Egyptians believed disease/death were caused by:
o Gods
o Spirit
o Supernatural force
 Believed magic or medicine cured diseases
 Sometimes they tried both
Doctors
 Egyptian doctors first specialists in medicine
 Egyptian doctors first to use:
o Splints
o Bandages
o compresses
 Specialized as:
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Dentists
Eye doctors
Animal doctors
Surgeons
 Embalmed dead and performed autopsies
o Masters at:
o Sewing up cuts
o Setting broken bones
Medicine
 Doctors created medicine and magic spells/prayers to cure diseases
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Honey and milk used to cure coughs
Honey used to dress wounds
Aloe used to treat worms, headaches, chest pains, burns, ulcers, and skin diseases
Caraway and mint used to cure bad breath
Sandalwood used to aid digestion and stop diarrhea
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Baldness cured with a mixture of dog toes, dates, and a donkey hoof
Hieroglyphics
 Definition- Egyptian writing in which pictures stand for words or
sounds
o Hieroglyphics were the greatest contribution of early Egyptians
 One of the oldest writing forms in the world
 Began in Early Dynastic Period around 3300 BCE
o Egyptians used for 3,500 years!
 Egyptian hieroglyphs did NOT have vowels when written
o Had vowel sound when spoken
Writing and Reading Hieroglyphs
 Hieroglyphic writing system used over 600 symbols
o Each symbol represented one or more sounds
 Hieroglyphs written horizontally or vertically
o Read from:
 Left to right
 Right to left
 Top to bottom
o Direction symbols were looking determined direction to read hieroglyphs
 If written in columns, then read top to bottom
What did the Egyptians write?
 Scribes wrote:
o Prayers, spells, and texts for worshipping gods and honoring the
dead
o Pharaohs’ laws
o Lists of grains and animals paid as taxes
o Fairy tales
o Adventure stories
o Medical prescriptions
o Business agreements
 Hieroglyphs also used as decorations (examples: carved in jewelry and on
temple/tomb walls)
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Deciphering Hieroglyphs
 Hieroglyphics were known about for centuries
o Historians/archaeologists could NOT translate
 1799 CE French soldier discovered a large stone
 Inscription on stone written 3 different ways
1. Hieroglyphs
2. Demotic script (a type of Egyptian writing)
3. Ancient Greek
 Stone taken to Europe and translated
 Scholars knew Greek, and were able to translate hieroglyphics
 Translation completed by:
o Jean François Champollion
 Hieroglyphics provided important information about history of
ancient Egypt
o Many hieroglyphs are still being translated today
 The Stone discovered in 1799 known as the Rosetta
Stone
Contributions of the Egyptians
 Invented paper called Papyrus
o Paper was made from reed plant called papyrus
 Making paper:
o Papyrus reed stems cut into thin strips
o Strips pressed together to make a sheet
o Sheets pasted together to make scrolls
 Some scrolls were 100 feet long (30 meters)
 Egyptians invented ink to write on papyrus
 Egypt’s dry climate preserved many ancient writings, which can
still be read today
Egyptian Texts
 Historians today can read:
o Government records
o Historical records
o Science texts
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o Medical manuals
o Variety of literary works
Example of an important Egypt text:
o The Book of the Dead
 Collection of spells and directions for the afterlife
 Spells helped dead reach kingdom of Osiris
 The god Thoth was the supposed author of papyrus
scrolls
o Other texts tell stories of gods and kings
Other uses for Papyrus
 Made into:
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Baskets
Sandals
Bundled together to make columns for houses
Rafts
o Riverboats
Mathematical Contributions
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Egyptians used number system based on 10
Used fractions and whole numbers
Invented a decimal system
Used geometry to survey (measure) land
Calendar based on flooding of Nile River
o Nile flooded about the same time ever year
o Egyptian calendar had 3 seasons, 120 days each
o 5 special feast days to honor gods
 Egyptians had a 365 day year!
Famous Structures
 Most famous structures are the pyramids
 Egyptians also built massive temples
o They believed temples were homes of the gods
 Egyptians visited temples to:
o Worship
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o Offer gifts to gods
o Ask gods for favors
Chapter 4
Section 4
Egyptian Achievements (continued)
Famous Temples
 Temple of Karnak
o Huge columns support roof
o Columns and walls covered in paintings and hieroglyphics
 Hatshepsut’s Mortuary temple
 Ramses the Greats temple at Abu Simbel
o 66 foot tall statues of Ramses
o Carved out of a sandstone cliff
Features shared by Egyptian temples
 Rows of stone sphinxes lined the entrance way to temples
o Sphinx- Imaginary creatures with bodies of lions and heads of
humans or other animals
 Entrances to temples were HUGE thick gates
o Entrances sometimes flanked by obelisks Obelisk- A tall four-sided pillar that is pointed on top
 Some weighed more than 100 tons
 Walls lined with statues of gods and pharaohs
 Sanctuary- most sacred part of temple
o Located at far end of temple
 Pharaoh and priests only ones allowed in temples
Masterful Artists
 Ancient Egyptians were highly skill artists
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 Art in temples attracts tourists from all over the world
 Greatest ancient Egyptian art found in royal tombs
 Egyptians took great care to make this art, because they believed the
dead enjoyed art in the afterlife
Paintings
 Egyptian art was lively and colorful
 Painted temple and tomb walls
 Egyptian artists painted:
o Historical events
o Crowning of kings
o Creation of temples
o Major religious rituals
o Everyday life
 Scenes of hunting and farming
 People were painted in a specific way
o Heads and legs seen from side
o Upper bodies and shoulders seen straight on
 Important figures (pharaohs) appear HUGE
 Servants appear smaller
 Animals usually drawn realistically
Carvings and Jewelry
 Ancient Egyptians were skilled stone and metal workers
o Tombs contained huge statues and detailed carvings
 They made beautiful jewelry for men and women
o Jewelry included:
 Necklaces
 Collars
 Bracelets
o Pharaohs’ burial items made from gold
 Treasure hunters have emptied pharaohs’ tombs
o With the exception of only a few:
 King Tutankamen (King Tut) tomb virtually
undisturbed
 Discovered in 1922 CE, by Howard Carter
o Tut’s tomb contained:
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Boxes of jewelry
Robes
Burial mask
Ivory statues
o Great deal of information learned from Tut’s Tomb