Concept in Definition ABC

Egyptology is the name with which the discipline which deals exclusively with the study and analysis of ancient Egyptian civilization.

Discipline that studies and investigates life in Ancient Egypt

The Ancient Egypt knew how to be a human civilization that settled on the banks of the River Nile and developed splendidly by 3,000 years or so, from 3150 B.C. and until 31 B.C. when it was conquered by the Empire Roman.

For example, the object of study of Egyptology is between that period, from the 5th century BC. and until inclusion from Egypt to the orbit of the Roman Empire.

The key to Egypt's success has undoubtedly been its geography, the Nile River allowed them to develop their own resources and also it always facilitated their position in front of the enemy.

Pharaoh was the authoritypolitics maximum and was clothed with divine characteristics.

Meanwhile, Egyptology consists of a thematic variety in which Ancient Egypt is the object and subject of attention and subjects such as history and archeology have a presence featured.

Until the nineteenth century, very little was known about ancient Egyptian culture and society, while at that time time, an expedition of French scholars and cartoonists accompanying a military expedition led for Napoleon for lands of Cleopatra and Cía. it brought a lot of light on the particular and fascinating Egyptian civilization.

That trip was even synthesized in a work with a lot of information that was published in volumes: Description of l'EgyptIn addition, the expedition members collected pieces and elements that later became treasured museum objects.

The decipherment of her particular writing allowed to advance her knowledge

Some time later, towards the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, there were also great advances in the knowledge of the Egyptians thanks to the decipherment of their unique writing: the hieroglyphs.

The individual who is professionally engaged in it is designated as Egyptologist.

French philologist Jean-François ChampollionHe is considered the father and promoter of this discipline for having been the first to decipher the stone of languages ​​or rosetta stone, recorded in Greek, Egyptian and Demotic, and by decoding the sound of each of the hieroglyphs.

Hieroglyphics were the writing par excellence of the Egyptians and that certainly distinguished them as a very unique culture, in it the words are represented with figures or symbols, for example, for thousands of years it was a writing of difficult access and understanding for most mortals, However, the aforementioned decipherment of it allowed to know in greater depth a culture that was presumed fascinating and that later ended with confirm…

They consist of images that evoke ideograms, phonograms and determinants.

Phonograms represent sounds, ideograms ideas, and the determiner a category of words.

As we noted, their knowledge was a mystery for a long time until Champollion shed light on them.

The Egyptians used this script in temples, due to its complexity, while in domestic life they used a simpler one.

The scribes were the ones who especially dominated this type of writing and they were the ones who used it the most.

For us Westerners, hieroglyphs make up a strange and complex writing system and that is why since it was known about them there was always a special desire for decipher them.

But now, we must say that beyond the fact that much progress has been made in its knowledge, its complexity remains intact, especially with regard to learning, namely, learn this system for any mortal is still a huge challenge and very few can achieve it satisfactorily, being the experts, who have shown so far that they can positively prosper in this sense.

That again makes it clear to us how fantastic, advanced and original this culture has been that despite having existed many centuries ago and representing the past, in terms of expression culture should be considered absolutely advanced.

Topics in Egyptology