The word important is often used in everyday language. Sometimes it is used in a lackadaisical manner, and sometimes it is used in the proper context. The word important means “having value or significance; worthy of note or consideration, especially for its interest, value, or relevance” (Microsoft Encarta). There are many significant pieces of culture that consolidate the land of Egypt. However, what is important and special to the Egyptian people, may not be relevant to outsiders or those that do not share the same beliefs or culture. On the contrary, some of the discoveries and cultures that the Egyptians founded were very significant in defining the way history was passed down through generations.
There were three different scripts that the Egyptian scribes used in writing: hieroglyphic, hieratic, and demotic. “Hieroglyphs were the earliest form of Egyptian script and also the longest-lived” (Parsons). Hieroglyphs were pictures or symbols, usually drawn on hard stone in order for it to be easily understood. Even though hieroglyphics were drawn as pictures, they are not anything like a pictogram. Rather, each picture or symbol stood for a certain sound. When these sounds were put together, they made words. Hieratic is an easier version of hieroglyphs, the characters were made simpler; therefore making it quicker to write. The hieratic sign resembled the cursive hieroglyph, but they should not be confused. Demotic script was derived from hieratic script; therefore, it is very cursive and difficult to read. Demotic script was commonly used for administrative and professional purposes. Through the ages, these three historic forms of writing have evolved into the script that we use today.
Egypt was a country that was divided into class systems, just like any other civilized area. There were the slaves, the lower class people, the middle class people, the upper class people, and the richest of them all, the pharaoh. The pharaoh was the most important being in Egypt, and was considered the personification of god. He was treated, and acted, like the most divine and wonderful being that roamed the earth. From the Egyptian sculptures, we know that the pharaoh was always wearing a headdress, which symbolized wealth and power. Also, the pharaoh was always sculpted wearing a skirt with no shirt on and an ornament of some sort on his chin. The most famous pharaoh, known by all, is King Tutankhamun. King Tutankhamun, shortened to King Tut, was only nine years old when he became the pharaoh. He only reigned for about nine years until he was killed; experts still do not know why or how King Tut was killed. It is most commonly believed that Tut died from a severe blow to the head, but recent scientists state otherwise; “Instead the most likely explanation for the boy king's death at 19 is a thigh fracture that became infected and ultimately fatal, according to an international team of scientists” (Lovgren). When the pharaoh passed away; he would be mummified and placed in a sacred pyramid, along with other pharaohs.
Every important being, all the pharaohs, would be mummified to conserve their bodies for the afterlife. The mummification process was not only used to conserve the tangible body, but also to preserve the heart and soul of the person. The process would begin by the embalmers washing his body with incense and water from the Nile River. Next, the left side of the body is cut and all of the internal organs are removed. The internal organs are washed and stored in a type of cloth which will dry them out, but the heart is not removed from the body, for the body will need it in the afterlife. The nose is then broken with a long hook in order to remove the brain. The body is stuffed with cloth to dry it out and absorb all liquid still present. The body is then preserved for forty days, and then washed and lathered with oils. Finally, the body is re-stuffed with the dried organs and ready to be wrapped! Every one of the steps in the embalming process is important because if you remove just one step, it changes the whole mummy. After the mummy is wrapped, it is placed in a coffin of some sort, and then buried in the pharaoh’s pyramid. There was a very significant intangible piece of a person’s body called ka. The ka was the energy flow, or soul of the mummified person. It was believed that when a person died, their ka was released. When the mummy was palced in the pyramid, their ka was said to roam the area.
The first traditional tomb was called a mastabah, a flat-topped building with sloping sides. From the mastabah, pyramids have evolved into a great variety. For example, the Step Pyramid was initially a mastabah, but an architect named Imhotep transformed it. This pyramid was for King Djoser around 2650 BC. Along the years, the Step Pyramid evolved into the Bent Pyramid which, “was not tiered but straight sided except for a curious change of angle in the middle” (“The Tombs of The Pharaohs”). King Sneferu built the so called “most spectacular pyramid of all”. The Great Pyramid is the biggest pyramid out of all the different types of pyramids. Still standing today are the Three Pyramids at Giza which are made out of millions of blocks of stone. Related with the Pyramids at Giza is the Sphinx, which represents a creature with the head of a lion and the body of a human. These pyramids are important to the culture of Egypt because they are where the once rulers of the land are buried.
The forms of script created by the Egyptians are significant to the writing we have today. If it was not for the initial creation of these scripts, writing would not have evolved to what it is today. The scripts, pharaohs, mummies, and pyramids are all important to the Egyptian culture and beliefs. Just because these four variables are important to Egyptians, does not mean that they are important to anybody else. Not everything that is thought of as important to one group of people is important to another. Everybody is entitled to think what they want is important. However, I think everybody can agree that these four items are highly significant to history. Without these beliefs and practices, history would not be the same.
"Facts about King Tut." 16 Jan 2009. Web. 5 Feb 2010. < http://www.king-tut.org.uk/life-of-king-tut/facts-about-king-tut.htm>.
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