Ancient
Egypt
VII.
Contributions and Legacy
As one of the world's earliest major and
long-lived civilizations, ancient Egypt left a legacy of
important innovations, discoveries, and contributions that
have affected humankind over the millennia. The ancient
Egyptian religion survived for thousands of years. Over
that time, revisions were made to religious texts, the powers
of certain gods waxed and waned, some deities were combined,
and some even fell completely out of favor. Yet out of that
ancient religion survived a basic belief in a good and moral
life on earth as a major means of attaining an afterlife,
a concept that is reflected in most modern religions.
The
brief period of religious reform associated with the pharaoh
Akhenaton, known today as the Amarna period,
introduced the world to a belief in a single god. Akhenaton's
doctrines may have been the impetus for the monotheistic
religion developed by the Hebrews that surfaced in the Middle
East shortly thereafter. It, in turn, gave rise to Christianity.
Literacy
may have been limited to a small percentage of the population,
but the large quantity of written material that survives
indicates the importance of the written word to the ancient
Egyptians. Their hieroglyphs may well represent humankind's
earliest attempt to write. The ancient Egyptians developed
the use of writing on papyrus, the product of a native plant
of the same name that they processed. Many of their documents
were used for teaching purposes, and they produced manuals
with model letters for apprentice scribes.
Some
of the mathematical texts taught the finer points of arithmetic,
geometry, and even word problems, and are not unlike modern
primers. These and other texts indicate that the ancient
Egyptians understood and could add fractions and could even
find the area of a trapezoidal pyramid. Without the advanced
mathematics they originated, the ancient Egyptians would
not have been able to build the pyramids and other large
structures.
Medical
papyri taught physicians how to deal with both internal
medicine and surgery, and there were texts devoted to pharmaceutical
remedies, dental procedures, and veterinary medicine. These
papyri represent some of the earliest known texts on these
subjects.
Religious
texts recorded and preserved the major tenets of Egyptian
beliefs. Literary papyri cover a broad range of genres,
from epics, love poetry, and wisdom literature (selections
from which are the ancestors of some biblical proverbs)
to political propaganda, satire, comic stories, and drama
(perhaps the first recorded examples). What may have been
the world's first
fairy tale came from ancient Egypt. Oral communication
helped spread the literature, and some myths appeared in
later Roman stories. Collections of assorted texts were
deposited in early examples of libraries, known as houses
of life.
The
ancient Greeks credited the Egyptians with many early discoveries
in the fields of philosophy, art, and science. It is clear
also that the Greeks benefited from and were influenced
by the achievements of the Egyptians in sculpture and architecture.
For example, early Greek statues of youths, called kouroi,
are clearly modeled on Egyptian statuary, and Greek fluted
columns are undeniably similar to columns constructed in
Egypt centuries earlier. The association of certain Greek
gods with Egyptian deities underscores the connection between
the two civilizations. For example, Imhotep, the ancient
Egyptian architect and sage who was deified (elevated to
the rank of a god) long after his death, was associated
primarily with medicine in the Hellenistic period and was
often identified with Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine.
The
influence of the ancient Egyptians is even seen today. The
obelisk, an architectural feature of many temples,
is still used, as can be seen in the Washington Monument
in Washington, D.C. Other features of Egyptian architecture,
such as the temple pylon, figured relief, and columns, have
been used in the last few centuries in the construction
of structures such as museums, mausoleums, office buildings,
and government buildings.
The
ancient Egyptians were masters of the arts of stoneworking
and metalworking and the production of faience and glass.
Their products were used throughout the ancient world. Their
understanding of astronomy
was very advanced, and this knowledge was passed on to the
generations that followed. Based on their observations of
the Sun and the stars
they developed a calendar. Eventually they produced a version
of the zodiac.
Ancient
Egypt and modern Egypt are separated by a long period of
time, a different language, and distinct concepts and beliefs.
Nevertheless, scholars have suggested that the roots of
some Arabic folktales may stretch back to ancient Egypt.
Some modern Egyptian phrases and proverbs may also have
originated in the ancient language. Certain ancient religious
concepts and imagery survive in the Coptic Church, a Christian
church that still exists in Egypt today. These concepts
and imagery include the Virgin suckling the infant Jesus,
based on ancient Egyptian images of Isis
and her son Horus; the crux ansata,
a Coptic cross derived from the ankh, the ancient Egyptian
word for life; and an association of the four evangelists
with the four sons of Horus.
VIII.
Egyptology
Interest in learning about ancient Egypt goes very far back
in time, but serious research by scholars in a field of
study known as Egyptology began only in more modern times.
Scholars in the late 18th century realized that the monuments
and the sites they came from had to be recorded properly
in order to reconstruct the history and civilization of
ancient Egypt. The decipherment of the ancient Egyptian
language by Jean François Champollion in 1822 added to the
sources of knowledge and created the field of Egyptian philology
(study of written texts) and linguistics.
Today,
experts in a variety of specialized fields contribute to
the study of Egyptology. They include archaeologists, art
historians, philologists, medical and dental specialists,
anthropologists, paleopathologists (scientists who study
diseases in dead bodies from ancient times), paleobotanists
(scientists who study the plant life of ancient times),
computer specialists, geologists, and epigraphers (scholars
who copy, study, and translate ancient inscriptions).
Dating methods such as carbon dating, thermoluminescence,
and dendrochronology (the study of tree rings) are used
to determine the approximate age of objects.
Some
types of archaeology do not necessitate the excavation of
entire areas to uncover sites. New noninvasive methods that
use remote sensing devices can locate potential sites, pinpointing
archaeological fixtures below the surface. Scientists today
use sophisticated scans, computer imaging, X-ray analysis,
bone studies, and DNA testing to learn about ancient diseases
and nutrition. Conservators use the most up-to-date techniques
to preserve monuments in the field and in museums. In the
late 20th century, discoveries in the harbor of Alexandria
opened the field to underwater archaeology.
Photographic
advances, such as the video recorder and digitizing camera,
have also been used to record monuments and artifacts. Sophisticated
computer programs have simplified the compiling of databases,
have aided epigraphers, and have become invaluable in archaeological
reconstructions and surveys. All of this information aids
scholars in interpreting the messages left by the silent
monuments of Egypt's past, and enables them to communicate
the wonders of this once grand civilization to the rest
of humankind.
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(for
more reading about Egypt (the Kings, Pharaos, etc), please
visit the Encarta
site!)
Contributed
By: David Peter Silverman, Ph.D. Associate Professor of
Egyptology and Associate Curator, Egyptian Section, University
Museum, University of Pennsylvania. Author of Masterpieces
of Tutankhamun and other books. Contributor to Journal of
Egyptian Archeology and other publications.
"Ancient
Egypt," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001 http://encarta.msn.com
© 1997-2000 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
