Initially, ancient Egyptian writing was a primitive pictogram that denoted the objects in the form of which they were drawn. Later, hieroglyphic writing was formed, the symbols of which became ideograms. That is, signs began to denote separate concepts and terms.
The causes of writing
The origin of writing in Egypt is associated with such phenomena as the emergence of religion, the need to record accumulated knowledge. Ancient people still loved to perpetuate the life of both the royal family and ordinary people on the walls. The funeral cult of the Egyptians prescribed to depict the afterlife of a deceased person, carving drawings on sarcophagi, walls of tombs and on vessels with organs.
According to the mythological ideas of the ancient Egyptians, the letter to mankind was bestowed by the god Thoth. The goddess Seshat, who was the daughter of Thoth, was also involved in the patronage of writing.
In addition, it required the recording of religious rites and spells. The ancient Egyptians considered themselves obliged to record all the accumulated useful information. And the first such records were made with pictographic signs, later with hieroglyphs and hieratic writing.
Hieroglyphics
The first traces of ancient Egyptian writing were found in one of the tombs of Abydos and looked like pictographic signs. The inscriptions belonged to the zero dynasty, that is, they belong to the fourth millennium BC. Later, already in the period of the early kingdom, the writing system of the Egyptians developed into a more formalized system and began to represent hieroglyphic writing.
It was in the Early Kingdom that professions such as chroniclers and scribes appeared. Work was carried out to develop agriculture. All this required a common writing system. The main event of this era was the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt, which also contributed to the spread of the general rules of writing and the composition of hieroglyphs throughout the country.
Hieratic writing
However, when the need arose to write texts on parchment and papyrus, the symbols had to be simplified. It also provided faster recording. Thus, a new writing system was formed - the hieratic. The time of her birth is the era of the Old Kingdom. In hieratic writing, signs no longer resembled objects or animals.
The ancient kingdom was famous for the flourishing of handicrafts, architecture, and construction. In order to preserve all the available cooking techniques for certain products, the Egyptians had to write it down. Therefore, new hieroglyphs and signs of hieratic writing entered the circulation.
But hieroglyphics did not cease to be used, but in parallel existed throughout the history of Ancient Egypt. Moreover, each type of writing has found its own separate functions in society. Hieratic writing was used for everyday needs, used by scribes and nobles. Hieroglyphs were carved in tombs, palaces and temples.
