Here's a breakdown of how they wrote:
1. The Script:
* Hieroglyphics: These were the most common form, carved or painted onto stone monuments, papyrus, wood, and pottery.
* Hieratic: A cursive script used for everyday writing, faster and less formal than hieroglyphics.
* Demotic: A simplified form of hieratic, developed around the 7th century BCE, becoming the everyday script for writing.
2. The Writing System:
* Logographic: Some hieroglyphs represented whole words.
* Syllabic: Some hieroglyphs represented syllables, like a combination of sounds.
* Alphabetic: Some hieroglyphs represented single consonants.
3. The Direction of Writing:
* Ancient Egyptian writing could be written in several directions:
* Right to left: This was the most common direction.
* Left to right: This was sometimes used, especially for ceremonial purposes.
* Top to bottom: This was used in columns, with each column being read from right to left.
4. The Tools:
* Papyrus: Made from a type of reed, papyrus was used for writing in a similar way to paper.
* Stone: For official inscriptions, hieroglyphs were often carved into stone monuments, temples, and obelisks.
* Ink: Made from various materials, such as charcoal, soot, or pigments.
* Reeds and brushes: These were used as writing implements to apply ink onto the writing surfaces.
5. Deciphering Hieroglyphics:
* The Rosetta Stone, discovered in 1799, helped scholars decipher hieroglyphs. It contained the same inscription in three languages: Greek, Demotic, and Hieroglyphics.
* By comparing the text in Greek, which scholars could understand, with the hieroglyphs, they gradually decoded the writing system.
In conclusion, the ancient Egyptians developed a complex and fascinating writing system that allowed them to record their history, culture, and beliefs. Hieroglyphics, along with hieratic and demotic scripts, provide a rich window into the lives and thoughts of the ancient Egyptians.