Lesson 5: Hieroglyphics

Much of what we know about the Ancient Egyptians comes from the records they left behind. Many of these records were written in a very complicated language called hieroglyphics. The word hieroglyphics is made up of two Greek words: hieros, which means holy and glyphe, which means writing.

Hieroglyphics consists of individual pictures and symbols called hieroglyphs. There are more than seven hundred hieroglyphs in total. Each one stands for an object, an idea, or a sound.

Hieroglyphs are written in many different ways. For example, if an animal faces right in a set of hieroglyphs, you read it from right to left. If it faces left, you read it from left to right. Hieroglyphs can also be read from top to bottom.

Very few Egyptians knew how to write hieroglyphs. Those who did were known as scribes. Scribes went to school for many years to learn their trade. Scribes wrote letters, copied texts, and kept important records for others.

Hieroglyphs were written on papyrus or carved onto stone. They were also painted on the walls of tombs.

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Check Your Knowledge Activity 5:
Writing in Ancient Egypt

Send In Activity 5:
Complete Option A or Option B:

Option A: Papyrus Scroll with a Hieroglyph Message
Option B: Rosetta Stone Report