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Mythology and Religion The Creation Story
GEOS 2020 Egypt Civilization and Geology
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• MYTHOLOGY
• Takes place during Primordial Time
• (The Time before Time Began)
• Murky story with no historical basis
• The storys overall message is none-the-less
• obvious, and teaches a fundamental truth

• RELIGION
• Takes place during recorded, relative time
• (Calendar Time)
• Stories are based on real, historical events
• Understanding requires an element of Belief

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ANCIENT EGYPT Primordial Mythology The Ogdoad
(the eight gods in the primordial waters) Hok
and Hoket formlessness Kuk and
Kuket darkness Amun and Amunet hiddenness Nun
and Nunet primordial waters Represent
CHAOS Often depicted as heads of frogs
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Mythology and Religion The Creation Story
GEOS 2020 Egypt Civilization and Geology
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HIEROGLYPHS
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Old Kingdom Scribe Tomb of Kaemrehu Saqqara
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The Rosetta Stone Discovered July 25,
1798 French Fort Julien just outside the
northern delta town of Rashid French officer
of the Engineers Francois-Xavier Bouchard
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The Rosetta Stone Sent to The Institute
National in Cairo, and stored in the house of
General Menou The French eventually capitulated
to the British in 1801, to forces led by Sir
Ralph Abercromby All antiquities (including the
Rosetta Stone) were ceded to the British
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The Rosetta Stone on Display at the British
Museum The Museum took charge of the Rosetta
Stone in June 1802, after its formal presentation
by King George III. It has remained there on
display ever since, except for a visit to Paris
to mark the 150th anniversary of decipherment.
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The Rosetta Stone

• Hieroglyphs
• Most Severely Damaged Portion
• Missing Half
• of its 29 Lines

• Demotic
• Nearly Complete
• Rational Script
• First to be Deciphered

• Greek
• Easily Readable
• Provided Key to Decipherment

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Deciphering the Rosetta Stone

• Thomas Young (1773 1829)
• One of the great geniuses of his age
• Made fundamental discoveries in the
  fields of medicine, physics and language
• First to understand hieroglyphs as both
  Ideograms and Phonograms

• Jean-Francois Champollion (1790-1832)
• Principle Decipherer of hieroglyphics
• Realized that the Coptic language was ancient
  Egyptian written in the Greek alphabet
• Holder of worlds first university Chair of
  Egyptology

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Book of the Dead Anonymous Copy Third
Intermediate Period

• Guidebook to the afterlife is found in all
  three ancient Egyptian scripts - Hieroglyphics,
  Hieratic, Demotic
• Young and Champollion made extensive use of
  this to verify hieroglyphic and cursive
  equivalents

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Main Types of Hieroglyphs

• 1.) Phonograms
• Convey sounds of syllables
• son sa
• denoted by a duck
• 2.) Ideograms
• portray actual object or action
• Sun on Horizon
• appearance
• 3.) Determinatives
• Indicate, confirm or modify the meaning of the
  word to which they are attached
• Three bars plural
• Symbols may be either or all
• of the above

• Basket symbol neb Phonogram for Lord, or
  Ideogram for basket
• Humans and Animals always face the beginning of
  the text

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IGNEOUS ROCK CLASSIFICATION BASALT
Determinative
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HIEROGLYPHICS Phonograms English Alphabet -
Hieroglyphic Equivalents
English Hieroglyphics Transliteration
English Hieroglyphics Transliteration
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KOM OMBO Temple of Harouris and Sobek Medical
Instruments Shown as Hieroglyphic Ideograms
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HIEROGLYPHIC SCRIPT Employed a Decimal Style
Number System
The Signs Were Used in Descending Order - Thus
1,732,527 was written
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HIEROGLYPHS DATES
Based Upon the Beginning of a Pharaohs Reign
Except during the Old Kingdom Referred to cattle
census every-other year (10 20th year)
Royal Year rnpt
3 SEASONS Each 4 months of 30 Days 360 Days
plus 5 Special Festival Days
Inundation
Winter
Summer
No Leap Year for the 365.25 Solar
Days Season-names out of sync with actual
agricultural cycle Only back in sync every 1,460
years
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• CARTOUCHE
• Derived from Circular Tied Rope
• (The Shen)
• Symbolizes All That Is Encircled by the Sun
• Usually Found Grasped in the Talons of Bird-Gods
• Signifies Pharaohs Universal Dominion
• Most Commonly Encloses Royal Names
• Dates from early Old Kingdom to later Roman
  Period
• Middle Kingdom also used for Royal Family
  Members (Queen)
• Greco-Roman Period Occassionaly used for Gods

Prenomen for Senwosret I (Kheperkare)
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• PHARAOH
• Modern word derived from the Bible
• Ultimately based upon the
• Egyptian word per-aa, meaning
• the Great House

It refers to the Palace, and is used to mean the
Ruler of Government (i.e. The White House, The
Kremlin, Buckingham Palace, No 10 Downing St.)
First Appears as a Royal Title during the late
New Kingdom, and on its own, within a cartouche
during Roman times
Horus Patron God of the Monarchy
This Colossal statute of Horus lies within his
principle temple at Edfu
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HIEROGLYPHS