Hieroglyphs were in use
for over three thousand years
Hieroglyphic writing appeared
in Egypt in about 3150 BC and was used until the Graeco-Roman period (the last
known texts, found at Philae, date from the fourth century AD). The chronology
of ancient Egypt may be divided into 10 periods containing in total thirty one
dynasties:
|
Date |
Period |
Dynasty |
|
Fourth millennium B.C. |
Predynastic period |
|
|
3110-2686
B.C. |
Protodynastic Period |
First to third dynasties |
|
2686-2181 B.C. |
Old
Kingdom |
Fourth to sixth dynasties |
| 2181-2040 B.C. |
First
Intermediate |
Seventh to tenth
dynasties |
| 2134-1786 B.C. |
Middle Kingdom |
Eleventh to
twelfth
dynasties |
| 1786-1570 B.C. |
Second
Intermediate |
Thirteenth to
seventeenth |
| 1570-1087 B.C. |
New Kingdom |
Eighteenth to
twentieth |
| 1087-716 B.C. |
Third
Intermediate |
Twenty-first to
twenty-sixth |
| 716-332 B.C. |
Late Period |
Twenty-seventh to
thirty-first |
| 332-30 B.C. |
Ptolemaic Greek
Period |
|
The Sumerians are thought to have introduced the
idea of writing to the Egyptians who rather than use the abstract cuniform type
of symbols utilized pictograms illustrating the objects they depicted.
The four main stages that Egyptologists identify
in the development of the Egyptian language are Old Egyptian, Middle Egyptian,
Late Egyptian and Coptic. Old Egyptian was used from Dynasties 1-6. Middle
Egyptian was regarded as the classic period, when the written form was close to
the spoken. From the 18th Dynasty, Late Egyptian was used which differed
substantially from the spoken form. The final incarnation, Coptic is useful in
that its vowel sounds are written and can be used to suggest how the previous
forms were articulated.
|
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