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Hieroglyphics Facts & Worksheets

Hieroglyphic writing, a system that employs characters in the form of pictures. Those individual signs, called hieroglyphs, may be read either as pictures, as symbols for pictures, or as symbols for sounds.

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Hieroglyphic writing, a system that employs characters in the form of pictures. Those individual signs, called hieroglyphs, may be read either as pictures, as symbols for pictures, or as symbols for sounds.

See the fact file below for more information on the Hieroglyphics or alternatively, you can download our 24-page Hieroglyphics worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

ANCIENT EGYPT

  • Villages began to appear in Egypt about 7,000 years ago and the civilization’s earliest written inscriptions were dated back about 5,200 years ago, discussing the early Egypt rulers.
  • Egypt soon became an organized country with 30 dynasties beginning around 5,000 years ago; the country was first ruled by pharaoh Menes (1-2 dynasties).
  • Dynasties 3-6 of the “Old Kingdom” date from 2650–2150 BCE. During this time pyramid-building techniques were developed and the pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx were built.
  • Dynasties 7-11, from 2150–2030 BCE, suffered great setbacks as rulings were controlled by regional leaders, drought became severe and climate change affected the country.
  • The Middle Kingdom (dynasties 12-13) under the rule of Mentuhotep II reunited Egypt into a single country.
  • Dynasties 14-17 again experienced central government collapse but the next three dynasties (1550–1070 BCE) somehow restored Egypt’s former glory. The most famous archaeological site from this time period is the Valley of the Kings, the burial site of Egyptian rulers from this period.
  • Dynasties 21-24 (1070–713 BCE) saw another collapse as the “Sea Peoples” began to invade and Egypt’s trade routes were losing.
  • Dynasties 25-31 (712–332 BCE) or the “late period” paved the way for the control of foreign powers such as the Persians and Assyrians.
  • In 332 BCE Alexander the Great incorporated the country into the Macedonian Empire. Then came the Roman Empire.
  • Throughout Egypt’s ancient history, its people revered a vast number of gods and goddesses.
  • Over time, foreign mythology influenced Egyptian religion. By 1st Century CE, Christianity and Islam were introduced.

THE HIEROGLYPHICS

  • The Egyptian hieroglyphic script was composed of three basic types of signs:
    • Logograms – representing words;
    • Phonograms – representing sounds;
    • Determinatives – placed at the end of the word to help clarify its meaning.
  • The first dynasty used papyrus, the chief portable writing medium in Egypt found in the Tomb of Hemaka, an official of King Den.
  • Other inscribed surfaces used were leather, ceramic, metal, and stone; flakes and stelae were also known from early royal tombs.
  • The oldest known examples of Egyptian literature, the “Pyramid Texts”, engraved on pyramid walls, and the “Coffin Texts”, inscribed on coffins, are sets of magical spells.
  • Through the years, Egyptian writing also evolved into three hieroglyphic scripts:
    • Hieroglyphic – the oldest version of the script, characterized by its pictorial appearance. This is found in monument inscriptions and funerary contexts.
    • Hieratic – written from right to left, mostly on pottery and papyrus, and used mainly for religious purposes, but also for public, commercial, and private documents.
    • Demotic – also called sekh shat, or “writing for documents”, has no pictorial trace.
  • The decline of Egyptian hieroglyphics began during the Ptolemaic and Roman periods, when Greek and Roman culture became influential.
  • The 32-letter Coptic alphabet reflects the expansion of Christianity in Egypt.

DECIPHERING THE LANGUAGE

  • Hieroglyphs were arranged in both columns and rows, and the reading direction depended on how they were rendered.
  • So how do we start reading hieroglyphics? Find a figure with a head and start reading toward the front of its head.
  • To understand further, transliteration was developed to render hieroglyphics into texts. It relates the sounds of hieroglyphs with alphabetical symbols.
  • The hieroglyphs in the alphabet are called “uniliterals”, represented by a single symbol. There are also biliterals and triliterals, represented by two and three symbols, respectively.
  • The exact pronunciation of the words in ancient Egyptian language is not certain, but we have a general idea from Coptic Egyptian language.

Hieroglyphics Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the Hieroglyphics across 24 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Hieroglyphics worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the hieroglyphic writing, a system that employs characters in the form of pictures. Those individual signs, called hieroglyphs, may be read either as pictures, as symbols for pictures, or as symbols for sounds.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Hieroglyphics Facts
  • Ancient Egypt
  • Ancient Symbols
  • Modern Egypt
  • Writing Like an Ancient
  • Egyptian Proverbs
  • Hieroglyphic Numbers
  • Hieroglyphic Deities
  • Ancient World Writings
  • Uniquely Yours
  • Hiero-chamber

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Link will appear as Hieroglyphics Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, November 2, 2020

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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