Egypt (Papyrus, temples, and Pyramids)

Today in class, we relaxed a little bit while Nick took the quiz. Then we took notes on Egypt on Mr. Schick's blog. Below are some of notes from today.

• Earliest Egyptian writing formed c. 3100 B.C. and were small pictures known as hieroglyphics.
• Egyptian script was usually written in ink on papyrus, which was made from mashed Nile reeds.
• Papyrus, the precursor to paper, was stored in scrolls and these scrolls were the books of ancient Egypt.
• Egyptian astronomers created a calendar with 12 months and 365 days to make better sense of the seasonal cycles.
• Due to their excellent knowledge of human anatomy, Egyptian doctors wrote extensively on health issues and created potions and cures for a number of common ailments.
• Wooden sailboats were constructed to increase transportation ability on the Nile.
• The pyramids were massive stone tombs, originally covered in marble, but the marble was later stripped off during the Muslim conquest.
• The Temple of Amon at Karnak is the largest religious building in the world, also made out of huge blocks of stone.
• Stone sculptures and interior painting depicted humans and gods in a series of regulated poses, often in profile and without perspective, but were highly effective.