Egyptian Technology

CHW3M

Agriculture

Basically the same system as Mesopotamia Ox-drawn plough Irrigation canals

Later innovations introduced in the Roman period: Ox-drawn waterwheel Wheel-drawn threshing machine

Industry

Made a lot of stuff our of plant material like flax, papyrus, wood, etc. Rope, baskets, mats, writing material, clothing,

furniture Mined and worked metals, gems, and stone

(granite, limestone, sandstone)

Military

Not a huge priority until the Middle Kingdom Standing army Chariots

Military

The influence of the Hyksos kings Foreign kings who controlled Egypt during the

“intermediate time” between the Middle Kingdom and the New Kingdom (so around 1600 BCE)

Horse-drawn chariots, copper arrowheads, cast daggers, scimitar, compound bow

Military

By the late New Kingdom Leather body armour with metal scales Quilted leather/linen armour for horses and

charioteers Iron weapons don’t really take hold until the

Roman Period

Writing

Hieroglyphics developed about 3000 BCE May have been based on Mesopotamia Each pictogram represents a word/idea Evolved into a phonetic form of writing (symbols represent

sounds) Kind of painstaking to write, so over time new forms

of writing evolve Hieratic and Demotic are cursive scripts that were quick

and easy to write, widely used in record keeping late in Egypt’s history

Writing

The Romans basically outlawed the reading and writing of hieroglyphics

Within a short amount of time, hieroglyphics carved into temples or on artifacts were indecipherable

Key discovery: Rosetta Stone in 1799 Record from Greek period with same info give in

hieroglyphics, demotic, and Greek

Construction technology

Limited (no wheels or pulleys) but the accomplished incredible feats of architecture Possibility that they created artificial stone using

natron, aluminum, and silicon?

Medicine

The mummification process provides for a good opportunity to learn about anatomy

Egyptian doctors were the first specialists, like eye doctors or stomach doctors

Performed surgeries, set broken bones, treated illnesses like kidney stones, smallpox

Medicine

But remember the primacy of religion in Egypt Prayers/incantations are the preferred method of treating

illness and injury Also weird ideas, like using a leaf shaped like a

particular body part as the cure Used animal blood, fat, organs and bones as

treatments Common treatment for childhood illnesses: swallow

a whole skinned mouse

Time

Good calendar system, not based on moon but on annual flooding of the Nile

365 days in a year, 12 months each of 30 days + 5 days tacked on at the end

24 hours in a day, no minutes or seconds though

Math

Base 10 system (like ours) with 7 different symbols, one for each tenfold increase

Not the most efficient system for writing big numbers EX:

Good at geometry (obviously) but otherwise pretty basic math (Babylonians were better)

Activity

Using the handout and the numerical symbols on page 95, write your name and the date