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# Egyptian Hieroglyphics

## Overview
Egyptian hieroglyphics were the formal writing system of ancient Egypt, used for ~3,500 years on monuments, temples, and tombs. Deciphered by Jean-François Champollion in 1822 using the Rosetta Stone.

## Key Facts
- Origin: ~3200 BCE (earliest examples from Abydos; bone/ivory tags dated 3400–3200 BCE) @t[~3200 BCE] <!-- reviewed:2026-02-23 -->
- Period of use: ~3200 BCE – ~400 CE @t[~3200 BCE..~400 CE] <!-- reviewed:2026-02-23 -->
- Number of signs: ~700 in classical usage (expanded to ~5,000 in Ptolemaic period) <!-- reviewed:2026-02-23 -->
- Deciphered by: Jean-François Champollion (1822) using the Rosetta Stone @t[=1822] [^1] <!-- reviewed:2026-02-23 -->

## System
- Three sign types: logograms (word-signs), phonograms (sound-signs), and determinatives (semantic classifiers) [^3] <!-- reviewed:2026-02-23 -->
- Written left-to-right, right-to-left, or top-to-bottom (direction indicated by which way figures face) <!-- reviewed:2026-02-23 -->
- Hieratic: Cursive form for everyday use (~2600 BCE onward) @t[~2600 BCE..] <!-- reviewed:2026-02-23 -->
- Demotic: Later cursive form (~650 BCE onward) @t[~650 BCE..] <!-- reviewed:2026-02-23 -->
- Coptic: Final stage of the Egyptian language, using Greek alphabet with Demotic-derived letters (~300 CE onward)

## Key Artifacts
- Rosetta Stone (196 BCE): Trilingual decree (hieroglyphic, Demotic, Greek) that enabled decipherment @t[=196 BCE] [^2] <!-- reviewed:2026-02-23 -->
- Narmer Palette (~3100 BCE): Among the earliest hieroglyphic inscriptions @t[~3100 BCE] <!-- reviewed:2026-02-23 -->
- Book of the Dead: Funerary texts with hieroglyphic illustrations, used from the New Kingdom (~1550 BCE) to ~50 BCE @t[~1550 BCE..~50 BCE] [^4] <!-- reviewed:2026-02-23 -->

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[^1]: Robinson, A. *Cracking the Egyptian Code* (Thames & Hudson, 2012)
[^2]: Parkinson, R. *The Rosetta Stone* (British Museum, 2005)
[^3]: World History Encyclopedia. "Egyptian Hieroglyphs." worldhistory.org (2025)
[^4]: Wikipedia. "Book of the Dead." en.wikipedia.org (accessed 2026)