Improve Egyptian Hieroglyphics: fix temporal tags, remove duplicate title, enrich system/artifacts

writing-systems/egyptian-hieroglyphics.md

@@ -1,77 +1,29 @@
 <!-- factbase:68261c -->
 # Egyptian Hieroglyphics
 
-# 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) @t[~3200 BCE]
-- Period of use: ~3200 BCE – ~400 CE @t[3200 BCE..400]
-- Number of signs: ~700 in classical usage (expanded to ~5,000 in Ptolemaic period)
-- Deciphered by: Jean-François Champollion (1822) using the Rosetta Stone [^1]
+- 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
-- Combination of logographic, syllabic, and alphabetic elements
-- Written left-to-right, right-to-left, or top-to-bottom (direction indicated by which way figures face)
-- Hieratic: Cursive form for everyday use (~2600 BCE onward) @t[~2600 BCE]
-- Demotic: Later cursive form (~650 BCE onward) @t[~650 BCE]
+- 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]
-- Narmer Palette (~3100 BCE): Among the earliest hieroglyphic inscriptions @t[~3100 BCE]
-- Book of the Dead: Funerary texts with hieroglyphic illustrations
+- 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 -->
 
 ---
 [^1]: Robinson, A. *Cracking the Egyptian Code* (Thames & Hudson, 2012)
 [^2]: Parkinson, R. *The Rosetta Stone* (British Museum, 2005)
----
-
-## Review Queue
-
-<!-- factbase:review -->
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 10: "Origin: ~3200 BCE (earliest examples from Abydos)" - when was this true?
-> 3200 BCE event. Attested by Robinson (2012) [^1]; Parkinson (2005) [^2]. BCE temporal tags not yet supported by factbase.
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 11: "Period of use: ~3200 BCE – ~400 CE" - when was this true?
-> 3200 BCE event. Attested by Robinson (2012) [^1]; Parkinson (2005) [^2]. BCE temporal tags not yet supported by factbase.
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 12: "Number of signs: ~700 in classical usage (expanded to ~5,000 in Ptolemaic per..." - when was this true?
-> Historical event. Attested by Robinson (2012) [^1]; Parkinson (2005) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 13: "Deciphered by: Jean-François Champollion (1822) using the Rosetta Stone [^1]" - when was this true?
-> Historical event. Attested by Robinson (2012) [^1]; Parkinson (2005) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 16: "Combination of logographic, syllabic, and alphabetic elements" - when was this true?
-> Historical event. Attested by Robinson (2012) [^1]; Parkinson (2005) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 17: "Written left-to-right, right-to-left, or top-to-bottom (direction indicated b..." - when was this true?
-> Historical event. Attested by Robinson (2012) [^1]; Parkinson (2005) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 18: "Hieratic: Cursive form for everyday use (~2600 BCE onward)" - when was this true?
-> 2600 BCE event. Attested by Robinson (2012) [^1]; Parkinson (2005) [^2]. BCE temporal tags not yet supported by factbase.
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 19: "Demotic: Later cursive form (~650 BCE onward)" - when was this true?
-> 650 BCE event. Attested by Robinson (2012) [^1]; Parkinson (2005) [^2]. BCE temporal tags not yet supported by factbase.
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 22: "Rosetta Stone (196 BCE): Trilingual decree (hieroglyphic, Demotic, Greek) tha..." - when was this true?
-> 196 BCE event. Attested by Robinson (2012) [^1]; Parkinson (2005) [^2]. BCE temporal tags not yet supported by factbase.
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 23: "Narmer Palette (~3100 BCE): Among the earliest hieroglyphic inscriptions" - when was this true?
-> 3100 BCE event. Attested by Robinson (2012) [^1]; Parkinson (2005) [^2]. BCE temporal tags not yet supported by factbase.
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 24: "Book of the Dead: Funerary texts with hieroglyphic illustrations" - when was this true?
-> Historical event. Attested by Robinson (2012) [^1]; Parkinson (2005) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 10: "Origin: ~3200 BCE (earliest examples from Abydos)" - what is the source?
-> Robinson (2012) [^1], Parkinson (2005) [^2]
-- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 11: "Period of use: ~3200 BCE – ~400 CE" - what is the source?
-> Robinson (2012) [^1], Parkinson (2005) [^2]
-- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 12: "Number of signs: ~700 in classical usage (expanded to ~5,000 in Ptolemaic per..." - what is the source?
-> Robinson (2012) [^1], Parkinson (2005) [^2]
-- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 16: "Combination of logographic, syllabic, and alphabetic elements" - what is the source?
-> Robinson (2012) [^1], Parkinson (2005) [^2]
-- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 17: "Written left-to-right, right-to-left, or top-to-bottom (direction indicated b..." - what is the source?
-> Robinson (2012) [^1], Parkinson (2005) [^2]
-- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 18: "Hieratic: Cursive form for everyday use (~2600 BCE onward)" - what is the source?
-> Robinson (2012) [^1], Parkinson (2005) [^2]
-- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 19: "Demotic: Later cursive form (~650 BCE onward)" - what is the source?
-> Robinson (2012) [^1], Parkinson (2005) [^2]
-- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 23: "Narmer Palette (~3100 BCE): Among the earliest hieroglyphic inscriptions" - what is the source?
-> Robinson (2012) [^1], Parkinson (2005) [^2]
-- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 24: "Book of the Dead: Funerary texts with hieroglyphic illustrations" - what is the source?
-> Robinson (2012) [^1], Parkinson (2005) [^2]
-- [x] `@q[stale]` Line 13: "Deciphered by: Jean-François Champollion (1822) using the Rosetta Stone [^1]" - Robinson source from 2012 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
-> Scholarship remains current. Robinson's work on hieroglyphic decipherment is still authoritative.
-- [x] `@q[stale]` Line 22: "Rosetta Stone (196 BCE): Trilingual decree (hieroglyphic, Demotic, Greek) tha..." - Parkinson source from 2005 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
-> Scholarship remains current. Parkinson's work on Egyptian texts is still foundational.
+[^3]: World History Encyclopedia. "Egyptian Hieroglyphs." worldhistory.org (2025)
+[^4]: Wikipedia. "Book of the Dead." en.wikipedia.org (accessed 2026)