Writing was a crucial element of ancient Egyptian civilization. Egyptian writing has a rich and diverse history and has helped their society thrive for thousands of years. We can still use their hieroglyphics to learn about the ancient Egyptians today. The word "hieroglyph" comes from the Greek words "Hiero", meaning holy, and "glyph", meaning writing (combined is "holy writing"). While a definitive answer is not known, the hieroglyphs may have come from prehistoric cave drawings in the Nile River area. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayThe earliest known hieroglyphics date back to approximately 3000-3200 BC. While there were initially over 1,000 unique hieroglyphs, this number has been reduced to around 750 over the years. time. Hieroglyphics are mostly made up of worldly objects such as snakes and owls. Egyptian hieroglyphs were normally written on the walls of temples and tombs, although they can also be found on memorials, gravestones, statues and coffins. Occasionally, hieroglyphs were written on papyrus, a paper-like substance made from papyrus cane. Only a limited number of people could write; officials, priests, craftsmen, and scribes (people who specialized in recording information) could use hieroglyphics. These people used tools such as chisels and hammers on stone, along with brushes and paints for smooth surfaces such as wood and papyrus. Hieroglyphics were used for nearly 3,000 years, and the last hieroglyphic texts were written between 400 and 450 AD. Greek, Roman, and Christian beliefs dominated the region at the time, and the ancient Egyptian writing system was replaced. While Egyptian hieroglyphs have a unique history, it is important to note the purpose of this writing, along with the other types of writing that the ancient Egyptians benefited from. As stated previously, hieroglyphics are commonly found on tombs and coffins. After someone died, their name was usually written on their grave/coffin. The Egyptians believed that this act would provide the deceased person with identity and protection after death. If the name were removed, as the successors of the pharaohs Tutankhamun and Hatshepsut did, the Egyptians believed that the person would have no reason to live in the afterlife. Furthermore, hieroglyphs could be written on monuments, statues and in temples. This typically served to record past events and stories, such as battles and pharaohs, or to record important information for future generations. Hieroglyphics could be used to label and record goods, however this is more common with the other ancient Egyptian writing systems, the hieratic and demotic script. Hieratic script was developed as a simpler writing system than hieroglyphics for religious documents. The hieratic script contains traces of hieroglyphics (most of the letters form its simplified and outlined form), however each character appears more italic. The hieratic script was written on papyrus and was written from right to left (English is written from left to right). The demotic script was developed around 660 BC and was used on general documents, more commonly used than both hieratic and hieroglyphics. People could use it to record goods, trade and economic activities. Demotic means “popular writing” in Greek. Also written on papyrus, this script derives mainly from hieratic writing. There are almost no traces of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs in demotic writing. The last document in Demotic writing that we know of at this point was written on December 2, 425 AD Around 300 BC, Greeks and Romans.