The Ancient Egyptians were one of the first civilizations to form in the ancient world .
Their inventions and technology had an impact on many civilizations to come their technology included the ability to build large construction projects such as pyramids and palaces , simple machines such as ramps and levers , and a complex system of government and religion.
Writing
One of the most important inventions of the Ancient Egyptians was writing .
They wrote in hieroglyphics .
Writing allowed the Egyptians to Keep accurate records and maintain control of their large empire .
Papyrus Sheets
The Egyptians learned how to make durable sheets of the papyrus plant .
It was used for important documents and religious texts .
The Egyptians kept the process to make the sheets a secret so they could sell the sheets to other civilizations such as Ancient Greece .
Medicine
The Ancient Egyptians had a wide variety of medicines and cures .
Some of their medicines were quite strange .
For example , they used honey and human brains to cure eye infections .
They also used a whole cooked mouse to help cure coughs .
Many of their medicines were accompanied by spells to ward off the evil spirits making the person sick .
Shipbuilding
With the Nile River playing a major role in the lives of the Egyptians , building ships was a big part of their technology .
They originally built small boats from papyrus reeds , but later began to build large ships from cedar wood imported from Lebanon .
Mathematics
The Egyptians needed a good understanding of mathematics and geometry to build the pyramids and other large buildings . They also used math and numbers to keep track of business transactions .
For numbers they used a decimal system.
They didn’t have numerals for 2 - 9 or zero .
They just had numbers for factors of 10 such as 1 , 10 , 100 , etc .
Makeup
All Egyptians wore makeup , even the men .
They made a dark eye makeup called Kohl from soot and other minerals .
The makeup was a fashion statement ,but it also had the side effect of protecting their skin from the hot desert sun .
Toothpaste
Because their bread had so much grit and sand in it , the Egyptians had a lot of problems with their teeth . They invented the toothbrush and toothpaste in an effort to take care of their teeth .
They used a wide variety of ingredients to make their toothpaste including ashes , eggshells , and even ground up ox hooves .
Fun Facts about the inventions of Ancient Egypt
- The Ancient Egyptians didn’t start using the wheel until it was introduced by foreign invaders using the chariot .
- The word for paper comes from the Greek word for the papyrus plant .
- The Egyptian number for one million was a picture of a god with his arms raised in the air .
-They invented a game similar to bowling where the bowler tried to roll a ball into a hole.
-They invented large door locks which used keys . Some of the Keys were up to 2 feet long .
Boats and Transportation
The Egyptians didn’t build roads to travel around their empire. They didn’t need to .
Nature had already built them a superhighway right through the middle of their empire called the Nile River.
Most of the major cities in Ancient Egypt were located along the banks of the Nile River.
As a result , the Egyptians used the Nile for transportation and shipping from very early on .
They became experts at building boats and navigation the river.
Early Boats :
Early Egyptians learned to make small boats out of the papyrus plant .
They were easy to construct and worked well for fishing and short trips .
Most of the papyrus boats were small and were steered with oars and poles .
The typical boat was long and thin and the ends came to a point that stuck out of the water .
Wooden Boats
Eventually the Egyptians began to make boats from wood .
They used acacia wood from Egypt and imported cedar wood from
Lebanon .
They also began to use a giant sail in the middle of the boat so they could catch the wind when heading upstream .
The Egyptians built their wooden boats without nails .
Boats were often made from a number of short planks that were hooked together and tied tight with ropes .
Steering was accomplished by using a large rudder oar at the back of the ships .
Cargo Ships
The Egyptians learned how to build large and sturdy cargo ships .
They sailed these up and down the Nile and into the Mediterranean Sea to trade with other countries .
These ships could hold lots of cargo .
Some ships were used to carry huge stones weighing as much as 500 tons from the rock quarry to where the pyramids were being constructed .
Funeral Boats
The Egyptians believed that a boat was needed in the afterlife in order to journey to the heavens.
Sometimes a small model of a boat was buried with a person .
Often times a full size boat was included in the tombs of Pharaohs and other wealthy Egyptians .
There were 35 boats of some type in the pharaoh Tutankhamun’s tomb .
Rowing or sailing
It turns out that the Nile had another great advantage for boating .
When boats were traveling north , they would be going with the current .
When the ships were traveling south , they generally had the wind blowing in their direction and would use a sail .
The ships often had oars to gain even more speed when traveling in either direction .
How do we know about the boats of Ancient Egypt ?
Very few boats from Ancient Egypt have survived for archeologists to study .
However, because of the religious importance of boats , there are many surviving models and pictures of boats . These models and pictures tell archaeologists a lot about how the boats were constructed and how they were used .
Fun Facts about Egyptian Boats
- The first papyrus boats are estimated to have been made around 4000 B.C .
- The Egyptians developed many types of boats . Some were specialized for fishing and traveling , while others were designed for carrying cargo or going to war .
- Temples and Palaces were often connected to the Nile River using manmade canals .
- The pharaoh used a magnificent boat covered with gold and fancy carvings .
- The Egyptian sun god was said to travel across the sky on a boat during the day and across the Underworld on a boat at night .
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