benjamin daniels, early writing systems, berkeley splash, … · lower egypt “of ” ṯ (t)...

Benjamin Daniels, Early Writing Systems, Berkeley Splash, 2018

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I. Ancient Egyptian

ḏd mdw in wsir ḥm.t nsw.t wr.t (nfr.t-iry mr.t n Mw.t)| m3‘.t ḫrw

Words spoken by the Osiris, Great Wife of the King, Nefertari, beloved of (the goddess) Mut,

True of Voice (deceased).

Vocabulary:

ḏd: spoken, mdw: words, in: by, wsir: Osiris, ḥm.t: wife, nsw.t: king, wr.t: great, nfr.t-iry:

Nefertari, mr.t n: Beloved of, Mw.t: Mut (Goddess), m3‘.t: true, ḫrw: voice.

Painting of Nefertari, with

her titles, from her tomb,

QV66. New Kingdom, 19th

Dynasty (ca. 1255 BCE)


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rḫ(.t) nsw.t nfr.t

The acquaintance of the King, Nofret

Remember honorific transposition god’s names (and here the king’s name) are often written first,

even though they are pronounced last.

rḫ(.t): a (female) acquaintance (She was the wife of the king’s brother)

nsw.t: king

nfr.t: Nofret (Neferet)

Statue of Nofret, with her

titles, Old Kingdom,

4th Dynasty (ca. 2500 BCE)


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I. Uniliteral Signs (Sign, Transliteration (Manuel de Codage), Notes)

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(A)

“Aleph”

Vulture

ḥ

(H)

“dotted h”

twisted lamp wick

i

(i)

“yod”

reed leaf

ḫ

(x)

“third h” unknown,

suggested that it

might be a placenta

or

y 2 reed leafs,

Diagonal strokes

ẖ

(X)

“fourth h”

The udder of an

animal

Ꜥ

(a)

“ayin”

arm and hand

or

s 1) folded cloth

2) a door bolt

(originally a separate

“z” sound)

or

w “waw”

1) Quail chick,

2) coil

š

(S)

“shin”

a pool of water,

sounds like “sh”

b lower leg and foot

ḳ

(q)

“qoph”

a hill

p

stool

k a wicker basket

f horned viper

g a pottery stand with

a pot on it

or

m 1) owl

2) ?

t “t-loaf”

a loaf of bread

“feminine ending”

or

n

1) water

2) Red Crown of

Lower Egypt

“of”

ṯ

(T)

“second t”

a rope hobble for

animals, sounds like

“tj” or “tch”

r mouth

d a hand

h

A reed shelter or

courtyard seen from

above

ḏ

(D)

“second d”

a cobra,

sounds like “dj”


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II. Biliteral Signs Used to Write Letters in Greek Names (e.g. Ptolemy, Cleopatra)

Sign Biliteral Sound Sound for Greek

Words

Note

w3 “O” Lasso

rw “L” Recumbent lion

Hieroglyphs (ca. 3200 BCE – 394 CE)

Cursive Hieroglyphs

Hieratic (ca. 3200 BCE – 3rd century CE)

Demotic (ca. 500 BCE – 425 CE)

Coptic (c. 200 BC to 18th century AD, still used today in Coptic churches in Egypt and abroad)

………………………………….

Direction

Taken from Sir Alan Gardiner, Egyptian Grammar, 3rd Edition. (Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press, 1957), 25.

Free Materials on the Web:

Henry George Fischer. Ancient Egyptian Calligraphy: A Beginner's Guide to Writing

Hieroglyphs. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1999

http://www.gizapyramids.org/pdf_library/fischer_eg_calligraphy.pdf

http://www.gizapyramids.org/pdf_library/fischer_eg_calligraphy.pdf


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III. Hieratic Uniliterals


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Taken from William Clay Poe, The Writing of a Skillful Scribe (Santa Rosa, 2010), 13-14.


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IV. Determinitives, Biliterals, Triliterals, and some useful words

Det. for a person

nfr good, beautiful

nṯr

a god; ntr.w: gods

Det. for actions

with the mouth,

eating, speaking

t3 land; t3.wy: the

two lands

R‘ The sun, day, the

sun god Re (Ra)

Det. for woman

ḫpr to become

stp “chosen”

Det. for a king.

(Lower Egypt)

st seat, place

det. for sky, heavens

Det. for a king.

(Upper Egypt) pr house; det. for

buildings

dpt a boat; det. for boats

and

Det. for a

god

ḥtp offering

‘nḫ

life (sandal strap)

Cobra, a

determinative for

goddesses

m3‘.t Truth, the goddess

Maat (An ostrich

feather)

mn Board game with

pieces

Det. for dog

ms (fox tails)

“give birth”

di conical loaf of

bread, “given”

Det. for a cat

ḫ‘ suns rays over

a hill “appear”

ḥ3t front, in front of

nb (basket) “lord”

wsr

Jackal’s head

and neck,

“strong”

k3 upraised arms,

ka-soul

also

mr (plow) loved,

beloved,

mr n: beloved of

s3 (z3) goose, son,

s3.t: daughter

s3 r‘: Son of

Re

mi milk jug with a

handle, “like”

wn

rabbit, to be or

Plural marker “.w”

Plurals (and false plurals)

can also be made by

repeating the sing 3 times

nṯr.w

gods

nrfw

perfection


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nsw.t bi.ty The King of Upper

and Lower Egypt

‘nḫ(.w)-wḏ3(.w)-snb(.w) LPH: Life, Prosperity, and health

V. Signs, Determinatives, and Egyptian Names for Various Deities

R‘

Det. for the

sun god R‘e

(Ra), Ra-

Horakhty,

Amen-Ra imn

Det. For the

god

Amen/Amun mwt

Sign and

Det. for

the

goddess

Mut

m3‘.t

Det. for

the

goddess

Maat wsir

Det. for the

god Osiris

ptḥ

Sign and

Det. for

the god

Ptah

3s.t

Det. for

the

goddess

Isis nb.t-ḥy.t

Det. for

the

goddess

Nephthys sḫm.t

Det. for

the

goddess

Sekhmet

and

ḏḥwty

Sign and

Det. for

the god

Thoth

(Djehuty)

and

ḥw.t-ḥr

Det.

for

Hathor and

stẖ

Sign and

Det. for

the God

Seth

ẖnmw

Det. for

the god

Khnum and

ḥr

Sign and

Det. for

the god

Horus

and

inpw

Sign and

Det. for

the god

Anubis

sbk

Det. for

the god

Sobek N.t

Det. for

the

goddess

Neith and

b3st.t

Det. for

the

goddess

Bast


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VI. Practice with Hieroglyphs and phonetic compliments

1. Sky p.t

2. Boat dp.t

3. Son s3

4. Daughter s3.t

5. Cat miw

6. Dog ṯsm (ṯzm)

7. Beautiful nfr

8. Ptah ptḥ (Ptḥ)

9. Ra r‘ (R‘)

10. Anubis

inpw (Inpw)

11. Set (Seth) stẖ

12. Sobek sbk

13. Amen (Amun) imn (Imn)

14. Mother mw.t

15. God nṯr

16. Goddess nṯr.t

17. Snake (female)

ḥf3(w).t

18. Forever ḏ.t

19. Thoth (Djehuty) ḏḥwty

20. Yesterday sf


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VII. The Names of Kings

Remember honorific transposition god’s names are often written first, even though they are

pronounced last. Ra (Re) is commonly written first, but pronounced last.

1. Pharaohs from the Abydos King List, Temple of Seti I (19th Dynasty)

1.

mni

Menes

9.

ḫ(w)fw

Khufu (Cheops)

Builder of the

Great Pyramid of

Giza

2.

tti

Teti

10.

ḫ‘=f-R‘

Khafre (Chefren)

Builder of the

second pyramid at

Giza

3.

it3

Ita

11.

mn-k3.w-R‘

Menkaure

(Mykerinos)

builder of the

small third

pyramid at Giza

4.

qbḥ

Qebh

12.

nfr-f-R‘

Neferefre

5.

sndi

Sendi

13.

mn-k3.w-ḥr

Menkauhor

6.

sḏs (zḏs)

Sedjes

14.

wnis

Unis (Wenis)

7.

nfr-k3-R‘

Neferkare

15.

mry-R‘

Meryre

8.

snfrw

Seneferu

(Snofru) 16.

mn-ḫpr-R‘

Menkheperre


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2. Pyramidion of Amenemhat III (12th Dynasty)

Right: nsw.t bi.ty (n(y)-M3‘.t-R‘)| di ‘nḫ ḏ.t

The King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Nimaatre (Sorry some signs here are not in your list),

given life, forever

s3 R‘ (imn-m-ḥ3t)| di ‘nḫ ḏ.t

The Son of Ra, Amenemhat (III), given life, forever

3. Names of Pharaohs from the Turin Canon (19th Dynasty)

a.

nsw.t bi.ty (mni)| ‘nḫ(.w)-wḏ3(.w)-snb(.w), ir n …

The King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Menes, LPH (Life, Prosperity, and health), doer of…

b.

nsw.t bi.ty (wnis) rnp.t ḥsb.t 30…

The King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Unis, Reigned thirty years…


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4. Name of a female pharaoh of the 12th dynasty from the Karnak King List (18th Dynasty)

(Sbk-nfrw-R‘)| [The (Female) King of Upper and Lower Egypt,] Sobekneferu (Sobekneferure)

5. Her name from the Turin Canon (19th Dynasty)

nsw.t bi.ty (Sbk-nfr.w-R‘)|rnp.t ḥsb.t 3,10,24

The (Female) King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Sobekneferu (Sobekneferure), reigned 3 years,

10 [months], 23 [days].

6. Two 18th Dynasty Pharaohs

[s3 R‘] (ḏḥwty-ms)|

[The Son of Ra,] Tuthmosis (Thothmes) (Tuthmosis IV)

[nsw.t bi.ty] (mn-ḫpr.w-R‘)|

[The King of Upper and Lower Egypt,] Menkheperure


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nfr nṯr (Honorific transposition) nb t3.wy ir.t h.t [nsw.t bi.ty] (nb-M3 .t-R‘)|

s3 R‘ (Imn-ḥtp ḥq3 w3st)| di ‘nḫ

The good god, lord of the two lands, doer of things, the king of upper and lower Egypt,

Nebmaatre, the Son of Ra, Amenhotep (III), ruler of Thebes, given life.

7. Two Reliefs with Kings Names from the 19th Dynasty

s3 R‘ (R‘-ms-s mr(y) n Imn)|

The Son of Ra Ramesses, Beloved of (the god) Amen

nsw.t bi.ty (wsr-m3‘.t-R‘ stp-n-R‘)|

The King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Usermaatre Setepenre


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[nsw.t bi.ty] (mn-M3‘.t-R‘)|

[The King of Upper and Lower Egypt,] Menmaatre

[s3 R‘] (Stẖy mr(y) n Pt ḥ)|

[The Son of Ra,] Seti beloved of Ptah

benjamin daniels, early writing systems, berkeley splash, … · lower egypt “of ” ṯ (t)...

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