Title: Decoding Egyptian hieroglyphs : how to read the secret language of the pharaohs /
Authors: McDermott, Bridget
Publisher: Chronicle Books,
Year: 2001
Subjects: Egyptian language Writing, Hieroglyphic
Abstract: Decoding Egyptian Hieroglyphs is a fully illustrated and easy-to-use guide to the history and meaning of these ancient symbols. Simple instructions for reading and interpreting glyphs will introduce you to the basic signs for names, dates, and numbers. You'll also learn key words about all aspects of the Egyptian world -- from astronomy and the yearly flooding of the Nile to family and romance. Put your new knowledge to use as you identify vocabulary words in photographs of inscribed artifacts, or just enjoy the enchanting details of life as lived by Egyptian kings and their subjects. For beginners and Egyptologists alike, reading hieroglyphs and understanding their origins provides fascinating insight into the mysterious world of the ancients.
Contents: Foreword -- Dr Joann Fletcher -- First steps: Discovery and decipherment -- Rosetta stone -- History of the language -- Role of the scribe -- How hieroglyphs work -- Arrangement of signs -- Spelling and pronunciation -- Alphabet -- Determinatives -- Origins of the signs: Signs from nature -- On the banks of the Nile -- Bodies human and divine -- Animal world -- Hosts of the air -- Reeds and flowers -- Divine elements of life -- Life on earth -- Dwellings of men and gods -- Harvest of the fields -- Eating and drinking -- Recreation and sport -- Sacred art of writing: Magical dimension -- Worship of the gods -- Art of magic -- Tomb inscriptions -- Reading a tomb inscription -- Pyramid texts -- Coffin texts -- Book of the dead -- How to Read objects -- Statues -- Jewelry -- Weapons of war -- Power of names -- King's titles -- Gods and goddesses -- Reading a temple inscription -- Realms of meaning: Healthy Life -- Body Beautiful -- Healing Arts -- Death and the Afterlife -- Generations -- Expressing emotions -- Love and family life -- Trades and skills -- Mining -- Servants of the gods -- Servants of the state -- Life of work -- Soldiers -- Weapons and war -- Force of Egypt -- Military records -- Egypt and beyond -- Black land -- Forty-two nomes -- Sacred sSites -- Peoples beyond the black land -- Calculation and measurement -- Time -- Seasons of the year -- Mathematics -- Celestial worlds -- Creation myths -- Day and night -- Waters of heaven -- Reference file: -- Grammar of hieroglyphs -- Sample translations -- Sign index -- Index -- Acknowledgments.