Shifty Writing - A Basic Chronology of Ancient Egyptian Writing

Something that has always interested me is the writing system of the Ancient Egyptians. Not only is it one of the first forms of writing ever discovered, but it is vastly complex and intricate. For the most part, I am referencing the first form of writing to come out of Ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, but even with the advancement of easier and quicker methods of written documentation, there still remains a certain mystery as to understanding what the writing actually meant.

The Egyptian writing system began with pictures around 3500 B.C.E. These pictures were used to communicate simple ideas, but not everything could be documented or explained through these pictures. They were unable to record specificities such as dates and names, hence the information known from these writings is not great.

Shortly after this, early hieroglyphic signs were used starting in 3300 B.C.E. and by about 3200 B.C.E. hieroglyphic script came into existence. This script was considered the most sacred writing form and was used solely for religious writings and information about pharaohs. These types of writing were focused on religion and pharaohs and found in places such as temples and tombs.

For quite a long period of time, this sacred script remained the main form of writing in Egypt until it gave rise to hieratic script. This script was derived from the principle of hieroglyphic script, but it was a quicker, easier, cursive representation of the symbols used in the hieroglyphic script. Because this form was easier to write, it was useful for documenting everyday events opposed to only sacred events and rituals.

The last shift based on the original hieroglyphic script was from hieratic to demotic. Demotic script was an even easier cursive form based on the hieratic script. With the increasing ease of writing this script, it became widely used for most official documents.

Although the script became easier to write over time, the ability to read and write script was only possessed by few depending on their positions in society. If they were in a position in which writing was necessary, such as scribes and priests, they were trained in reading and writing the scripts. The general population of Egypt did not fall under this category, however, and were not taught how to understand the language. Even for those who were trained in reading the scripts, it was often hard to determine what was written because of the variance of symbols used, especially when the cursive hieratic and demotic scripts were used.

The written language in present day Egypt is no longer based on hieroglyphic script. After the change to demotic, the main script changed to Greek, and later arrived at its final destination of Arabic in about 643 A.D. That is what is spoken and written in Egypt today. Although there is something to be said for the absolute complexity and intricacy of Ancient Egyptian scripts, the changes throughout its history have made it overwhelmingly easier to read and write for all citizens.

This is where I found a majority of my information.
http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/time/explore/main-wri.html
http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/writing/home.html
http://www.britannica.com