Understanding Hieroglyphs: A Complete Introductory Guide

The Egyptian hieroglyphic text Understanding Hieroglyphs: A Complete Introductory Guide is a modern primer on Egyptian language hieroglyphs, from the late 20th to early 21st century. It is a topical prose text, supplemented with graphical pictures comprising hieroglyphic text, as examples, and chapters supplemented with tables for explaining discussions, and introducing more complex hieroglyph word examples. The text is authored by Hillary Wilson, c. 1993.

The ten chapters of the text are: "What's in a Name", "Personal Names", "Royalty", "Spirits of Place", "Be a Scribe", "Officialdom", "The Priesthood", "The Servants in the Place of Truth", "Keeping Count", and "Marking Time".

Of note, Chapter 1 covers the execration texts, as well as the Nine bows of the Theban tomb of Surer, including Tutankhamun's Nine bows' clay impression seal of Anubis that sealed his tomb. The three example Nine bows of Surer are "cartouches" of foreigners, but each graphical cartouche is lined with fortification bricks, as can be seen on the cities, (, Gardiner O49), of the Libyan Palette of the predynastic cosmetic palettes, (also on the famous Narmer Palette).

Supplementally, the text contains only a short Bibliography and Index.

Contents

Tables

The following 20 tables of hieroglyph words are used to augment some of the 10 chapters in the text:
(one-, two-, or multiple-column tables)

  • Table 1: Elements in Personal Names (adjectives)
  • Table 2: Elements in Personal Names (nouns)
  • Table 3: Elements in Personal Names (pronouns, prepositions, etc.)
  • Table 4: Royal Names and Titles
  • Table 5: Elements in Royal Names
  • Table 6: Place-Names 1
  • Table 7: Place-Names 2
  • Table 8: Key to Pyramid Sites (w/ map)
    (Modern name (and Hieroglyph Name))
  • Table 9: Deities: Names and Titles 1
  • Table 10: Deities: Names and Titles 2
  • Table 11: Words and Titles Associated with Scribes
  • Table 12: Officialdom
  • Table 13: The Priesthood
  • Table 14: The Workmen
  • Table 15: Keeping Count
  • Table 16: The Calendar

Additionally following Table 7:

  • 7A: Provinces of Lower Egypt
  • 7B: Provinces of Upper Egypt

Some varieties of topics

The Scribe chapter has some introduction to cursive or linear hieroglyphs. Chapter 6, Officialdom, begins by using the scenes from the Scorpion Macehead. The chapter also translates four minor scarab artifacts.

The final Chapter 10, Marking Time, translates the famous label of Pharaoh Den; and – a Middle Egyptian stele of 14 horizontal lines, and an offering table scene, is translated to end the chapter and book.

See also

References