ClipArt ETC
A collection of rocks inscribed by Aztecs.

Aztec Rock Inscription

A collection of rocks inscribed by Aztecs.

A piece of the Book of the Dead depicts a judgment scene.

Book of the Dead

A piece of the Book of the Dead depicts a judgment scene.

An illustration of an Egyptian hieroglyphic depicting Egyptians baking bricks.

Brick Baking

An illustration of an Egyptian hieroglyphic depicting Egyptians baking bricks.

Carpenters in the Pyramid Age of Egypt.

Egyptian Carpenters

Carpenters in the Pyramid Age of Egypt.

"Donkey carrying a load of grain sheaves in the Pyramid Age." -Breasted, 1914.

Donkeys

"Donkey carrying a load of grain sheaves in the Pyramid Age." -Breasted, 1914.

A poster with various facts and images of Egypt.

Egypt Poster

A poster with various facts and images of Egypt.

An Egyptian figure wearing a headdress with a snake, is seated on a stool with an ornamental design and looking to the left. The figure is looking at hieroglyphics.

Seated Egyptian Figure with Hieroglyphics Pictured to the Right

An Egyptian figure wearing a headdress with a snake, is seated on a stool with an ornamental design…

The earliest known Egyptian writing: a picture story of the falcon king.

Hieroglyph

The earliest known Egyptian writing: a picture story of the falcon king.

A comparative table of hieroglyphics and ancient alphabet characters.

Hieroglyphics vs Ancient Language

A comparative table of hieroglyphics and ancient alphabet characters.

Cleopatra's name, written in hieroglyphics.

Hieroglyphics, Cartouche of Cleopatra

Cleopatra's name, written in hieroglyphics.

"48 And he gathered up all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities: the food of the field, which was round about every city, laid he up in the same. And Joseph laid up grain as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left off numbering; for it was without number." Genesis 41:48-49 ASV <p> Illustration of Joseph riding through Egypt's streets in a chariot with a herald leading the horse and announcing him. He holds several sheaves of wheat with his left arm and is collecting more from the people. A small child is handing him more sheaves. Pharaoh and four other royals emerge from a doorway behind Joseph and Pharaoh is pointing to him. An obelisk is visible in the background.

Joseph Collects Wheat as Governor of Egypt in Preparation for the Famine

"48 And he gathered up all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up…

"Below the pictured hieroglyphics in the first line is the same text in a simpler writing known as hieratic. The two systems, however, were not distinct; they were as identical as our own printed and written characters. The third line illustrates old Babylonian cuneiform, in which the characters, like the hieroglyphics, are rude and broken down pictures of objects. Derived from them is the later cuneiform shown in lines four and five."&mdash;Webster, 1913

Beginning of Written Language

"Below the pictured hieroglyphics in the first line is the same text in a simpler writing known as hieratic.…

Image of men bowing outside the palace of Sennacherib, located in ancient Assyria.

Men Bowing

Image of men bowing outside the palace of Sennacherib, located in ancient Assyria.

Another element in Egyptian monuments which is worthy of study is the hieroglyphics, which mean, literally, sacred sculptures, and that not only because he condition and direction of architecture are thence to be learnt, but because also of the historical disclosures which they bring about.

Mural Decoration with Heiroglyphics from the Great Temple at Philæ

Another element in Egyptian monuments which is worthy of study is the hieroglyphics, which mean, literally,…

An obelisk is a tall, thin, four-sided, monument with a pyramid top. This particular one is inscribed with hieroglypics and translates out to a story about a story about King Thutmes III.

Obelisk

An obelisk is a tall, thin, four-sided, monument with a pyramid top. This particular one is inscribed…

Hieroglyphics of a pharaoh being worshiped.

Pharaoh Worship

Hieroglyphics of a pharaoh being worshiped.

"Early Egyptian Pictures. Ploughing, breaking clods, and sowing."&mdash;Gordy, 1912

Early Egyptian Pictures

"Early Egyptian Pictures. Ploughing, breaking clods, and sowing."—Gordy, 1912

A drawing of plowing and sowing in the Pyramid Age of Egypt. The hieroglyphs tell the story of the picture.

Plowing and Sowing

A drawing of plowing and sowing in the Pyramid Age of Egypt. The hieroglyphs tell the story of the picture.

"In 1799, the Rosetta Stone was found and gave the first key to the reading of hieroglyphics. On this stone the same inscription was given in three different sets of characters, -the hieroglyphics, the demotic text (a briefer and more running form of hieroglyphics, commonly used in the papyri or manuscripts), and the Greek. By comparing the letters in certain Greek proper names with the letters of the same words in the Egyptian texts, the sounds for which the Egyptian characters stood were discovered. This image represents Cleopatra, or Kleopatra." &mdash;Colby, 1899

Rosetta Stone

"In 1799, the Rosetta Stone was found and gave the first key to the reading of hieroglyphics. On this…

"In 1799, the Rosetta Stone was found and gave the first key to the reading of hieroglyphics. On this stone the same inscription was given in three different sets of characters, -the hieroglyphics, the demotic text (a briefer and more running form of hieroglyphics, commonly used in the papyri or manuscripts), and the Greek. By comparing the letters in certain Greek proper names with the letters of the same words in the Egyptian texts, the sounds for which the Egyptian characters stood were discovered. The Greek text, when translated, showed that the inscription was an ordinance of the priests decreeing certain honors to Ptolemy Epiphanes on the occasion of his coronation, 196 B.C. (Ptolemy Epiphanes was one of a line of Greek sovereigns who ruled over Egypt from the time of its conquest by Alexander in the fourth century, to the first century B.C.) It contains a command that the decree should be inscribed in the sacred letters (hieroglyphics), the letters of the country (demotic), and Greek letters, -and this for the convenience of the mixed population of Egypt under its Greek rulers. It was natural to conclude that the three texts were the same in substance, and accordingly earnest efforts were made to decipher the hieroglyphics by aid of the Greek. The first clew was obtained by noticing that certain groups of the hieroglyphic characters were inclosed in oval rings, and that these groups corresponded in relative position with certain proper names, such as Ptolemy, etc., in the Greek text. The following line presents a few of the characters with a group in the oval ring. (Each word is read from right to left)." —Colby, 1899

Excerpt from the Rosetta Stone

"In 1799, the Rosetta Stone was found and gave the first key to the reading of hieroglyphics. On this…

"In 1799, the Rosetta Stone was found and gave the first key to the reading of hieroglyphics. On this stone the same inscription was given in three different sets of characters, -the hieroglyphics, the demotic text (a briefer and more running form of hieroglyphics, commonly used in the papyri or manuscripts), and the Greek. By comparing the letters in certain Greek proper names with the letters of the same words in the Egyptian texts, the sounds for which the Egyptian characters stood were discovered. This image represents Ptolemy or Ptolemaios." —Colby, 1899

Rosetta Stone Sample

"In 1799, the Rosetta Stone was found and gave the first key to the reading of hieroglyphics. On this…

A fragment of an Ancient Egyptian text, which provided the key to the modern understanding of Egyptian hieroglyphics.

The Rosetta Stone, Front View

A fragment of an Ancient Egyptian text, which provided the key to the modern understanding of Egyptian…

"In the Nile valley there had been found a few ancient inscriptions, carved upon stone in unknown characters, but no one could read them. The, about 1800 A.D., some soldiers of Napoleon in Egypt, while laying foundations for a fort, found a slab of black rock bearing three inscriptions. One of the inscriptions was in Greek, one was in the ancient hieroglyphics of the pyramids, and the third was in a later Egyptian writing, which had likewise been been forgotten." - West, 1904

Portion of Rosetta Stone

"In the Nile valley there had been found a few ancient inscriptions, carved upon stone in unknown characters,…

First row of hieroglyphics worshiping Shalmaneser, king of Assyria.

Row 1 of Hieroglyphics

First row of hieroglyphics worshiping Shalmaneser, king of Assyria.

Row of hieroglyphics honoring Shalmaneser, king of Assyria.

Row 2 of Hieroglyphics

Row of hieroglyphics honoring Shalmaneser, king of Assyria.

A row of hieroglyphics showing men working. These are to honor Shalmaneser, king of Assyria.

Row 3 of Hieroglyphics

A row of hieroglyphics showing men working. These are to honor Shalmaneser, king of Assyria.

Hieroglyphics of men carrying food in honor of Shalmaneser, king of Assyria.

Row 4 of Hieroglyphics

Hieroglyphics of men carrying food in honor of Shalmaneser, king of Assyria.

Figures from the palace of Sennacherib, located in Kouyunjik, Nineveh (ancient Assyria).

Sennacherib

Figures from the palace of Sennacherib, located in Kouyunjik, Nineveh (ancient Assyria).

"Earliest representation of a seagoing ship." -Breasted, 1914

Earliest Egyptian Ship Illustration

"Earliest representation of a seagoing ship." -Breasted, 1914

This temple is at the southern end of the Great Temple in Philae. The temple was dedicated to the worship of the god Isis.

Egyptian-Front of Temple of Isis at Philae

This temple is at the southern end of the Great Temple in Philae. The temple was dedicated to the worship…