Importance of Writing in the Development of Ancient Egyptian Civilisation - Essay Example

Importance of Writing in the Development of Ancient Egyptian Civilisation Introduction Ancient Egyptian civilisation cannot be separated from the skill of writing. Writing was of great importance for administration and thus for organising state activities and valued cultural interests. There is significant evidence that most writing was for administrative purposes, but that does not underrate the role of writing in non-administrative purpose of the skill in any way. In view of these points, there has been a crucial debate on whether writing was invented for administrative activities or for valued cultural use. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate this debate, but it is clear that writing contributed to the development of ancient Egyptian civilization in both perspectives. The skill was used as an administrative tool, but equally contributed to civilisation as an element of high-cultural use. The key developments brought about by writing to ancient Egyptian civilisation are that it enhanced both administration and expression in art and literature. According to (Chiu, 2010, p. 28), Egyptian civilisation developed a sophisticated social and legal system. In the development of an increasingly bureaucratic and centralised society the need to keep records of details such as ownership, accepted laws of behaviour and penalties became necessary (Flux, 2001, p. 14). Writing advanced from cuneiform to hieroglyphics, which enabled advancement of poetry and literature and greater flexibility. In addition, advanced forms of architectural and artistic expression emerged and facilitated the creation of pyramids. Further, sophistication increased in areas such as shipbuilding, geometry, empirical anatomical and medical knowledge, and astronomy (Chiu, 2010, p. 28-29). Writing as administrative tool in ancient Egypt According to Mokhtar and Unesco International Scientific Committee for the Drafting of a General History of Africa (1981, p. 20), there were small political units in the south of Egypt which corresponded to the area of the basins they occupied. These units had a considerable level of manpower to undertake the collective work that was required for the province’s survival, for instance reinforcement of river banks, which were gradually transformed into proper embankments. Other activities included construction of dams to protect settlements. To be effective in these areas, the work required organisation. According to Mokhtar and Unesco International Scientific Committee for the Drafting of a General History of Africa (1981, p. 20), this must have facilitated if not the invention of writing, at least its quick development. This is because it was necessary to send orders to a large number of men located over fairly great distances, for the accomplishment of tasks that were to be carried out within relatively small durations. Allocating the work, provision of tools and order of priority were all activities that demanded an effective administration. That administration could only be effective if it could plan in advance and direct the various stages of the operations from a centre that would at timed be located far away from the area of operation. This was difficult to manage without the art of writing. Writing was thus essential for the recording of essential data, rations, height of embankment to be built, number of men available for work and so forth (Robinson, 1996, p. 20). Keeping records about land production in ancient Egypt was conducted on behalf of the state or temples because such institutions, and ultimately the pharaoh, owned most of the land in Egypt (Carmona & Ezzamel, 2007, p. 178). The political unification of Egypt by Menes around 3000 BC was bound to further strengthen the development of administration and, hence, of writing (Flux, 2001, p. 14). In essence, the chief was no longer in charge of organising the works of community interests solely within a confined area, but rather for the entire community. A key administrative duty during this time was to stock as much food as possible in times of plenty to avert shortages that would occur within a short notice. In turn, the leaders, in this case the Pharaoh, had to know exactly what the country had in stock, in order to be able, in case of need, either to distribute the existing resources to the regions in dire need of food or to ration accordingly. This required a complex form of accounting for incomings and outgoing with regards to both commodities and personnel. The role of keeping such records was thus delegated to the scribe, and was significant in the civilisation of ancient Egypt (Mokhtar & Unesco International Scientific Committee for the Drafting of a General History of Africa, 1981, p. 20). The scribe was thus an essential figure in the Pharaonic system. From the third dynasty, about -2800, the highest-ranking state officials had themselves portrayed with the writing case over their shoulders. As well, the princes of the Old Kingdom ordered statues of themselves as crouching scribes. Along this line, there is a famous tale of the king himself taking a pen to record what a prophet was about to convey to him. The magic power that was always associated with writing thus added to the scribe’s significance in society. According to (Hunt, 2008, p. 54), the career of a scribe in ancient Egypt was as exacting in its requirements as it was honourable and profitable in its rewards. It is therefore accurate to say that the whole of Egyptian civilisation was pegged on the scribe and that it is writing that permitted its development (Bell & Quie, 2009, p. 44). In the same dimension, Baines (2007, p. 50) argues that without the writing skill, scribes could not have performed their administrative functions, which could have impacted the pace of ancient Egyptian civilisation. Hence, administration, that is accounting, has primacy in the origin of writing, and was pivotal in the civilisation of ancient Egypt (Goody, 1986, p. 54). The Kemet (meaning black land) civilisation that coalesced around 3150 BC when Lower and Upper Egypt were brought together under the first pharaoh led to political and economic unification (Curry, Blandy & Martin, 1994, p. 228). The unification was important because it allowed an actual country with statecraft, social and political goals, as well as a sense of shared culture. In several ways, Egypt was the southern counterpart of Mesopotamia. However, Egypt was rather more successful partially because it was able to adapt to the changing conditions in the Nile Valley. It was important for the people to establish the predictability of planting times, flooding seasons, harvesting times and so forth; and to manage the storage of their produce for lean years. All these activities required an advanced level of knowledge that that engendered mathematics, writing, labour stratification and most importantly, scribal administration (Chiu, 2010, p. 28). This again emphasises the role of writing in the civilisation of ancient Egypt. Writing was also significant because as pointed out earlier, it led to the development of other careers that were vital for civilisation. As such, scribe was not just a writing man; rather, he would play the role of a mathematician, measurer, logistician, manager, mobiliser and historian (Lamond, 2008, p. 184). These roles are vital for the development of any society, which was the same case in the ancient Egyptian civilisation. Writing as a form of social and cultural expression in ancient Egypt civilisation Three forms of writing were common in ancient Egypt: hieratic, demotic and Coptic writing. The basic idea behind hieratic writing was simple: use of abbreviated hieroglyphic signs that represented individuals or groups. These were the most frequent groups of signs. Right from the Old Kingdom to the last centuries of the ancient Egyptian civilisation, hieratic writing evolved towards increasing brevity (Grimal & Grimal, 1994, p. 34). At the height of this development, it was perceived not only as demotic but also as abnormal hieratic, a form that grew in the Theban region during the Persian and Kushite periods. Nonetheless, hieratic writing grew and contributed to the increasing contact between Egypt and people from the Mediterranean region. Effects of Roman and Greek domination of Egypt led to a transformation into a form of writing known as Coptic. This was a Greek alphabet supported by seven letters necessary for the reproduction of the phonemes that did not exist in the Greek language. When polytheism was abandoned in Egypt around this period, Coptic writing was adopted as the writing of the church in Egypt. Coptic prevailed even with other social transformation that came with civilisation, aiding civilisation from a religious perspective. Today it is the liturgical language of the Copts (Grimal & Grimal, 1994, p. 34). As hieratic writing was the most practical form of writing practiced in ancient Egypt, it was used by scribal schools as the medium for learning the written language. Thus, young learners gained the knowledge to express themselves in the hieratic form. Again, this was significant as the knowledge gained would be used in keeping of accounting inventories, and maintaining religious, scientific, magic or literary texts (McNeese, 1999, p. 20). Costly papyrus materials were used to archive information that could be used by different generations, although the information could also be transcribed onto other materials such as stucco tablets and leather rolls (Grimal & Grimal, 1994, p. 34). Demotic writing was used from 600 BC onwards. It was the form of writing commonly used for administrative and legal documents, private letters and other related documents. It was considered because it was an even faster form of writing compared with hieratic (Pestman, David & Groningen, 1990, p. 21). The signs used were also hieroglyphics were written so rapidly that they were often hardly recognisable. This form of writing thus facilitated rapid civilisation as it enabled communication and carrying out of transactions. It was pervasive and still used at the beginning of the fourth century AD (Fine, 2003, p. 16). According to Fyle (1999, p. 23) and Coulmas (2003, p. 224), there is evidence that before the third millennium, Egypt achieved a high level of intellectual, social and material standard partly due to the contribution of writing. Through the invention of writing, ancient Egypt had in the dynastic period made a considerable advance towards civilisation. Writing extended the scope of man’s communications, developed mentality and widened knowledge. There was thus a different approach to social expression as a result of the ability of people to express themselves through writing. In view of this, the invention of writing can be considered to have been more significant and effective than any battle fought by the ancient Egyptians or any other achievement these people accomplished (Mokhtar & Unesco International Scientific Committee for the Drafting of a General History of Africa 1981, p. 732). The interaction between art and written language was a significant aspect of ancient Egyptian civilisation. The two concepts are so closely linked that some scholars believe that one cannot talk of each in isolation. In fact, much of what modern observers would regard as art, including, painting, sculpture, decoration and jewellery, is actually a from of written language. According to Kemp (2006, p. 112), writing and literature are examples of the factors that promoted civilisation of ancient Egypt, yet they remained relatively static but fluid – a characteristic of the Egyptian culture. Conclusion In conclusion, it can be noted that writing contributed to the development of ancient Egyptian civilisation by enhancing administrative functions and social and cultural expression. Through writing, ancient Egyptians were able to keep records of food stocks, labour and conduct a wide array of administrative functions. Thus the role of the scribe became pronounced in ancient Egyptian civilisation. It was also important for people to take accounts of planting times, flood seasons and so forth – and this was best done through writing. Another significance of writing was reflected in the relationship between the skill and art. All forms of art expression such as sculpture and painting were all forms of writing. Three forms of writing (hieratic, demotic and Coptic) were prevalent in ancient Egypt and were adopted for writing different types of documents, mostly for administrative and religious purposes. Writing was also used in scribal schools as a way of imparting knowledge to younger generations, thus facilitating generational civilisation through the skill. References Baines, J. 2007, Visual and Written Culture in Ancient Egypt, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Bell, M. & Quie, S. 2009, Ancient Egyptian Civilization, The Rosen Publishing Group, London. 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