The Mystery Of The Hieroglyphs Read Free Books and Download eBooks
For more than 15 centuries, no one could read the strange-looking Egyptian hieroglyphs. And then in 1799 a French soldier in Napoleon's army in Egypt stumbled across the Rosetta Stone, an ancient inscription recorded in Greek, hieroglyphs, and demotic script. Many of the brightest scholars of the time--Egyptologists, historians, and linguists--as well as detectives, professional code breakers, and plain amateurs, all set out to decipher the forgotten words. Carol Donoughue tells us the fascinating story of the hieroglyphs and the race to decipher them, explaining how this curious writing system began with simple drawings of everyday objects. She compares the hieroglyphic system to modern alphabets in an entertaining narrative complemented with numerous photographs and drawings, maps, historical timelines stretching from ancient Egypt to Napoleon, a glossary, and numerous sidebars. The book culminates in an edge-of-your-seat description of how the brilliant French archaeologist Champollion finally succeeded in deciphering the hieroglyphs. A final section displays an alphabet of "hieroglyphs" and offers some fun activities for children based on hieroglyphic writing.
Age Range: 8 and up
Lexile Measure: 1030L (What's this?)
Hardcover: 48 pages
Publisher: Oxford University Press (September 16, 1999)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0195215540
ISBN-13: 978-0195215540
Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 0.5 x 10.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #1,091,132 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #89 in Books > Children's Books > Geography & Cultures > Archaeology #92 in Books > Children's Books > Education & Reference > History > Africa #552 in Books > Children's Books > Education & Reference > History > Ancient
This short (48 pages) book simply and intelligently tells the story of the decipherment of the Egyptian hieroglyphs for children. It is illustrated with beautiful artwork and is a worthy gift for an artistic, curious middle-school child.
This narrative, with the purposeful use of the word "mystery" in its title, depicts the story of the 1799 discovery of the Rosetta Stone and the race to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphs. Once deciphered, scholars could read the writing covering the statues, temples, and mummy cases that have been found among the ruins of ancient Egypt. As with all good mysteries, the details of unfolding events are revealed step-by-step: the discovery of the Rosetta Stone by the French, its appropriation by the British, and the steps leading to its deciphering. The chapters on decoding the stone highlight the work of Thomas Young and Jean François Champollion and serve as a profound example of scholarship building upon itself, ultimately leading to illumination and insight. The text is lively and thorough. Donoughue clarifies difficult points with many photographs, drawings, maps, a timeline, a glossary, and an index.Young readers will delight in a whole chapter devoted to basic information on how to read hieroglyphs, and in the interactive exercises throughout the book, which get them working as Young and Champollion might have. They will come to understand the important role of cartouches in unlocking the mystery of the Rosetta Stone, learn facts about how Egyptians wrote (in all directions, often wrapped around pictures), and gain insight into Egyptian culture. Students will certainly appreciate the discussion of how young boys became scribes, which was considered to be very important, and will most likely squirm as they read: "A boy's ears are on his back; he listens when he is beaten" (p. 11).
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