All Archaeologists know how to Read Hieroglyphics: The Mummy
In almost all popular movies that take place in Egypt, there are scientists who know how to read hieroglyphics, or the formal writing system of the ancient Egyptians that used both pictures and alphabetic elements. For example, in the film The Mummy, the librarian named Evelyn (played by Rachel Weisz), hasn’t even had formal training and she knows how to read hieroglyphics. I wish that I could read hieroglyphics. In fact, I’m sure that every archaeologist would think it’d be awesome to learn how to read ancient Egyptian, but the fact of the matter is, they don’t.
Archaeologists, though knowledgeable about archaeology throughout the world, tend to focus on one specific area of archaeology, and become specialists in that area. Some focus on the First Peoples of North America and thereby spend most of their efforts in North America, and the ones who focus on Egypt are called Egyptologists.
Egyptology is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, art, religion, and literature (In Europe, it is considered a branch of philosophy, but in North America, it is a branch of archaeology.). According to the UCLA, “The knowledge of Egyptologists, archaeologists, linguists, geologists and all other professions that are involved in research in Egypt , reflect the interdisciplinary approach that is needed to make sense of such a wealth of information” (1). In short, this means that even with all of the knowledge that specialists such as Egyptologists have, even they need help from linguists and other types of scholars when interpreting artifacts that are found at archaeological sites.
Specifically, when it comes to hieroglyphics, much headway has been made by linguists through discoveries of the Rosetta Stone and the Hieroglyphica. At first, early decipherers thought that each hieroglyph recorded ideas and not a sound. In fact, this tripped up many “translations” up until a French linguist by the name of Jean François Champollion deciphered, through the Rosetta Stone, that there were two types of hieroglyphs: ideograms and phonograms (2).
When it comes down to it, the study of hieroglyphs is not simple, and not just anyone knows how to read them. It takes much study and knowledge of linguistics, culture, and history in order to understand the written language. One of the first “true” translations wasn’t even done by an archaeologist, but a linguist! In the movie The Mummy, Evelyn might have learned a lot through her studies at the library while she should have been doing her job as a librarian, but the fact of the matter is it is a very specialized area of study. Much background information is also needed, and that is just something that all archaeologists don’t necessarily want to spend their time learning. Many would rather study languages and artifacts from other civilizations.
Sources:
(1) University of California, Los Angeles. Encyclopedia of Egyptology. University of California, Los Angeles, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. <website>
(2) International World History Project. "An Explanation on Hieroglyphs." International World History Project on Ancient Egypt, 2007. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. <website>
Archaeologists, though knowledgeable about archaeology throughout the world, tend to focus on one specific area of archaeology, and become specialists in that area. Some focus on the First Peoples of North America and thereby spend most of their efforts in North America, and the ones who focus on Egypt are called Egyptologists.
Egyptology is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, art, religion, and literature (In Europe, it is considered a branch of philosophy, but in North America, it is a branch of archaeology.). According to the UCLA, “The knowledge of Egyptologists, archaeologists, linguists, geologists and all other professions that are involved in research in Egypt , reflect the interdisciplinary approach that is needed to make sense of such a wealth of information” (1). In short, this means that even with all of the knowledge that specialists such as Egyptologists have, even they need help from linguists and other types of scholars when interpreting artifacts that are found at archaeological sites.
Specifically, when it comes to hieroglyphics, much headway has been made by linguists through discoveries of the Rosetta Stone and the Hieroglyphica. At first, early decipherers thought that each hieroglyph recorded ideas and not a sound. In fact, this tripped up many “translations” up until a French linguist by the name of Jean François Champollion deciphered, through the Rosetta Stone, that there were two types of hieroglyphs: ideograms and phonograms (2).
When it comes down to it, the study of hieroglyphs is not simple, and not just anyone knows how to read them. It takes much study and knowledge of linguistics, culture, and history in order to understand the written language. One of the first “true” translations wasn’t even done by an archaeologist, but a linguist! In the movie The Mummy, Evelyn might have learned a lot through her studies at the library while she should have been doing her job as a librarian, but the fact of the matter is it is a very specialized area of study. Much background information is also needed, and that is just something that all archaeologists don’t necessarily want to spend their time learning. Many would rather study languages and artifacts from other civilizations.
Sources:
(1) University of California, Los Angeles. Encyclopedia of Egyptology. University of California, Los Angeles, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. <website>
(2) International World History Project. "An Explanation on Hieroglyphs." International World History Project on Ancient Egypt, 2007. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. <website>