Since man settled the surface of the earth he was already an inventor and designer and he used this knowledge to hunt, cultivate, and protect him from the weather or to make his life more comfortable.
The history of Egyptology is full of great discoveries. Some inventions and designs that the Egyptians have left us are the large stone structures of their temples and pyramids, its rich furniture of chairs, beds, sandals, wigs, etc.; his new spaces for gardens dedicated to aromatic and medicinal plants and, of course, Their wonderful jewelry.
For thousands of years the Egyptians forged an unprecedented empire, with an undeniable hegemony of which different aspects of culture, conquests and inventions are still present in our day to day life.
We refer to a civilization of which more than 5000 years ago, men and women cared about their aesthetics using makeup, jewelry, and wigs, practiced sports, wrote with pencil and paper and whose children had toys and board games, among other things.
Without more, we invite you to know some of the top 16 inventions of Ancient Egypt that still have their validity today.
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Paper is one of the most important tools for humanity and thanks to its invention in the Ancient Empire, around 140 a.C., it was possible to transmit knowledge, develop writing, language, and art, among many other things.
The Egyptians were not directly responsible for the invention of paper, but they did create one of their first precedents. Taking advantage of the strips of the papyrus plant, they began to manufacture flexible and resistant script supports. Its use began to be reduced with the progressive disappearance of the ancient Egyptian culture, being replaced by parchment.
It declined during the 5th century and completely disappeared in the 11th century. Such was its importance that most of the great libraries of Europe possess manuscripts in papyrus.
But the truth is that thousands of years ago, in ancient Egypt had created a very similar material from the abundant papyri that grew in the swampy areas that border the Nile, where the Egyptians settled.
The papyrus fibers had a strong, resistant and at the same time flexible consistency which allowed the Egyptians to contrive to create a sheet very similar to paper, candles, sandals, dresses, carpets and many other elements.
The written language system itself was an Egyptian invention. Although we know that there are paintings and drawings in caves in some areas of Europe that date back to more than 30,000 BC, thousands of years went by for humans to create a written language system.
Despite the paintings in some areas of Europe, beyond 30,000 years BC, it was not perfected until 6000 BC in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, in which pictograms were developed with established characters and rules. With the discovery of the Rosetta Stone, it was possible to interpret, to a great extent, the hieroglyphic system and to know different aspects of that civilization.
This system began to develop around 6000 BC, in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, through the use of pictograms with defined characters and rules that allowed representing names and ideas.
Currently thanks to this system we can know many of the most interesting aspects of this fascinating civilization. In one of the numerous archaeological investigations on Ancient Egypt the famous Stone of Rosetta was found which allowed to understand the system of the hieroglyphics and thus to know different religious, political, warlike, cultural and historical aspects of the civilization.
There are numerous paintings dating from about 3000 BC in which men can be seen using a kind of condom, a condom made with intestines, skin or animal tissue.
Male contraceptives actually have their origin in the ancient Egyptian civilization. In this sense, references to similar objects have been found in paintings from 3,000 BC. These ancient male condoms were made with guts or animal skin.
Although there are mistakenly some who claim that they were used as a contraceptive method, there is nothing that fully supports the claim. However, the researchers assume that it is a piece of clothing used in rituals or special ceremonies.
In any case, the possibility that it was used during intercourse is not ruled out. And so undoubtedly the most uncomfortable and unpleasant condom that ever existed.
The Egyptians were great innovators, an enormous power, true artists, engineers, architects, fearsome warriors and much more, from which we would be encouraged to say that the Egyptians were coquettish, delicate and extremely neat.
There are no records of a civilization in which people cut their hair. They considered hair to be unhygienic, they shaved. The eyes were one of the most caring parts, including the use of a kind of pencil styling. They used make-up like eyeliner pencil, they perfumed themselves. They used high-heeled shoes or jewelry with aesthetic and decorative purposes.
Two factors directly affect these inventions: the terribly hot climate of the desert. Imagine if they let grow their beards and had long hair like the Vikings in the middle of the desert and social status which is another great aspect to stand out among the Egyptian inventions, where not being shaved symbolized low status. In any case, it is somewhat particular that in the ceremonies they use fake beards made with the remains of hair and dyed wool.
Although many of the ancient civilizations had their ways of healing, the Egyptians considered health and disease in a very particular way. They believed that it was a struggle between the forces of good and evil in which it was possible to participate through the administration of medicines and enchantments that were diagnosed by sages who analyzed the state of health of the people.
Of course, you cannot establish a connection with modern day medicine. However, the way in which it was determined that treatment would be necessary and the existence of something like health professionals, is very similar to how the operation of medicine develops today.
Ancient civilizations had their own way of relating to health issues. However, saving the enormous distances that separate us with that civilization, the Egyptians had certain groups specialized in medical issues and inspected the inconveniences to offer a possible solution to the ailments.
In his way, the human body, the ailments and the possible solutions to the ills that afflicted people were thoroughly analyzed. It should also be noted that the first known surgery was carried out in Ancient Egypt, around 2750 BC.
In their obsession with beauty, the Egyptians did not forget their oral hygiene either. Thus, they used a mixture of essences such as mint, cinnamon or honey whose goal was to have a beautiful smile and good breath and that could be considered as the ancestor of the current toothpaste.
They were formed by a system of axes and bolts on the doors that allowed opening and closing the locks with the help of a key.
The use of locks is a fundamental part of the security of our days and to a large extent, we owe it to the wonderful Egyptians. It is estimated that the first locks were an invention of the Egyptians developed around 4000 BC.
It was a device that blocked the entrance to the enclosures. A system of axes and bolts in the doors allowed to open and close the locks by inserting a key that raised or lowered said bolts.
This point could well be part of the fourth invention that presented you in which we emphasized the hygienic character and the value that the aesthetic had for the ancient Egyptians. They also attached great importance to their oral health and hygiene, where they took the first steps in inventing toothpaste and breath mints.
In different investigations, archaeologists found a kind of toothpicks that were used as toothbrushes, ointments based on burnt eggshells, ashes, dust from ox hulls and pumice and a mixture of essences, incense, myrrh, cinnamon and honey which solidified in the form of granules to have fresh breath and take care of their teeth.
Incredibly, these elements were found with hieroglyphic inscriptions that could be translated into something like instructions to achieve white and perfect teeth. That is simply spectacular.
The Egyptian civilization offered the world one of the first calendars, the solar. At first, a lunar one was used but inaccuracies were appreciated. The site consisted of 12 months of 30 days each with an extra five days at the end of the year, an organization not far from the current one.
They began to build roads with pieces of limestone and sand to try to facilitate the transport of materials, especially the large amounts of stone blocks from the quarries.
The first artificial prostheses come from ancient Egypt. The oldest, 2400 a.C., was used to heal fractures and had the shape of a splint. Others, more modern, were used for example to replace the big toe of a foot.
This discovery was a kind of bandage or splint to be able to cure invoices. But that is not the only prosthesis found in that place, 600 BC ago. a kind of big toe was created that could replace the natural one in case of loss.
As you can see, the past coexists with us every day and although you believe that something was invented recently you must bear in mind that probably before it had already been tried.
The fastest means of transport in Egypt was near the Nile River, through which barges with merchandise sailed. The merchants traveled to the ports of the Red Sea and the Mediterranean on wooden and cane boats. Since they did not use the money, they exchanged gold, cereals and papyrus leaves for silver, horses, cedar wood and ivory.
The Egyptians were believed that if the body was reserved after the death, then they lived eternally. The mummies were embalmed corpses, it was an expensive process and only the rich could afford it. They removed their liver, lungs, and brain, but not their hearts.
To keep it, they covered the corpse with special salts and finally bandaged it. In the coffin an ideal portrait of the deceased was painted, the corpse was wrapped in linen, the organs were also wrapped in linen and kept in vases and the coffin was adorned with formulas in hieroglyphic language that helped the deceased in the hereafter.
Many Egyptians worked as farmers along the River Nile. Most people did not own the land. Instead, they worked lands that belonged to wealthy government officials or to temples. The farmers kept part of the harvest for them but every year they had to pay taxes to the landlord and the pharaoh.
They were punished if they failed to pay. The agricultural year was divided into 3 seasons. The most common grains they planted were BARLEY (for beer) and WHEAT (for bread). They also cultivated many vegetables like onions, garlic, lentils, beans, and lettuce and grapes to make wine.
The hieroglyphics were very complicated. Professional writers, called scribes, began their training at age 9 and the course took 12 years. When they were already very good, they could only start writing on parchments.
They performed administrative tasks and collected taxes. Usually, the scribes were represented sitting cross-legged and holding their writing materials like the statue of a tomb in Saqqara.
They represent the culture of the Egyptians and its civilization. Egyptians had built them like a tomb for their queens and pharaohs. Today, they are one of the 7 wonders of the world and it is the legacy left by the Egyptians.
In this way, the Egyptian civilization was one of the most prosperous, even when it developed in an extreme climate as it has the Sahara desert. They left us as a legacy some inventions that we use every day to this day.
These are 16 of the many Egyptian inventions that to a greater or lesser extent, allow us to affirm that the Egyptian civilization, one of our favorites, was one of the most impressive and innovative that has ever existed.
Tags: civ 5 Egypt, ancient Egypt civilization
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