In fact, the beginning of Egyptian civilization was very similar to that of the Sumerians. By 500 b.c., farming settlements were established all along the Nile River (Warburton, 69). Civilization in Egypt brought problems similar to those that arose in Sumer, but it was the growing government bureaucracy, not business, that created the need for writing, and the eventual developmen

For a long time before then, the Egyptians had been trading gold and linen with many other countries from throughout the middle east. In exchange, they got timber, gems, copper, and perfume (World Book Encyclopedia, 224). While trading in the land of Sumer, the Ancient Egyptian traders must have noticed how helpful a written language was and how it could help their governments bureaucracy function much more smoothly. Then, they brought back the idea back to Egypt, where it was quickly and openly accepted.

Egyptian pictograms were given the name hieroglyphics in 300 b.c. by Greeks who visited Egypt (Encyclopedia Americana, 178). Hiero means 'holy' and glyph means 'writing.' These hieroglyphs were more elaborate, more artistic, and much more accurately drawn than the Sumerian pictograms. Part of this difference is due to the fact that Egyptians seemed to have valued art more than the Sumerians. However, the main reason for the difference between Egyptian Hieroglyphs and Sumerian pictograms came from the difference in the writing materials used by the two ancient civilizations. Writing first on heavy clay with fragile reed styluses led the Sumerians to simplify their drawings. By the time the Sumerians began carving commemorative stone monuments around 500 years later, their style of writing was already well established (Encyclopedia Americana, 180). The Egyptians first wrote by carving on stone. Carefully chiseling fine lines one by one into the stone enabled them to make each hieroglyph a small, intricate picture that was decorative and useful. And once the design of a hieroglyph was well established, it remained the same for as long as hieroglyphs were used in writing. It seems that Egyptians cont

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