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Trade was an important part of ancient cultures, so having working ships was extremely important. The ancient Egyptians employed knowledge of the science of aerodynamics in their ship construction processes to create ships that would catch the wind and push vessels through the water. They developed the use of numerous sails that could be adjusted to sail ships against the wind using side winds

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Museum of Science : Ancient Egypt Science & Technology : Teaching Egypt

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Note: You didn't have to be a man to be a Pharaoh. After her husband Thutmose II died, Queen Hatshepsut declared herself Pharaoh. In order to rule effectively, the country needed a Pharaoh, someone who could link the world of the humans to the world of the gods.

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While ancient Egypt is usually associated with pharaohs, mummies and pyramids, a great number of ancient Egyptian inventions are still used in our everyday lives.

Paper and Writing

Hieroglyphics

The ancient Egyptians were among the first groups of people to write and keep records of events that happened in their lives. The earliest form of writing was in the form of hieroglyphics, which, simply put, were drawings that portrayed a story. Hieroglyphics are some of the oldest artifacts in the world today, and the Egyptians used them to keep accurate records and maintain control of their empire.
Click here to discover more about Hieroglyphics
Papyrus

Papyrus was the first form of durable sheets of paper to write on, and the ancient Egyptians were the ones to develop it. The material was termed "papyrus" because it was made from the papyrus plant.
Click here to discover more about Papyrus
The ancient Egyptians primarily used papyrus for recording religious texts and other important documents. Papyrus was mass produced in Egypt and sold to other ancient civilizations, such as Ancient Greece, for their record keeping.

Ink

One of the inventions in Egypt was, surprisingly, black ink. The Egyptian people were very talented at creating not only black ink, but many multi-colored types of ink and dye. The process and depth of color utilized in the Egyptian invention of ink and dye was so marvelous that these brilliant hued colors can still be seen today, thousands of years later.

Time Telling

Calendars

The ancient Egyptian calendar was invented more than 5,000 years ago and was originally based on the 12-month lunar cycle. They grouped the months into three seasons of four months that seemed to coincide with the Nile River.

However, this calendar wasn't accurate enough. They soon noticed that although the river would flood every year around the end of June, the flood occurred within a range of 80 days.

Therefore, after noticing that the river's flooding and rising coincided with the heliacal rising of the star Sirius, they based their year on the cycle of this star's reappearance, effectively applying astronomy principles to develop a more accurate calendar by which to track the days of the year. We still use ancient Egyptians' calendar model in our tracking of the days today.

Clocks

Ancient Egyptians were also one of the first groups of people to divide days into equal parts through the use of timekeeping devices. Some of the earliest forms of clocks were sundials, shadow clocks, merkhets and obelisks.

Generally, the passing of the day was determined by the position of the sun, and the passing of the night was determined by the rise and fall of the stars.

There is even evidence of water clocks in ancient Egypt. These were shaped like bowls and had a small hole in the bottom of them. They floated atop water and were allowed to fill up in a way so that the rising water represented a number of hours passing.

Water clocks were mostly used by priests, as they allowed a way to measure time independently of the sun and were more accurate gauges of time for performing special religious ceremonies.

Construction

The ancient Egyptians are known for their massive constructions and outstanding architecture. Many of their earliest buildings are no longer standing, having been subjected to war, ruin and other elements. The ones that are remain marvels of architecture, such as the Great Pyramid of Giza, which is one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Pyramids

There remains speculation regarding how the ancient pyramids were constructed. However, the first truly triangular shaped pyramids are counted among the many ancient Egyptian inventions, although it took them several tries in order to achieve an ideal model.

Organized Labor

The Egyptians were the first to invent and employ organized labor on a massive scale in order to construct these magnificent stone structures.

When one takes into consideration that the construction of just one pyramid often lasted several decades, the magnitude of the organized labor required becomes enormous.

Simple Machines

Part of what made it possible for the Egyptians to build some of the great buildings and monuments that they did was the employ of certain simple machines that they invented to assist them in the process. The ramp and the lever were a couple of the most famous construction inventions that the ancient Egyptians developed, and the principles that guide them are still widely used in construction today.

Ships and Navigation

Trade was an important part of ancient cultures, so having working ships was extremely important. The ancient Egyptians employed knowledge of the science of aerodynamics in their ship construction processes to create ships that would catch the wind and push vessels through the water. They developed the use of numerous sails that could be adjusted to sail ships against the wind using side winds.

They also came up with the concept of using rope trusses to strengthen the beams of their ships, and they were also the first ones to stem-mounted rudders on their ships. At first, they built small boats out of papyrus reeds, but eventually they began to build larger ships from cedar wood.

Agriculture

Agriculture was extremely important to ancient civilizations, as it still is today. Without sufficient crops, there isn't enough food for humans to survive.

Ox-Drawn Plow

While not thought of in quite the same aspects as the tools we know today, the first ox-draws plows appeared in Egypt as early as 2500 B.C. This advancement in agriculture required skilled metal working in order to form a workable plow, as well as animal husbandry.

One might wonder why the ancient Egyptians would have even needed ox-drawn plows when the majority of the Egyptian nation consists of deserts. While there certainly is a great amount of sweeping desert land in Egypt, the nation is also the home of extremely fertile black soil along the banks of the Nile River. This area provided a very hospitable environment for growing crops such as wheat, in addition to a multitude of vegetables.

Irrigation

Of course, humans cannot control the amount of rainfall that is supplied to the Earth. Therefore, the ancient Egyptians developed irrigation systems using hydraulic engineering principles. Such systems were designed to replace rainfall during periods of drought. Early evidence indicates that irrigation systems were used in ancient Egypt as early as the twelfth dynasty, using the lake Fayum, as the reservoir to store water surpluses.

Weapons

Prior to the Egyptian civilization, weapons used for protection, hunting or in combat were very basic. During the ancient Egyptian civilization, weapons became more and more sophisticated. Examples are stone-tipped arrows, battle axes, chariots, the khopesh, maces, body armor, slingshots and much more.

Discover more about ancient Egyptian weapons

Crafts

Glass

Ancient Egyptians had advanced knowledge of glass-working. They supposedly crafted glass beads of different colors as early as 1500 BC during the time period of the New Kingdom. Their glass working abilities gave them advantages in trade since such works were viewed as highly valuable.

Beads were made by winding molten glass around a metal bar and were believed to have had magical powers. The ancient Egyptians made more than glass beads, though. They also crafted glass jars and bottles as well as glass thread and cast glass that was placed into a mold.

Furniture

There is even evidence that the Egyptians invented a wide variety of furniture. Some ancient Egyptian artifacts include beds, tables and stools that were recovered in ancient Egyptian tombs and after which much of today's modern furniture is modeled.

Science

The ancient Egyptians excelled at the sciences and had knowledge in various fields, from astronomy to mathematics. Many of their most famous inventions were based upon the scientific principles they discovered.

Astronomy

The Egyptians made observations about the night sky, and their religion and heavenly bodies were greatly influenced by the sky and elements. Egyptians studied the rise and fall of the stars and even built circular mud-brick walls to create false horizons where they could mark the position of the sun as it rose at dawn.

Then, they used plumb-bobs to make note of the solstices. They used their knowledge of astronomy to develop the lunar calendar based on the cycles of the moon and the star, Sirius. From their knowledge emerged the calendar that we use today, divided in 12 months, 365 days and 24-hour units.

Medicine

Some of the earliest developments in medicine were made by the ancient Egyptian people. They had a variety of medicines and cures for both humans and animals, along with much knowledge of anatomy, as they practiced mummification and preservation of the dead.

One of the earliest accounts of medical texts originates in ancient Egypt. It attempts to describe and analyze the brain, providing the earliest insight into neuroscience. Although they had many "cures" for various ailments, some of their medicinal practices were questionable at best.

For instance, they used honey and human brains to cure eye infections, a cooked mouse to cure coughs and applied cow dung to wounds and piercing to ward off infections. There are indications that the use of such practices was one of the leading causes of people developing tetanus in ancient Egypt.

Because the ancient Egyptians were highly spiritual people as well, it should come as no surprise that they also accompanied many of their cures with spells that were supposed to ward off the evil spirits that were making patients sick.

Mathematics

The great pyramids that the ancient Egyptians built required some knowledge of mathematics, especially of geometry. Mathematical principles were applied in the invention of simple machines, as well as for transactions and record keeping.

Math and numbers were used to record business transactions, and the ancient Egyptians even developed a decimal system. All their numbers were factors of 10, though, such as 1, 10, 100 and so on. Therefore, in order to denote 3 units, they would write the number "1" three times.

Electricity

Although the implementation of electricity into the world didn't come until much, much later, some historians believe that there is evidence that the ancient Egyptians had some form of understanding of electricity. They reportedly observed lightning and interacted with electric fish, making records of the electric phenomena that they observed.

One ancient Egyptian text makes reference to "high poles covered with copper plates", which some believe to be an early reference to electric phenomena. However, other historians have argued that this was not a reference to electricity, but to some sort of magical belief.

Cosmetics

Dental Hygiene

Many people don't realize that toothpaste is actually another invention that can be attributed to the ancient Egyptians. Because their bread had so much grit and sand in it, Egyptians experienced problems with their teeth. They invented the toothbrush and toothpaste in an effort to care for their teeth and keep them clean of grit and sand.

The first toothpaste was made of a wide variety of ingredients, some of which included eggshells, ashes and ground-up ox hooves.

Ancient Egyptians not only invented toothpaste, but they invented breath mints as well to cover bad breath aromas. The mints were made up of myrhh, frankincense and cinnamon that was boiled in honey and shaped into small, bite-sized pellets they could suck on.

Make-up

Even make-up originated with the ancient Egyptians, where men and women alike used to wear it. While the make-up was used primarily for cosmetic purposes and as a fashion statement, it served a practical purpose as well, in that it protected their skin from the sun.

Perhaps the makeup that they are most known for was the dark kohl that they wore around their eyes. Kohl was made from soot and other minerals and is the concept from which modern eyeliner originated.

Facts about Technology and Invention in Ancient Egypt

Although the ancient Egyptians are often attributed with the invention of the wheel, they actually did not start using it until it was introduced to them by foreign invaders.

The word that the Egyptians used for papyrus was actually a Grecian word for the papyrus plant, rather than an Egyptian one.

Egyptians denoted the number one million as a picture of a god with his arms raised in the air rather than as a number.

The game of bowling actually originated with the Egyptians who invented a game similar to it in that a ball was rolled into a hole by a bowler rather than at knocking down pins.

The Egyptians invented large door locks with keys, and some of the keys were up to two feet long.

Although Egyptians are attributed with creating black ink, they also created various other colors of ink as well.

The first ox-drawn plow was also invented in ancient Egypt.

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While ancient Egypt is usually associated with pharaohs, mummies and pyramids, a great number of ancient Egyptian inventions are still used in our everyday lives. The ancient Egyptians were among the first groups of people to write and keep records of events that happened in their lives.

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Video transcript

- [Voiceover] This is a mummy of a young man named Herakleides. He died in Egypt in the first century A.D. when he was about 20 years old. Mummification was developed by the ancient Egyptians to preserve the body for the afterlife. Typically, all internal organs were removed before mummification with the exception of the heart. But in this case the heart was removed and the lungs were left intact. Next, the body was covered with salt and left for about 40 days, until all moisture was eliminated. Perfumed oils and plant resins were rubbed on the body. Thick layers of resin were applied to glue the strips of linen that were wrapped around the body. The mummy was placed on a wooden board and more wrappings bound them together. A mysterious pouch, perhaps of religious significance was placed on the chest. A mummified ibis, a wading bird with a slender, down curved bill, was placed on the abdomen. Ibis mummies commonly served as votive offerings to the gods, but this is an unusual case of a bird being mummified with a deceased human. Long linen strips further secured the wrappings. A portrait panel of Herakleides was placed over the face. A large linen cloth was wrapped around the mummy. The shroud was painted red with an imported lead-based pigment. This treatment is rare, very few red shroud mummies are known to exist. Egyptian symbols of protection and rebirth were painted on the outer cloth with pigments and gold. Finally, Herakleides name was written in Greek at the feet. Thanks to this remarkable mummification process, Herakleides body is with us today.

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The mummification process (video) | Khan Academy

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Over many centuries, the ancient Egyptians developed a method of preserving bodies so they would remain lifelike. The process included embalming the bodies and wrapping them in strips of linen. Today we call this process mummification.

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History for kids - Free history network for kids

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The ancient Egyptians thought it was important to write down information about religion and important events. So they invented scripts (ways of writing). There are three main Egyptian scripts. Hieroglyphics, or ‘sacred writing’. The most famous script is hieroglyphic, which uses pictures as symbols. Hieroglyphics were carved or painted on stone monuments, tombs where the

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Ancient Egypt for Kids - Daily Life - Ancient Egypt for Kids

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Everyone ate well in ancient Egypt. Everyone bathed daily; the rich bathed in soaking tubs with scented soap and the poor bathed in the Nile. All Egyptians were very clean. Ancient Egyptians had their own homes. They had comfortable furniture.

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Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut and Large Kneeling Statue, New Kingdom, Egypt

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Learn for free about math, art, computer programming, economics, physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, finance, history, and more. Khan Academy is a nonprofit with the mission of providing a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere.

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Kids learn about the civilization of ancient Egypt including the pharaohs, pyramids, art, government, geography, Nile River, mummies, religion, hieroglyphics, and clothing. Educational articles for students, schools, and teachers.

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1. Cleopatra was not Egyptian.

Along with King Tut, perhaps no figure is more famously associated with ancient Egypt than Cleopatra VII. But while she was born in Alexandria, Cleopatra was actually part of a long line of Greek Macedonians originally descended from Ptolemy I, one of Alexander the Great's most trusted lieutenants. The Ptolemaic Dynasty ruled Egypt from 323 to 30 B.C., and most of its leaders remained largely Greek in their culture and sensibilities. In fact, Cleopatra was famous for being one of the first members of the Ptolemaic dynasty to actually speak the Egyptian language.

2. The ancient Egyptians forged one of the earliest peace treaties on record.

For over two centuries the Egyptians fought against the Hittite Empire for control of lands in modern day Syria. The conflict gave rise to bloody engagements like 1274 B.C.'s Battle of Kadesh, but by time of the pharaoh Ramses II neither side had emerged as a clear victor. With both the Egyptians and Hittites facing threats from other peoples, in 1259 B.C. Ramses II and the Hittite King Hattusili III negotiated a famous peace treaty. This agreement ended the conflict and decreed that the two kingdoms would aid each other in the event of an invasion by a third party. The Egyptian-Hittite treaty is now recognized as one of the earliest surviving peace accords, and a copy can even be seen above the entrance to the United Nations Security Council Chamber in New York.

3. Ancient Egyptians loved board games.

After a long day's work along the Nile River, Egyptians often relaxed by playing board games. Several different games were played, including "Mehen" and "Dogs and Jackals," but perhaps the most popular was a game of chance known as "Senet." This pastime dates back as far as 3500 B.C. and was played on a long board painted with 30 squares. Each player had a set of pieces that were moved along the board according to rolls of dice or the throwing sticks. Historians still debate Senet's exact rules, but there is little doubt of the game's popularity. Paintings depict Queen Nefertari playing Senet, and pharaohs like Tutankhamen even had game boards buried with them in their tombs.

4. Egyptian women had a wide range of rights and freedoms.

While they may have been publicly and socially viewed as inferior to men, Egyptian women enjoyed a great deal of legal and financial independence. They could buy and sell property, serve on juries, make wills and even enter into legal contracts. Egyptian women did not typically work outside the home, but those who did usually received equal pay for doing the same jobs as men. Unlike the women of ancient Greece, who were effectively owned by their husbands, Egyptian women also had the right to divorce and remarry. Egyptian couples were even known to negotiate an ancient prenuptial agreement. These contracts listed all the property and wealth the woman had brought into the marriage and guaranteed that she would be compensated for it in the event of a divorce.

5. Egyptian workers were known to organize labor strikes.

Even though they regarded the pharaoh as a kind of living god, Egyptian workers were not afraid to protest for better working conditions. The most famous example came in the 12th century B.C. during the reign of the New Kingdom pharaoh Ramses III. When laborers engaged in building the royal necropolis at Deir el-Medina did not receive their usual payment of grain, they organized one of the first recorded strikes in history. The protest took the form of a sit-in: The workers simply entered nearby mortuary temples and refused to leave until their grievances were heard. The gamble worked, and the laborers were eventually given their overdue rations.

6. Egyptian pharaohs were often overweight.

Egyptian art commonly depicts pharaohs as being trim and statuesque, but this was most likely not the case. The Egyptian diet of beer, wine, bread and honey was high in sugar, and studies show that it may have done a number on royal waistlines. Examinations of mummies have indicated that many Egyptian rulers were unhealthy and overweight, and even suffered from diabetes. A notable example is the legendary Queen Hatshepsut, who lived in the 15th century B.C. While her sarcophagus depicts her as slender and athletic, historians believe she was actually obese and balding.

7. The pyramids were not built by slaves.

The life of a pyramid builder certainly wasn't easy-skeletons of workers commonly show signs of arthritis and other ailments-but evidence suggests that the massive tombs were built not by slaves but by paid laborers. These ancient construction workers were a mix of skilled artisans and temporary hands, and some appear to have taken great pride in their craft. Graffiti found near the monuments suggests they often assigned humorous names to their crews like the "Drunkards of Menkaure" or the "Friends of Khufu." The idea that slaves built the pyramids at the crack of a whip was first conjured by the Greek historian Herodotus in the fifth century B.C., but most historians now dismiss it as myth. While the ancient Egyptians were certainly not averse to keeping slaves, they appear to have mostly used them as field hands and domestic servants.

8. King Tut may have been killed by a hippopotamus.

Surprisingly little is known about the life of the boy pharaoh Tutankhamen, but some historians believe they know how he died. Scans of the young king's body show that he was embalmed without his heart or his chest wall. This drastic departure from traditional Egyptian burial practice suggests that he may have suffered a horrific injury prior to his death. According to a handful of Egyptologists, one of the most likely causes for this wound would have been a bite from a hippopotamus. Evidence indicates that the Egyptians hunted the beasts for sport, and statues found in King Tut's tomb even depict him in the act of throwing a harpoon. If the boy pharaoh was indeed fond of stalking dangerous game, then his death might have been the result of a hunt gone wrong.

9. Some Egyptian doctors had specialized fields of study.

An ancient physician was usually a jack-of-all-trades, but evidence shows that Egyptian doctors sometimes focused on healing only one part of the human body. This early form of medical specialization was first noted in 450 B.C. by the traveler and historian Herodotus. Discussing Egyptian medicine, he wrote, "Each physician is a healer of one disease and no more...some of the eye, some of the teeth, some of what pertains to the belly." These specialists even had specific names. Dentists were known as "doctors of the tooth," while the term for proctologists literally translates to "shepherd of the anus."

10. Egyptians kept many animals as pets.

The Egyptians saw animals as incarnations of the gods and were one of the first civilizations to keep household pets. Egyptians were particularly fond of cats, which were associated with the goddess Bastet, but they also had a reverence for hawks, ibises, dogs, lions and baboons. Many of these animals held a special place in the Egyptian home, and they were often mummified and buried with their owners after they died. Other creatures were specially trained to work as helper animals. Egyptian police officers, for example, were known to use dogs and even trained monkeys to assist them when out on patrol.

11. Egyptians of both sexes wore makeup.

Vanity is as old as civilization, and the ancient Egyptians were no exception. Both men and women were known to wear copious amounts of makeup, which they believed gave them the protection of the gods Horus and Ra. These cosmetics were made by grinding ores like malachite and galena into a substance called kohl. It was then liberally applied around the eyes with utensils made out of wood, bone and ivory. Women would also stain their cheeks with red paint and use henna to color their hands and fingernails, and both sexes wore perfumes made from oil, myrrh and cinnamon. The Egyptians believed their makeup had magical healing powers, and they weren't entirely wrong: Research has shown that the lead-based cosmetics worn along the Nile actually helped stave off eye infections.

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11 Things You May Not Know About Ancient Egypt

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Along with King Tut, perhaps no figure is more famously associated with ancient Egypt than Cleopatra VII. But while she was born in Alexandria, Cleopatra was actually part of a long line of Greek Macedonians originally descended from Ptolemy I, one of Alexander the Great's most trusted lieutenants.