After Class 2/5

CLASS 2/5

In class today we discussed most of Chapter 1. We covered the petroglyphs, pictographs, and ideographs. Petroglyphs were carved into clay and rock. Pictographs were drawn and were usually simplified pictures. Ideographs were also drawn but were more symbolic. You had to be taught what they meant. Next we discussed the basic needs of man and looked at the very first artifact displaying communication which was a carving upon a piece of bone found in Bulgaria. We also looked at the caves of Lascaux which contained a variety of detailed and interesting pictographs. We moved on through our timeline and discussed cuneiform which was the beginning of letter formation which developed through the evolution of the stylus. The Code of Hammurabi helped unify society around 1780 BC. People were exposed to it and were almost required to understand this universal set of rules that were placed in the center of the city. Egyptians evolved their writing next with the development of hieroglyphics, which directly translates to "sacred carvings". This leads one to believe that they were technically petroglyphs. Personally I believe they were a very complex combination of all three forms of writing. They were carved petroglyphs but they were easily understood pictures or pictographs but they also stood for different things as ideographs. The Egyptians definitely evolved the system of writing into something very complex. They also developed the first manuscripts by combining pictures and writing. The "cartouche" was developed which was like a type of border that separates proper names and important words. Papyrus was also made from the plant as a replacement for heavy stone tablets. Lastly we discussed the Rosetta Stone. This provided a forerunner for the translation of Egyptian hieroglyphics. It was discovered in 1799 but took 23 years to figure out. It contained three languages; hieroglyhpics, demotic egyptian script, and Greek.

MOST MEANINGFUL

What I found most interesting today was actually a small piece of information regarding the caves of Lascaux. We talked about how a couple little boys managed to stumble upon them. This actually is very intriguing. I put myself in that position, and I find it absolutely incredible. I can't imagine stumbling upon something so great. As a young child you probably wouldn't even understand the greatness of it but after looking at the photos it must have been awe-inspiring nonetheless. If I was 8-12 years old, stumbled upon that cave, I probably would have thought it was something magical. Its amazing that early man was able to create art that could leave people hundreds of years later completely breathless. Wow.

QUESTION:

What I still am having a hard time understanding is how the cartouche helped understand hieroglyphics and manuscripts of the past. I also do not understand it's full usage.