Egyptology

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Egyptology as an academic discipline did not fully emerge until the 19th century with the translation of the Rosetta Stone. Yet interest, both ametur and academic, in Egyptian civilization and culture goes back as far as the Ancient Greeks. Fascination with all things Egyptian has led to plundering, desecration and massive dissemination of the vast physical and cultural remains of ancient Egypt.Recntly, as academics and the Egyptian government have asserted the importance of preservations and full understanding of Egyptian heritage.

Defintion

Egyptology is a specialized field of study, drawing on the practices of Archaeology, history, antiquity and Near East Studies. Egyptology investigates the range of Ancient Egyptian culture/s (language, literature, history, religion, art, economics, and ethics) from the 5th millennium B.C.E. up to the end of Roman rule in the 4th century AD. Because it is such a specialized discipline, Egyptologists usually spend a majority of their careers exclusively studying ancient Egpytian civilization, at one or more of the centeral Egyptology centers in the world:

A Brief Over-view of Ancient Egyptian Civilization

Ancient Egyptwas one of the longest and most advanced of ancient civilizations. Believed to have appeared as a unified state no earlier than 3300 B.C.E., it lasted for over three millenia, until about 300 B.C.E., and is categorized into nine different Dynasty periods. Their achievements in engineering are the most visible today, the pryamids and monuments being recognizable world-wide. But they also had a complicated irrigation technique that harenessed the power of the Nile, a complicated writing system known today as hieroglyphics. the early development of an independent writing system and literature; the organization of collective projects; trade with surrounding regions in east / central Africa and the eastern Mediterranean; finally, military ventures that exhibited strong characteristics of imperial hegemony and territorial domination of neighbouring cultures at different periods. Motivating and organising these activities were a socio-political and economic elite that achieved social consensus by means of an elaborate system of religious belief under the figure of a (semi)-divine ruler (usually male) from a succession of ruling dynasties and which related to the larger world by means of polytheistic beliefs. 

But the Egyptians also had advanced medical procedures, argicultural systems,  Archeological evidence suggests that a developed Egyptian society may have existed for much longer.had on the other.Mummification of the dead was not always practised in Egypt. Once the practice began, an individual was placed at his/her final resting place through a set of rituals and protocol. The Egyptian funeral was a complex ceremony including various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in the dead's honor. The poor, which could not afford expensive tombs were buried in shallow graves in the sand, and because of the natrual, arid, dry enviroment they were often natrally mummified.

Antiquity Interest in Egypt

Beginnings of Modern Egyptology

Contemporary and Future Issues in Egyptology

There are many open problems concerning Ancient Egypt, and some of them may never be solved. Egyptian archaeology is in a state of constant transition, with much of the terminology and chronology in dispute. The archeological record is incomplete, with countless relics and artifacts missing or destroyed. New archaeological discoveries can call into question previous conclusions about Ancient Egypt. Furthermore, there are internal problems of overall cohesion of various dynasties and there are problems reconciling the Egyptian civilization with other concurrent civilizations.


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