Ancient Egyptian Activities

Ancient Egyptians were into architecture, literature and painting. Ancient Egyptian architects used sun-dried and kiln-baked bricks, fine sandstone, limestone and granite. Architects carefully planned all their work. The stones had to fit precisely together. Papyrus was used by ancient Egyptians for writing and painting. Papyrus is relatively fragile, and though used all over the classical world has only survived when buried in the very dry conditions of Egypt, and even then is often in poor condition.

Papyrus texts illustrate all dimensions of ancient Egyptian life and include literary, religious, historical and administrative documents. Ancient Egyptians used steatite (some varieties were called soapstone) and carved small pieces of vases, amulets, images of deities, of animals and several other objects. Ancient Egyptian artists also discovered the art of covering pottery with enamel. Covering by enamel was also applied to some stone works.

Hieroglyphics are the ancient Egyptian writing system in which pictures and symbols stand for sounds and words. Hieroglyphics have more than 700 symbols. Most of the paintings of Ancient Egypt that have survived were found in tombs of the pharaohs or high governmental officials. The art is known as funerary art because it is in tombs and depicts scenes of the afterlife. Tomb paintings were of everyday life until the New Kingdom about 1550 BC to 1020 BC. During the New Kingdom the paintings showed different levels of the Egyptian society as well as items the deceased would need in the after life.

In the rich and vast civilization of Egypt, it may not be surprising to know that they gave high importance to sports too. It is a fact that many of the sports and games that we play today have been in existence several thousand years ago in the ancient Egyptian life. Many games and sports formed the Egyptian sports.

It would surprise or even shock you when you find that there have not been many differences in the games or sports that we play today and the games which they played those days. Javelin throw is a sport for us today but for the Egyptians it was likely to be connected with hunting for the purpose of both sport as well as finding food. Archery is another sport which was a very popular recreation mode for the Egyptians. The Egyptians showed interest in water related games like rowing as well as swimming. They were also interested in fishing, farming and sewing.

Egyptian scientists were generally most interested in observing nature and practical engineering, and they were very good at both of these things. Some invasion activities were also seen in ancient Egypt. The Egyptians fought between themselves over who would be in charge of their country, and over whether the country would be united.