Writing is important. Even if you are an accountant for a living, writing is still important. Why? There are numerous reasons. Without writing, there would be no reading and just think about that for a second. Without reading, there would be a lack of learning and creativity amongst other things. For example, if there was no writing, there would be no Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, Lord of The Rings, et cetera, for people to read and enjoy. Still, that would not be the be-all-end-all if there was no writing; the be-all-end-all would have to be the lack of history and information human beings would not have been able to learn about.
The above is a big reason why writing was so important in Egyptian society. Recording their history was essential, but they also wanted to maintain their culture.
Back then, Egyptian writing came through in the form of hieroglyphics; one of the earliest forms of writing in human history. Hieroglyphics are defined as, “. . .a form of writing, used in ancient Egypt, in which pictures or symbols are used to represent objects, concepts, or sounds.” The term hieroglyphics by itself actually means “sacred carvings” in Greek.
According to worldhistory.org, “the concept of the written word was first developed in Mesopotamia and came to Egypt through trade. While there certainly was a cross-cultural exchange between the two regions, Egyptian hieroglyphics are completely Egyptian in origin; there is no evidence of early writings which describe non-Egyptian concepts, places, or objects, and early Egyptian pictographs have no correlation to early Mesopotamian signs.”
With that being the case, it is important to note that through writing, the Egyptians were able to keep their history intact and share it with the world. If the Egyptians refused to use hieroglyphics (or failed to come up with it in the first place) the only way their history would have been recited is through word of mouth, and that can get very messy. Through word of mouth and storytelling, people have the opportunity to spread false information, whether through bad memory or twisting the truth. Yes, some hieroglyphics may have been written by scribes as twisted truths, but regardless, that information is etched in history and can not be changed. And by history, that is both figurative and literal.
What the ancient Egyptians used to do was carve their hieroglyphics on temple walls, public monuments, and stone. In all actuality, hieroglyphics were more art than anything, with Egyptians having to carve symbols such as birds and pharaohs.
At the same time, it is important to note that writing in it of itself is art. There is an art to storytelling, and through hieroglyphics, the ancient Egyptians were able to tell a great story; a story of their culture and heritage. That is why writing in Egyptian society was so important.
Either way, the impact the Egyptians had on the development of writing is insurmountable, considering they were one of the earliest forms of it.
