Ancient Egyptian Inventions

by: Ebio

The Egyptians were great inventors. The made many objects that we still use today. They made such objects like the shadoof, locks, paper, plows, medicine, and eye make-up. They were very skilled to have made any of these at all.

        The shadoof was a very useful device that the Egyptians built to help them with their water, and the Nile River. It was operated by hand and was used to lift water from the river onto land in buckets. It has a long pole and there are two objects at each end of it. On one side, there is a bucket. On the other, there is a weight. The Egyptians would lower the bucket, and allowed the water to flow into the bucket. Then they would drop it, causing the weight to lift it back up so they could retrieve it. This was a very nifty device.

         Paper was another remarkable invention the Egyptians came up with. Their paper was made out of papyrus, a plant very abundant in the Nile area. First they had to slice the core of the stalk into very fine pieces. These pieces get submerged in water to remove sugar. The they are pounded to drain the water. The strips are  then lay side by side and are weaved into each other. The end result is papyrus paper. In fact, the English word “paper” is derived from the word papyrus.

    An invention that changed the way the Egyptians lived was the first ox-drawn plow. This made farming much easier and changed the way farming was done through-out history. Inventing this useful device eliminated the long hours of work needed to plow a field. Using the power of oxen was a great technological advancement in the world of Egypt. They attached ropes from their plows onto the oxen, usually their horns. This greatly helped Egyptian agriculture.

            One invention still used daily by most of the people of the world is the clock. The Egyptians invented two types of clocks, sun clocks and water clocks. Both were used, and both were useful. 

            Sun clocks were formed by means of the construction of Obelisks, tapering monuments. The clock worked much like a sundial, by watching the moving shadows throughout the day. By doing this, the Egyptians were able to divide the day into morning, afternoon, and night. This invention also led to the discovery of the longest and shortest years, because when seen at noon, depending on the time of year, the shadow would be longer, or shorter.

            Water clocks were some of the earliest clocks used, but didn’t require the observation of celestial bodies. The earliest one was found in the tomb of the pharaoh Amenhotep I.  Water Clocks were like pots made of stones, with long slanting sides that allowed water to drip down at a constant rate through a small hole in the bottom.       

              The most important and helpful discovery would be medicine. This was incredibly useful because these people now had access to medicine so that when they were sick, they could be cured, or at least helped a little bit. The Egyptians were very good at figuring out human anatomy and were even able to recognize internal organs. They also knew that pulse was somehow related to the heart. From the Edwin Smith Papyrus, we can tell that they treated dislocated bones and performed minor surgical procedures. We also know that they treated diseases in a physical manner along with other spiritual practices. Much of the treatment consisted of crushing and mixing herbs. Medicine helped develop the Egyptian civilization and continues on through our own culture today.

    A very important invention in Egypt was make-up. It was almost mandatory. Even the poor people wore it. The difference was in how nice the applicators and eye palettes were. The poor sometimes only had packs of galena, the rock they derived the make-up from and had to apply it with sticks. Eye make-up seemed essential in the Egyptian culture. The word for “make-up” seems similar to that of protection. it is believed that an eye without any make-up was vulnerable to the Evil Eye. It is also known that galena has disinfectant and offers protection from intense sun. Make-up was applied around the eye in an almond or feline type of shape. Wearing eye make-up was not an option; it was a necessity.

The Egyptians were very skilled craftsmen in the art of inventing. They made objects to help agriculture, life, protection, keep away robbers and tell time. That is quite a feat, especially for people of such early times. Ancient Egyptians should be given a large amount of credit for what they built and accomplished.

            Bibliography:

Works Cited

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Dunn, Jimmy. "Historical Papyrus." Tour Egypt. 2005. 30 Feb. 2006 <http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/papyrus.htm>. 

"Early Clocks." A Walk Through Time. 2002. 30 Jan. 2006 <http://physics.nist.gov/GenInt/Time/early.html>. 

Illes, Judith. "Ancient Egyptian Eye-Makeup." Tour Egypt. 1996. 30 Jan. 2006 <http://www.touregypt.net/magazine/mag09012000/mag4.htm>. 

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