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While ancient Egypt is usually associated with pharaohs, mummies and pyramids; a great number of ancient Egyptian inventions are used in our everyday lives. It would be quite difficult to conveniently and comfortably handle our everyday affairs without most of these early Egyptian inventions.
The history of the Egyptian nation spans thousands of years. Even before they were eventually ruled by one of the greatest civilizations of the ancient world, the Romans, the Egyptians were already quite handy at making their own contributions to their part of the globe. Some of the inventions of ancient Egypt are quite well known while other ancient Egyptian inventions are hardly known at all, or at the very least, often credited to other peoples.
List of Inventions in Ancient Egypt
Black Ink First Ox-Drawn Plows 365 Day Calendar and Leap Year Paper First Triangular Shaped Pyramids Organized labor Hieroglyphics as an early system of writing Sails
One of the inventions before Christ in Egypt was surprisingly black ink. The Egyptian people were very talented at creating not only black ink, but many multi-colored types of ink and dye. The process and depth of color utilized in the Egyptian invention of ink and dye was so marvelous that these brilliant hued colors can still be seen today, thousands of years later.
While not thought of in quite the same aspects as the technology we know today, the first ox-draws plows that appeared in Egypt as early as 2500 B.C. were; nevertheless ancient Egypt technological inventions. Skilled metal working would have been required in order to form a workable plow, as well as animal husbandry. One might wonder why the ancient Egyptians would have even needed ox-drawn plows when the majority of the Egyptian nation consists of deserts. While there certainly is a great amount of sweeping desert land in Egypt, the nation is also the home of extremely fertile black soil along the banks of the Nile River. This soil makes a very hospitable environment for growing crops such as wheat, in addition to a multitude of vegetables. Ancient Egyptian inventions, such as the ox-drawn plow, would have made farming much easier and more profitable.
The ancient Egyptians also have the distinct honor of having invented not only the modern 365 day calendar but the leap year system as well. Ancient civilizations recorded and marked time using a lunar calendar system. A solar system established calendar, based on twelve months of 30 days each, with five extra days, was first conceived of by the ancient Egyptians. The Egyptians also devised the leap year calendar of adding an extra day every fourth year in the year 238 B.C.
Paper was made from the papyrus plant One of the many ancient Egyptian inventions was an early system of writing, now recognized around the world, known as hieroglyphics. Not only did the ancient Egyptians invent a system of writing, but they also invented the paper on which to place it. Taken from the fibers of the papyrus plant, Egyptian paper was the first of its kind.
While there remains speculation regarding how the ancient pyramids were constructed, it is obvious the Egyptians were the first to invent and employ organized labor on a massive scale in order to construct these magnificent stone structures. When one takes into consideration that the construction of just one pyramid often lasted several decades, the magnitude of the organized labor required becomes enormous. The first truly triangular shaped pyramids are also counted among the many ancient Egyptian inventions; although it took them several tries in order to achieve an idea model.
Sails, an Egyptian invention Egyptian inventions also include sails. Living in such close proximity to the Nile River, it would have been imperative for the Egyptians to devise efficient methods of water transportation.
Ancient Egypt inventions in some cases revolutionized the way the world lived and in other cases, they were merely the forerunner to the technologies we enjoy today. In all cases however, ancient Egyptian inventions were truly a marvel of ancient ingenuity.
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