Among the different civilizations, the Egyptian is one of those that has left the greatest legacy to humanity. Throughout their history, they made important advances in fields such as medicine or architecture, as well as great cultural contributions. Some of his inventions are still in use around the world today.
Below you have an index with all the points that we are going to deal with in this article.
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Culture
There are several cultural aspects that the Egyptians developed. One of them was writing, which was reflected both on the walls and on the papyrus sheets. To write, they sharpened the stem of the plant, turning it into a kind of pen.
In order to write the hieroglyphs, they created ink by mixing plant juice with glue and water. If you want to know more about his writing, we recommend you visit this article: Egyptian writing and hieroglyphs: meaning and characteristics.
In addition, some of these writings were sent to people in other geographical locations, so they developed a kind of postal service similar to the one we use today.
In the field of philosophy, the most important author was Ptahhotep, who wrote in his work called Ptahhotep's Instructions advice for daily life before great philosophers like Confucius or Socrates.
It was a culture interested in historiography, since historians wrote the achievements of the pharaohs as long as these could be known later. An important example is the Rosetta stone.
Within their polytheistic religion, they created various myths and legends to explain some facts such as the creation of the earth or life after death. Some of these stories reached Roma and they had a major impact on current religions.
Another of his cultural contributions was the administration of society. The government had ministers, provincial administrators, and royal clerks. They had an efficient organization in all respects. You can know the rest of the particularities of this system in the following article: Egyptian civilization: location, organization and characteristics.
Likewise, the first strike in history took place in Egypt. It was around the XNUMXth century BC when the workers demanded from Ramses III an improvement in working conditions. Therefore, they were precursors of the labor movement.
Technology
Some of its technological advances were vital to the development of this civilization. For agriculture, which was the basis of the economy, they invented the plow and hoe. Furthermore, thanks to a mechanism called shaduf, they carried water from the Nile River to the canals that helped with irrigation.
In architecture, they were able to build great pyramids such as that of Cheops, in Giza, which is more than 140 meters high and occupies 13 hectares. Each block that the form weighs 2,5 tons. In the following article you have more information about this aspect: Egyptian architecture: characteristics and main examples.
In addition, they made use of the topography, determining the position between different points and the distance between them, information used to create the bases of the pyramids.
In relation to engineering, they made sailing ships to carry out commercial transactions with other peoples and civilizations. They were the inventors of this means of transport.
As for crafts, they smelted copper with tin to make bronze. In addition, they used these materials:
- Brick
- Cement
- White plaster
- Glazed ceramic
- Colored glass
- Wood
- Papyrus
- Varnish
Cosmetics and clothing
The upper classes of the Egyptian civilization They used to put on makeup and take care of their physical appearance. The most applied detail was to paint the contour of the eyes.
For them, this granted them the care of the gods Horus and Ra. However, the material they used was a Antibacterial that protected them from various eye infections.
They also wore wigs. To put them on, the men completely shaved their heads. In addition, some oils and perfumes protected them from sunburn.
As for clothing, the clothing was made with linen, a lightweight material perfect for the high temperatures that were reached in this place, since the Egyptians lived outdoors.
Maths
The Egyptians developed mathematics to an admirable level. They used addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. They even solved quadratic equations and square roots.
They also had extensive knowledge of geography and studied shapes such as the triangle, square, rectangle, etc.
They applied these disciplines to their great constructions, especially the pyramids. The oldest mathematical treatise was found in Egypt under the title of Ahmes Papyrus.
Medicine
In the field of medicine, they came to identify different diseases and learn how they were cured. They used some natural ingredients to soothe ailments, such as aloe vera for the skin or mint for stomach ailments.
They performed surgeries and even performed amputations. To replace the excised limbs, they made prostheses out of materials such as wood. In addition, they applied splints and slings to weld broken bones and made dental bridges.
Also, to calm the pain, they applied anesthesia, because they knew the effects of some herbs such as water lily, cannabis or poppy. In this respect, they were ahead of the European civilizations.
Nor should we forget the progress they made in the conservation of bodies through the mummification. Due to their knowledge of chemistry, they managed to keep them intact over the years.
Science
Within science, astronomy was one of his favorite disciplines. By observing the sky they were able to predict lunar and solar eclipses, Nile floods, and the movement of the planets, among other aspects.
Thanks to these studies, the Egyptians developed the calendar Oldest solar on record. In this one, a year was divided into 360 days, which were grouped into twelve different months.
Each day was formed for 24 hours and was structured in two parts of twelve hours each. At the end of the year, they had five days that were dedicated exclusively to the party. In the following image we can see an example of a circular representation of the Egyptian calendar:
The Roman Emperor Julius Caesar adopted this calendar. Later, Pope Gregory XIII applied it with minor modifications, making it the method we use today.
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