Scribes and the Rosetta Stone
History · Ancient Egypt · conceptual
Know that scribes were specially trained people who could read and write hieroglyphs, that the Rosetta Stone — a slab with the same text in three scripts — was the key to cracking the hieroglyphic code, and that Jean-François Champollion used it to decipher hieroglyphs in 1822 after centuries of mystery
What mastery looks like
- Explain the importance of scribes as the only people who could read and write
- Describe the Rosetta Stone as having the same message in three different scripts
- Name Champollion as the person who decoded hieroglyphs using the Rosetta Stone
Check your understanding
If Scribes and the Rosetta Stone sees the Rosetta Stone in a museum (or a picture of it), can they explain why it was so important and how it helped us read hieroglyphs?
Prerequisites
Required first
Helpful