The Collector Survey Highlights Ten Ancient Egyptian Innovations Still in Use
An article by The Collector discusses ten ancient Egyptian inventions that remain significant today. It opens with the mention of bowling, supported by artifacts from a tomb in Tarkhan, Egypt, dating back to 5200 BC, which was uncovered by William Matthew Flinders Petrie. Notable innovations include papyrus sheets, colored inks, cosmetics, professional barbers, solar calendars, sundials, water clocks, furniture, dental hygiene items, the Medjay law enforcement, pin tumbler locks, and clinical medicine. Papyrus was crafted from reeds of the Nile, while ink was produced from ground pigments. Barbers utilized sharpened flints as early as 5000 BC. The Egyptian calendar consisted of 365 days, and the earliest sundial, discovered in 2013, dates to 1500 BC. Houses of Life, created around 2200 BC, served as forerunners to hospitals, with Deir el-Medina offering communal healthcare around 1500 BC.
Key facts
- The article lists ten ancient Egyptian inventions still used today, including bowling, papyrus, cosmetics, barbers, calendars, furniture, dental hygiene, law enforcement, locks, and medicine.
- Archaeologist William Matthew Flinders Petrie discovered a set of skittles in a tomb at Tarkhan, Egypt, dated to 5200 BC, representing the earliest evidence of bowling.
- Papyrus was made from Nile reeds, and ink was produced by grinding pigments such as copper, iron, quartz, and malachite.
- The Egyptian calendar consisted of twelve months of 30 days each, plus five additional days, totaling 365 days.
- The earliest known sundial was excavated in the Valley of the Kings in 2013, dating from roughly 1500 BC.
- The Medjay, an elite paramilitary police force, was established around 1500 BC to protect the pharaoh's capital, borderlands, and palace.
- Pin tumbler locks and wooden keys were invented during the second millennium BC, with early examples up to 2 feet long.
- Houses of Life, institutions for medical practice, were established as early as 2200 BC and are considered forerunners of hospitals.
Entities
Artists
- William Matthew Flinders Petrie
- Nefertiti
- Hatshepsut
- Pliny the Elder
- Julius Caesar
- Hesy-Ra
- Ramesses III
- Djoser
- Ptolemy V
Institutions
- The Collector
- Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery
- University of Chicago
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Neues Museum
- State University New York Fashion History Timeline
- Walters Art Museum
- Harvard University Digital Giza
- Brigham Young University
- Smithsonian Magazine
Locations
- Egypt
- Nile Valley
- Tarkhan
- Nubia
- Valley of the Kings
- Valley of the Queens
- Deir el-Medina
- Alexandria
- Pergamum
- Mesopotamia
- Rome
- Greece
- Medinet Habu
- Baltimore
- New York
- Berlin
- Cambridge
- Provo