Hieroglyphs

Digitizing Seth

Jorke Grotenhuis — 2024-12-31

To illustrate the benefits of digital research on hieroglyphs in Egyptology, this article presents the results of a case study into the use of the hieroglyphs of Seth and the Sethian animal as classifiers in the corpus of the Coffin Texts. This study covers two different approaches. One approach uses the research platform iClassifier to study the classifier strategies applied by the scribes of the Coffin Texts for lemmata that can take Sethian classification. Secondly, the animal depicted with the lemma sr (to foretell) in the Coffin Texts is discussed using a t-SNE layout based on image similarity.

Hieroglyphs Out of Place

Stephen Houston — 2024-12-31

Maya glyphic writing, a lush and storied hieroglyphic system of Mexico and northern Central America, offers much evidence of tensions and play between text and image. An anomaly worth exploring is when a glyph appears to intrude into the domain of pictures. Closer study reveals that such signs are usually of a limited sort, being concerned with time and seasons, or with ways of naming the complex, expansive surfaces of geographical locales. They respond to gravity and rest on depicted surfaces. Yet many, perhaps most, are signs that exist in mythic settings, where humans of rare aptitudes fused with gods.

Emerging Gender Markers in Pre-Old Egyptian

Eva-Maria Engel — 2024-12-31

During the period between Dynasty “Zero” and the Fourth Dynasty, the Egyptian state was formed and developed numerous elements that remained fundamental for the later state and complex society. Early pictorial evidence indicates that both men and women are depicted, although the assignment of gender does not always appear to be unambiguous. Archaeological findings, artistic representations and linguistic evidence provide some insights about gender representation; in particular the First Dynasty stelae from the subsidiary burials of the royal tombs at Abydos are a unique corpus of Pre-Old Egyptian writing. The stelae are inscribed with titles and/or names, and one of mainly three different signs is often found at the end of such a title/name unit. These signs are categorised as [dog], [dwarf] and variants of a seated persons, some of which are the hieroglyphic sign A1, others B1 and some are often interpreted as a woman—or not. The difference is not trivial because—of course— gender matters and is an analytical category for structuring societies. This raises an interesting point: how is the sex expressed in Pre-Old Egyptian writing that is presumed to match grammatical gender?

Writing in (Neo-)Hieroglyphs in the Renaissance

Jean Winand — 2024-12-31

The second part of this study of Renaissance neo-hieroglyphs deals more specifically with the technical aspects of this writing system. After presenting some issues related to the general layout of the texts (§ 2.1), I give an analysis of the lexicon (§ 2.2), considering its composition, the inventory of signs and their meanings. Finally, I turn to morpho-syntax (§ 2.3), considering how the authors of the neo-hieroglyphic inscriptions managed to express some basic morphological variations (such as plurality) and syntactic relations (such as coordination, possession, quality and dependence).

The Semiotic Functions of Semantic Classifiers in Ancient Egyptian Scripts and Ancient Chinese Scripts: A Comparative Essay

Yanru Xú — 2024-12-31

The ancient Egyptian and ancient Chinese writing systems represent two of the most sophisticated and complex scripts of antiquity. Although these systems developed independently, both employ semantic classifiers—unpronounced signs that categorize and contextualize their associated words. This study examines the semiotic functions of semantic classifiers in these two scripts, highlighting their similarities while also addressing their distinctive features. The analysis is conducted through multiple lenses, including the positional distribution of classifiers, the parts of speech they classified, their interchangeability, instances of multi-classification, and the semantic relations between classifiers and their host words. Furthermore, particular attention is given to the unique role of classifiers denoting concepts of “missing ability” or “deficiency.” The article concludes with a comparative discussion of Semantic-Semantic compounds (referred to as huìyì in traditional Chinese grammatology) and their capacity to generate pictorial scenes within compound signs in the ancient Egyptian and ancient Chinese writing systems.

A Variant of L7

Niv Allon — 2024-12-31

About a variant of L7.

There is more than one way to draw a cat (E13)

Ari Jones-Davidis — 2024-12-31

The most familiar version of the cat hieroglyph (Gardiner E13) depicts the animal with its tail tucked. However, there are several common variations with the tail pointing upwards behind its body or with a tail stretching downward.

Cryptographic Compositions of s.t mꜣꜥ.t

Muhammad R. Ragab — 2024-12-31

The term s.t mꜣꜥ.t is attested in a variety of spellings, with one of the rarest found in Graffito 1463, located near the tomb of Thutmose IV in the Valley of the Kings.

An Alternative Writing of sḏm: the Use of the Human Ear (D18)

Muhammad R. Ragab — 2024-12-31

Graffito 1463, located near the tomb of Thutmose IV in the Valley of the Kings, presents a rare variation in the writing of the verb sḏm within the title sḏm-ꜥš, meaning “the servant” or “the one who hears the call,” with the human ear.

A detailed msktt-bark

Andréas Stauder — 2024-12-31

A hieroglyph from the pyramid of Unas (W) shows a detailed rendition of the msktt-bark (the standard, undifferentiated form of the bark is Gardiner P3) with two falcon standards, a vertical element between these, and the šmsw-execution device behind.

hieroglyphs hieroglyphs — 2024-12-31

Table of Contents.

Hieroglyphs 2 (with an Introduction to Hieroglyphs-Extraordinary)

Niv Allon — 2024-12-31

Introduction to Hieroglyphs 2.