Ancient Egyptian Inventions That We Use Today
Whenever we hear the name of Egypt, our mind fills with deserts, pyramids, and mummies. Most of us don't know that the things we use today were actually invented by Egyptians a thousands of years ago. Egyptian civilisation was originated on the banks of the river Nile in around 3150 B.C. The civilisation of Egypt is one of the longest surviving civilisations in the world because the ancient people of Egypt were able to hold their people together with various inventions in each and every field of life. Most of their inventions were responsible for changing the whole fate of mankind. Their inventions were in use not only thousands of years ago but even today and this fact proves that ancient Egyptian civilisation is one of the greatest civilisations the world had ever witnessed. With the arrival of latest technology, the inventions of ancient Egyptian people were altered but still they serve the same purpose as they served thousands of years ago.
1. High Heel Shoes
Today high heel shoes is a trend among women but this trend was started by ancient Egyptians a thousands of years ago. The evidence of ancient high heel shoes is found in the Egyptian murals on tombs and temples. It is believed that both men and women used high heel shoes in ancient Egypt and even Egyptian butchers used high heels to prevent themselves from the blood of dead animals. When the ancient Egyptians invented high heel shoes they would have never thought that butcher shoes would become a symbol of status among women in the future.
2. Condom
Condom is the most popular birth control device ever created in the history of mankind. Apart from reducing the probability of pregnancy, it also protects a person from sexually transmitted diseases. The credit for the invention of this unique barrier device goes to the people of ancient Egypt, who invented it in the 3000 B.C. Today condoms are made from latex and they are available in many varieties but ancient condoms were made from animal skin. Ancient Egyptian drawings depict men wearing condoms but it is not clear whether they used it for sexual purposes or it was a part of their ceremonial dress.
3. Paper
Today we can't imagine a world without paper. Ancient Egyptians are responsible for the invention of this life changing material. The first prototype of paper we use today was invented by the ancient Egyptians in 4000 B.C. It was called the papyrus. Papyrus was made from the soft and spongy pulp of a papyrus plant. This pulp was converted into a thin sheet by pounding it heavily and repeatedly. Ancient Egyptians used to write in this thin sheet of papyrus. With the passage of time papyrus evolved into the paper we use today. The term paper is derived from the word papyrus.
4. Pen
Ancient Egyptians discovered papyrus but to write on them they needed some instrument which was soft and tender because papyrus was a thin sheet and sharp bones and rocks can't be used on it. This led to the discovery of pen, the mightiest tool in the world. The material they used as a pen was the hollow stem of a bamboo plant. They sharpened the tip of a bamboo stem to use it as a nib and then they filled the hollow part of the stem with writing fluid or ink. Even after thousands of years this same concept is applied in the making of pens all over the world, especially in the manufacturing of fountain pens. Ancient Egyptians even had special cases for pens, which were similar in shape to that of a Geometry box, we see today.
5. Black Ink
After the invention of papyrus and pen, ancient Egyptians invented ink. According to the ancient Egyptian manuscripts, they made ink by mixing vegetable oil, soot, and bee wax. Soot was the main organic material which gave black color to the ink. They also experimented with different organic materials to produce ink of different colors, for example, they used ochre to make red ink. Even today people use natural inks derived from environmental friendly plants like soybeans, instead of petroleum based inks.
6. Cosmetics
In the current scenario, the cosmetics industry is one of the most booming industries in the world . Today more than 60% of women spend at least 2 hours daily on make up. People who depend on cosmetics should thank the ancient Egyptians for this amazing discovery. Ancient Egyptian queens like Nefertiti and Cleopatra were the brand ambassadors of cosmetic products in their period. People from both the sexes used cosmetics in ancient Egypt because they believed that make up not only contained aesthetic qualities but it also contained magical powers of healing. They used both white and black make up, which were made from different minerals.They also used henna and Castor oil for therapeutic reasons.
7. Wigs
Today wigs are used either to cover up baldness or for stylistic reasons. This artificial head of hair was first invented by ancient Egyptians. Most of the ancient Egyptian artifacts consists of people wearing wigs. As Egypt was a hot place to live, the ancient Egyptians used to shave their heads to keep them clean but they considered baldness as aesthetically unpleasing and this led to the invention of wigs. They also used wigs for stylistic purposes by placing the wigs on top of their unshaven head with the help of beeswax and resin.
8. Surgical Instruments
Today we are highly advanced in the field of surgery and neuroscience but the first medical document about the nervous system of the human body was written by the ancient Egyptians in 1500 B.C. This medical document is called the Edwin Smith Papyrus and it is still safely kept in the New York Academy Of Medicine. The ancient Egyptians performed surgeries with the help of surgical instruments like scalpels, scissors, needles, forceps, lancets, hooks and pincers, which are even used today in the surgical field.
9. The Plow
The first ox-drawn plow was one of the most ancient Egyptian invention which not only brought a revolution in the field of agriculture but it also led to an enormous growth in agricultural productivity through out the world. Today also, this tool is used in different parts of the world by farmers for ploughing the field and for sowing seeds. The latest technologies which are used today in the field of agriculture follow the concept of this first ox-drawn plow, which was invented thousands of years ago.
10. Clocks
The earliest version of today's clock were invented by the ancient Egyptians. They invented two clocks, sun clock and water clock. The sun clock was an obelisk. Egyptians determined time on the basis of the shadows that were made by the sun when they fall on the obelisk.
After the invention of sun clock, they invented water clock, which was much more accurate than the sun clock in determining the correct time. The water clock consisted of a sloppy stone vessel with a small hole. This sloppy stone vessel was divided into 12 equally spaced columns. When water was filled into this stone vessel, a little amount of water drains away every second from the hole that was made at the bottom of the stone vessel. This decreasing level of water was used to determine time on the basis of the 12 columns.
Image Source: Wikimedia
Like it on Facebook, Tweet it or share this article on other bookmarking websites.