We learned about ancient Egyptian scribes, their tools, and their important role in documenting what we now know of ancient Egypt. After investigating the step-by-step process by which the papyrus plant becomes usable as a writing surface, we used actual papyrus to practice composing our own sentences using Egyptian hieroglyphs. In addition, we learned about the important Book of the Dead text and its use as an instructional manual for the souls of the deceased to overcome the obstacles of Duat, the underworld. On papyrus, we copied images and hieroglyphs from the Book of the Dead.
