The Egyptian civilization made many contributions to art, religion, science and technology through their use of natural resources in Egypt. They used papyrus plants to create paper and other materials, and built pyramids both as architectural feats and to serve religious purposes as burial places for rulers. The ancient Egyptians were also the first to practice embalming to artificially preserve bodies and allow souls to survive, and used hieroglyphs written by scribes to record history and decorate tombs.

1.  The Egyptian civilization, one of the
earliest in the world, had great
contributions to the development of
art, religion, science and technology.
The land of Egypt is blessed with
natural gifts to draw inspiration
from. It has materials that are
conducive to science and technology
and create various art forms.

3.  The stem of the papyrus was used by
the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and
Romans to make sheets of paperlike
writing material. The plant was also
used to make
sandals, boats, twine, and mats, while
the roots were dried and used for fuel.
The variety of papyrus shown here is
native to Puerto Rico.

4.  Pyramids

5.  Their belief in life after death urged
them to build the pyramids. The
building of pyramids has a
religious purpose than its
architectural value. They built
pyramids as resting places for the
bodies for the bodies of their rulers
after death.

7.  The ancient Egyptians are believed to be the first people
to practice embalming, in which a dead body is artificially
preserved to retard the decaying process. The Egyptians
believed that it was necessary to preserve a body in
order to allow the soul to survive. Ancient embalming
methods included covering the dead body with
carbonate of soda and injecting natural substances such
as balsamic herbs into its cavities before wrapping the
corpse with cloths, creating a mummy. Today embalmers
use prepared chemical substances to preserve a body
for funereal viewing and to prevent the spread of
infection.

9.  In ancient Egypt, scribes used
hieroglyphs to record state documents
and important historical events.
Hieroglyphs with religious purposes
also were painted on tomb walls and
wooden coffins, such as these
hieroglyphs from the tomb of Queen
Amonherkhepsef, located in the Valley
of the Queens.