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Back to Introduction to Ancient Egypt and Its Civilization

Introduction to Ancient Egypt and Its Civilization, University of Pennsylvania

4.6
857 ratings
•
247 reviews

About this Course

Colossal pyramids, imposing temples, golden treasures, enigmatic hieroglyphs, powerful pharaohs, strange gods, and mysterious mummies are features of Ancient Egyptian culture that have fascinated people over the millennia. The Bible refers to its gods, rulers, and pyramids. Neighboring cultures in the ancient Near East and Mediterranean wrote about its god-like kings and its seemingly endless supply of gold. The Greeks and Romans describe aspects of Egypt's culture and history. As the 19th century began, the Napoleonic campaign in Egypt highlighted the wonders of this ancient land, and public interest soared. Not long after, Champollion deciphered Egypt's hieroglyphs and paved the way for other scholars to reveal that Egyptian texts dealt with medicine, dentistry, veterinary practices, mathematics, literature, and accounting, and many other topics. Then, early in the 20th century, Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun and its fabulous contents. Exhibitions of this treasure a few decades later resulted in the world's first blockbuster, and its revival in the 21st century has kept interest alive. Join Dr. David Silverman, Professor of Egyptology at Penn, Curator in Charge of the Egyptian Section of the Penn Museum, and curator of the Tutankhamun exhibitions on a guided tour of the mysteries and wonders of this ancient land. He has developed this online course and set it in the galleries of the world famous Penn Museum. He uses many original Egyptian artifacts to illustrate his lectures as he guides students as they make their own discovery of this fascinating culture....

Top reviews

By SD

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May 28, 2018

This is indeed a great course. It is very simply put and very easy to follow up.\n\nDo join without any hesitancy if you have a genuine interest in learning about the history of ancient Egypt!

By GP

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Mar 21, 2018

Learned more then I could have wished for, this is the best course I have had on Ancient Egypt. Thank you Professor David P. Silverman, you made this class very interesting.

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243 Reviews

By Hyejin Pak

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Dec 05, 2018

good

By Panchali Mukherjee

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Nov 27, 2018

It is an extremely good course from which I have benefitted immensely. I have been introduced to the idea of Egyptology. It is easy to understand and assimilate. I am certainly better equipped in Egyptology as a result of this course and it has also generated my interest for further studies in this area.

By Luis Lavat

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Nov 26, 2018

Excellent teacher and to be able to see important pieces in the Penn Museum was a plus. Thanks

By Clotilde Dufournet

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Oct 20, 2018

Thanks for all the informations, it's a great course !

By Mikheil Beriashvili

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Oct 03, 2018

I liked this course very much!

By Carlos Manuel González

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Oct 03, 2018

Excellent teacher.

By Theresa Nelson

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Sep 11, 2018

An excellent introduction to the huge topic of Ancient Egypt. I plan to take the next course.

By Julie Huston

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Sep 10, 2018

This was a very interesting course and I learnt a great deal from it. I did feel that it could have been presented in a more dynamic and engaging way, although I recognise that the presenter is obviously an expert in this field and has a wealth of knowledge. I'm sure that if I visited the sites of Ancient Egypt again I would see them differently and in a much more informed way.

By Carla Giomi

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Sep 06, 2018

Very informative

By Adam Pearson

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Aug 24, 2018

This course was incredibly informative and the thorough integration of real artifacts was a pleasure. Thank you, Professor Silverman!

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