This is What Life Was Like for an Egyptian Worker Building the Pyramids

Hieroglyphics – But More Efficient

Organizing labor requires administration. There needs to be someone who keeps track of where the work stands. Administrators recorded the project status. They needed to know who worked in which phyle, and who was in charge. Staff kept payroll data, and managed supply orders. It is like a modern office. Complex, detailed hieroglyphics used by ancient Egyptians would be far too cumbersome to use for every day, ordinary paperwork.

Fortunately, in addition to pyramids, the 4^th Dynasty also gave the world hieratic script. This was a simplified hieroglyphic that made writing faster and more efficient. The form used for everyday documents is called demotic script, used by the general population for things like accounting, writing letters, and non-religious writing.