Cryptology played a crucial role during WWII and after cryptology really became a modern use of technology, but the real story is where cryptology actually had its beginnings. In order to truly understand cryptology and its purpose we must go back thousands of years ago to its first beginnings in Ancient Egypt and discover how cryptology rose to its infamous aid of the Second World War.
Approximately four thousand years ago in Menet Khufu, a small village in Ancient Egyptian, the beginnings of an essential component to cryptology was founded, the modification of text. In a tomb of a local noblesman, Khnumhotep II, hieroglyphic inscriptions were written with unusual symbols in order to confuse and obscure the meaning of the inscriptions being written. It is said that a nobleman’s tomb’s decorations often “break” with the norms of a typical Egyptian tomb (www.cs.dartmouth.edu). Khnumhotep’s tomb is an example of this “breaking from the norm”, which could signify his importance during his lifetime. The next example of cryptology surfacing in ancient times is about 400 years later in Ancient Mesopotamia.
A tablet found on the banks of the Tigris river contained en encrypted formula for pottery glaze. This small three by two inch tablet must have been important to have encrypted such a recipe. Pottery was a crafted art done by individuals that specialized in creating different types of pottery. It can be seen that such a highly prized art form would have wanted to maintain its trade secret so that only those trained would be allowed to succeed in such a business. By encrypting this recipe the Sumerians clearly wanted to keep this ability, glazing pottery, a secret but also by making it into a tablet, they wanted the recipe to last. ...
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The work I chose to analyze was from a wall fragment from the tomb of Ameneemhet and wife Hemet called Mummy Case of Paankhenamun, found in the Art Institute of Chicago. The case of the Mummy Paankhenamun is one of the most exquisite pieces of art produced by the Egyptian people during the time before Christ. This coffin belonged to a man named Paankhenamun, which translates to “He Lives for Amun” (Hornblower & Spawforth 74). Paankhenamun was the doorkeeper of the temple of the god Amun, a position he inherited from his father.
One of Great Britain’s most important naval developments was the founding of the top-secret Office of Naval Intelligence, better known as Room 40. Specializing in cryptography, “the science of writing in secret code” in order to hide sensitive information, Room 40’s cryptanalysts worked around the clock to break the secret code. Decryption is vital in secret transmissions concerning strategic war movements, as the enemy will be looking to intercept information concerning movements and positioning. Great Britain was aided in that the German Navy started the war with three primary codes, and within four months the British Admiralty possessed physical copies of all three of them.
The word secret can be interpreted in two ways, as either an adjective “not known or seen or not meant to be known or seen by others” or a noun “something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others”; both with generally the same mean...
Arguably one of the most important discoveries made regarding the historical and cultural study of ancient Egypt is the translation of the writing form known as hieroglyphics. This language, lost for thousands of years, formed a tantalizing challenge to a young Jean François who committed his life to its translation. Scholars such as Sylvestre de Sacy had attempted to translate the Rosetta Stone before Champollion, but after painstaking and unfruitful work, they abandoned it (Giblin 32). Champollion’s breakthrough with hieroglyphics on the Rosetta Stone opened up new possibilities to study and understand ancient Egypt like never before, and modern Egyptology was born.
The need for writing in Uruk was drastically different than that of the Egyptians, however. As evidenced at the archaeological site of Hierakonpolis, the Egyptian sy...
The New Kingdom in ancient Egypt, from 1550 – 1070 BC, was a time of extraordinary wealth, power, and the continuation of the arts in the classic ancient Egyptian style. Characterized by the abstract and impersonal depiction of humans, along with the strength of the Egyptian Empire, the New Kingdom is considered the peak of power and prosperity in ancient Egypt. “Fragmentary lid from the coffin of Wadj-shemsi-su” is a piece created in this time period that was originally part of a portrait located on the top of the king’s coffin. Because the coffin would carry the king’s mummified body in his tomb, the portrait depicts the pharaoh as being prepared for the Underworld, as well as being the ideal body for the spirit of the king to flow through. The objective of the coffin’s portrait is also to convey the power of the kingdom, putting emphasis on the king’s image and the immense wealth that accompanies him. In addition to the piece’s function as a coffin, “Fragmentary lid from the coffin of Wadj-shemsi-su” embodies the strength and wealth of the New Kingdom through the piece’s human face, use of bright colors, and geometric detailing.
The Enigma was a German ciphering machine used in World War II. In the later years of the war, one was stolen and the Allies were able to decipher German messages, helping the Allies to resist and come to victory. It is said that if the Allies had not broken the Enigma, the war could have gone on for one or two years longer than it did, making it a very important part of the story of World War II.
Mesopotamia’s first invention was a form of writing called cuneiform which was written on clay tablets with a sharp reed called a stylus. This permitted for recording events and writing formal laws. The Sumerians, a civilization in Mesopotamia designed the wheel which was used to help transfer heavy objects to and from places. They also began constructing daggers, spears and chariots, which has led to their successful wars. The Mesopotamians were also responsible for the first laws and the discoveries of glass, sailboats, and ziggurats. With interest high in religion and mythology, Sumerians and their successors worshiped gods and goddesses just like Egyptians, Greeks, and Aegean cultures.
It is clear that tombs and burial rituals were a key element in the Egyptian society and their way of life as it ties into almost all things they did on a daily basis. Whatever a person’s status was when they were alive followed them into the afterlife. Food and luxury goods were buried with a person so that they could have it in the afterlife. The tombs became a person’s new house after they died. Therefore, making it as nice as possible was really important. Art work and clay models were added to a person’s tomb as material goods needed for the afterlife. They were also seen as decorations that kept the tombs looking nice. Throughout the years, Egyptian artworks on the inner parts of the tombs and on the coffins show a development in the Egyptian customs. Each new development was created to better preserve the bodies and comfort of the dead.
W. Raymond Johnson, The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, (1996), pp. 65-82, Date viewed 19th may, http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/3822115.pdf?&acceptTC=true&jpdConfirm=true
Perhaps the most notorious of burial practices originating in Egypt is that of mummification. Why such an extraordinary attempt was made to preserve cadavers may seem
Computers are a magnificent feat of technology. They have grown from simple calculators to machines with many functions and abilities. Computers have become so common that almost every home has at least one computer, and schools find them a good source for information and education for their students (Hafner, Katie, unknown). Computers have created new careers and eliminated others and have left a huge impact on our society. The invention of the computer has greatly affected the arts, the business world, and society and history in many different areas, but to understand how great these changes are, it is necessary to take a look at the origins of the computer.
It was only by chance that the polish government was able to break the enigma code the first time. A man working at the Head Quarters in Berlin contacted a French operative in hopes of exchanging sensitive information for money. The French agreed and after exchanging money and information several times they found it of little use and then forwarded it to the Polish who you might say found the Holy Grail of information.
Cryptography was first used long before the invention of computers. One well-known system was attributed to the reign of Julius Caesar (Klein ix). Another example is the famous Zimmerman telegraph, which was sent from Germany to Mexico during World War I (ix). In a more modern setting, cryptology was mainly used by the government until the late 1970s (Simpson 1). This is largely due to the fact that computers were too expensive, so not many households or businesses had them (1). However, after the computer revolution, cryptology became more public, especially in the business industry where there was a greater need to secure things like transactions (1).
Thousands of years ago calculations were done using people’s fingers and pebbles that were found just lying around. Technology has transformed so much that today the most complicated computations are done within seconds. Human dependency on computers is increasing everyday. Just think how hard it would be to live a week without a computer. We owe the advancements of computers and other such electronic devices to the intelligence of men of the past.